Biology--A Capstone Science Course: Proposal for a Conference

Bscs Science Learning, Colorado Springs CO

Investigators

Abstract

A conference is planned to investigate the opportunities and difficulties that exist in changing the typical high school science course sequence from Biology - Chemistry - Physics to Physics - Chemistry - Biology. In 1998, Dr. Leon Lederman developed a project called "American Renaissance in Science Education (ARISE)" in which he proposed that the traditional sequence of science courses in high school was an outdated idea that no longer fits our modern understanding of these disciplines. Project ARISE advocates a revised physics-chemistry-biology science sequence as one that better accommodates the dramatic advances that have occurred in science over the past century. The physics community has best addressed this shift in sequence by developing curriculum materials specifically for the ninth grade science student, but no one has yet addressed the changes necessary for a biology course that follows physics and chemistry. As increasing numbers of school systems adopt the physics-chemistry-biology sequence, they must consider the appropriate content and approach for the biology capstone course. The conference will bring together the voices of those teachers, scientists, and science educators most familiar and experienced with the challenges and opportunities of the revised science curriculum sequence; synthesize the implications for a biology course within this new sequence; specify the goals for a biology capstone course designed to follow physics and chemistry instruction; and develop a set of recommendations for those individuals and institutions who implement the revised science sequence, for curriculum developers who would create the biology capstone course, and for professional development providers who would work with biology capstone teachers. The recommendations developed at the conference will inform not only curriculum developers and teachers of a capstone biology course, but also those who provide professional development for teachers and science education researchers seeking to evaluate the impact of the physics-chemistry-biology sequence on the scientific literacy of high school students.