Science Technology Curriculum Framework

Science & Technology Curriculum Framework

Science Technology and Society, a Curriculum Framework

Science

The Science/Technology/Society (STS) theme describes a contemporary trend in education which focuses on the teaching of issues such as air quality, nuclear power, land use, and water resources but justification for including STS in the high school core curriculum has a precedence based on historical connections among science, technology, and society. Maintaining social order, perceiving contemporary events accurately, and advancing science and technology require secondary school students to understand the nature, concepts, and processes of these disciplines in a social context. While educators have stressed a need to implement STS-based core curriculums, their recommendations have not become trends in curriculum development or reform, and curriculum reformers estimate that more than 90 percent of high school graduates have reached only the lowest levels of scientific and technological literacy. Chapter one describes a curriculum framework organized into the categories of acquisition of knowledge, utilization of cognitive skills, and the development of attitudes. Chapters two to four discuss topics, concepts, issues, attitudes, and cognitive processes that can be used as integrative threads. Chapter five examines curriculum options and alternatives, such as developing interdisciplinary courses. Chapters six and seven focus on the infusion of STS content into social studies and science courses. The concluding chapters, eight and nine, describe underlying teaching concepts, cognitive process skills, and guidelines for curriculum reform. (JHP)