| Comparison of the science program in public education
in the U.S. with science programs in other countries, specifically the
Commonwealth of Independent States and the People's Republic of China,
has led to discoveries of deficiencies, related to the scope, sequence,
and coordination of the science programs in the U.S., based on primarily
starting with theories and concepts and treating actual phenomena only
as illustrations of present theories and concepts.
This has led to considerations on how to reform
the science curriculum in the U.S..
In "Science
Curriculum Reform in the United States," (The National Academies) (also
in: Redesigning the Science Curriculum. Biological Sciences Curriculum
Study, 1995. Ed: Bybee and Joseph D. McInerney), the author suggests that
science, instead of starting with theories and concepts, should be taught
in the way it actually is developed by scientists and as it is and has
been taught in Waldorf education for 80 years, starting with phenomena
and only developing concepts out of the actually experienced phenomena.
"The scope, sequence, and coordination
reform effort [...] uses appropriate sequencing of instruction, taking
into account how students learn. In science, understanding develops from
concrete experiences with a phenomenon before it is given a name or a symbol.
Students need experience with a concept in several different contexts before
it becomes part of their mental repertoire. With prior hands-on experience,
students can come to understand important concepts and processes of science.
"The practical components of this instruction should
begin in the seventh grade with issues and phenomena of concern to students
at a personal level and then progress toward a more encompassing scope
in the upper grades. As they mature, students are able to generalize from
concrete, direct experiences to more abstract and broader theoretical thinking.
With a sequenced approach, students should no longer be expected to memorize
facts and information. With practical applications, science should make
sense and have meaning.
"The third component of the scope, sequence, and
coordination project is the coordination of science concepts and topics.
Earth and space science, biology, chemistry, and physics have significant
features and processes in common. Coordination among these disciplines
leads to awareness of the interdependence of the sciences and how the disciplines
form a body of knowledge. Seeing a concept, law, or principle in the context
of two or three different subjects helps establish it firmly in the student's
mind.
"At first, students are introduced more intensively
to the descriptive and phenomenological aspects of the sciences. The most
abstract and theoretical aspects are emphasized in the later years. Empirical
and semi-quantitative treatments are emphasized in the middle years."
The comments and suggestions show that the methodology
in science teaching in Waldorf education, practiced on the basis of detailed
suggestions by Rudolf Steiner 80 years ago, in contrast to allegations
by critics of Waldorf education is in tune with what only now in the U.S.
is being realized to be a good science education.
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