On Education
UH science curriculum deserves a chance
By Jennifer Hiller
Advertiser Education Writer
Given the latest round of poor science test scores, Hawai'i schools may need to start rethinking their curriculums.
Department of Education science specialist Justin Mew said he expects that many principals this year will consider switching to a different science curriculum and focusing much of their textbook budgets toward new materials for the laboratory.
But principals don't have to look far to find a good science program. At the University of Hawai'i, the Curriculum Research Development group has developed some of the most recognized and effective science programs in the country.
Foundational Approaches in Science Teaching is a middle-school science program that encourages students to work together and puts the teacher in the role of "director of research." The text focuses on lab work.
Developmental Approaches in Science, Health and Technology is the elementary-school curriculum. From kindergarten to sixth grade, students using DASH do 650 hands-on activities.
FAST has received numerous national and international accolades. This year, it was one of two programs in the country designated as exemplary by the U.S. Department of Education's Expert Panel on Mathematics and Science Education.
FAST is used by about 6,000 teachers in 36 states and 10 foreign countries. It has been translated for use by science clubs in Japan and is being used as a program for science education reform in Russia and Slovakia.
DASH is being used by 10,000 teachers in 26 states. It's one of seven programs nationally recognized by the expert panel as a promising program.
There's also a program specifically designed for this state, Hawai'i Marine Science Studies, and researchers at UH have outlined how their curriculum meets the state's science standards.
So why aren't they being used widely in Hawai'i?
"You can't be a prophet in your own land," said Donald Young, associate dean for research at the College of Education.
Although the DOE has the UH curriculum on its list of recommended science programs, and it is used at some campuses across the state, curriculum decisions lie with each campus. That gives a great amount of local control in choosing programs that work best for their students, but it also means a statewide effort to redo the science curriculum is unlikely. Changes will have to happen campus by campus.
Hawai'i is near the bottom of states that took the NAEP science test in 2000, sending a clear message that more needs to be done to improve science education. It also sends a warning as the federal government works on sweeping reform that would use an annual test similar to the NAEP to determine which schools to reward and punish.
Department officials have said students also need to take more science classes than are now required. A 1996 survey showed only about 30 percent of Hawai'i middle-school students were taking science, compared with about 90 percent nationally.
Given that students need only one credit of science during the seventh or eighth grade to advance to high school, DOE officials say the high number of eighth-graders bombing the science test should come as no surprise.
What is surprising, however, is that schools have not taken advantage of the resources of the large research university sitting in their own back yard.
Reach Jennifer Hiller at jhiller@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8084.
