COMPETENCE - BASED EDUCATION

Jack Holbrook

Competency and Competence.And Ability and Capability.

• The viewpoint I have taken.

• Competency - the ability to explain, analyse, evaluate, solve a scientific problem, make a decision, etc. in a given situation.

• Competence – the capability (judged to have the potential) to integrate abilities and related these to an unknown situation.

Functionality in society

• In considering the difference between the term ‘ability’ and the term ‘capability’, it might be useful to distinguish between

• attaining (measurable), but isolated, learning outcomes (each considered as a separate competency) [A COLLECTION OF ABILITIES] and

• developing holistic competencies (often referred to as competence) [CAPABILITIES]

The Old Ideas• Teaching could be expressed in terms of Aims, and more

specifically, Objectives.• To make the objectives more meaningful, they were

expressed in behavioural terms.

• Behavioural objectives included 3 criteria:• Student behaviour, conditions of performance and

performance criteria.

• Example – students can correctly write the symbol of 2 elements and illustrate how they combine to form a compound by giving a complete equation.

Behavioural objectives• The behavioural objectives movement of the late 1950s

and 1960s gave rise in the 1970s to four related developments:

• mastery learning (Bloom, 1974);

• criterion-referenced testing (Popham, 1978);

• minimum competency testing (Jaeger and Tittle, 1980); and

• competency-based education (Burke et al., 1975)

Competence-based education

The basic principles and intentions of competency-based education have remained essentially unchanged since the 1960s.

They are: • a focus on outcomes; • greater workplace relevance; • outcomes as observable competences;

• assessments as a judgement of competence (not marks on a content-based test);

• improved skills recognition; • improved articulation and credit transfer;

The Changing Face of Education• What distinguished competence-based education from

standard aims and objectives was its concern (at least initially) with outcomes relevant to employment.

• Today, this has been expanded to not only related to careers, but also to everyday life and in particular to being a responsible citizen, especially in a democratic society.

• But what is the change?

Learning for the unknown

• Education (21st Century) needs to enable students to deal with situations in the future which cannot be defined in advance. i.e students are expected to be equipped for dealing with the unknown.

• What educators must face is that students need experiences which will enable them to develop the capacity to perform in circumstances that can’t be prescribed in advance.

Being competent• What is it that makes one worker more competent than

another (who perhaps possesses the same knowledge and skills)?

• The question can be turned around to ask: • ‘How, when confronted with a novel situation, the more

competent person knows what aspects of their knowledge and skills are relevant to the situation’?

• The above tries to illustrate that COMPETENCE is more that acquiring explicit knowledge and specific subject skills.

The Need• The next question to be asked is ‘how can the capacity

to discern the relevant aspects be developed?’

• The learning needs to move from ‘informational’ to ‘tacit’ knowledge.

• Tacit knowledge has been described as “know-how” - as opposed to “know-what” (facts), “know-why” (science), or “know-who” (networking).

• It involves learning and acquiring skills, but not in a way that can be written down. (so much for written tests?!!)

Why Competences?

• Question

• Why introduce Competences into Science Education?

• Answer

• The intended end product is a person who has functional competences to cope in everyday life and the workplace.

• (possesses capabilities to use tools (knowledge/skills), solve problems, make decisions, interact with others, as and when appropriate when the situation demands).

What are competences?

• Question

• What are

Competence

s?

• Answer

• At a very general level, these have been

expressed as attributes to:

• Use tools interactively;

• Interact in heterogeneous groups;

• Acting autonomously.

DeSeCo (OECD, 2003)

Competences can be seen as capabilities (the

ability - plus potential to use this ability in the

appropriate manner in conjunction with other

abilities; and it goes beyond subject

knowledge/skills)

Competences in Science Education• Question

• What is the intention in introducing CBSE (competence-based science education)?

• Answer

• CBSE is a process that enables science education to promote STL

by

• focusing on what academics believe students need to know (teacher-focused)

And also addressing what

• students need to be capable of doing individually or collectively in varying and complex situations (student and/or workplace focused).

Implications for Science Education

• Question

• What are the implications of introducing CBSE?

Answer

Society and workforce relevant (focused on society/ workforce need outcomes)

Focus on outcomes which are increasingly holistic (plus complex in nature), rather than deriving from the addition of multiple low level, isolated objectives.

More complex assessment procedures (as judgement of competence) , involving portfolios, experiential learning assessment in field experience, demonstration in varying contexts, role play, problem solving/decision making projects, etc.

So what is new?

• Question

• How is a competence- based science curriculum different from one based on goals and objectives?

• Answer

Acquiring specific (but isolated) knowledge and skills (intellectual, processing procedures, personal, social) is not seen as the major goal and neither is content acquisition.

Enhancing scientific literacy requires a need to go further and by drawing on science (and general) knowledge and skills, and taking into consideration society values, be capable to exhibit competence by holistically applying these attributes to new situations and considerations, should the occasion arise.

Comparing Learning Outcomes and Competences

• Question

Are learning outcomes in science teaching the same as outcome ‘competences’?

• Answer

Yes and no.

Developing abilities is target-related and hence

indicated by learning outcomes that are action-

oriented and measurable.

However, learning outcomes specifically explicit but

relating to that taught, tend to be isolated statements

(unless lower order expectations are subsumed within

higher order cognitive expectations).

Developing the potential to act in unknown situations

(capability) requires more holistic learning outcomes

(gaining a measure of ‘potential to do’ by the capability

to integrate ability, skills and society values learning).

Summarising: the red or the blue

• THE RED

• SCIENCE through EDUCATION

• The emphasis is on the science

• The target is the specialist

• THE BLUE

• EDUCATION through SCIENCE

• The emphasis is on the education

• The target is all students

Science through Education Education through Science

Learn fundamental science knowledge, concepts, theories and laws.

Learn science knowledge and concepts important for understanding and handling socio-scientific issues within society.

Undertake the processes of science through inquiry learning as part of the development of learning to be a scientist.

Undertake investigatory scientific problem solving to better understand the science background related to socio-scientific issues within society.

Gain an appreciation of the nature of science from a scientist’s point of view.

Gain an appreciation of the nature of science from a societal point of view.

Undertake practical work and appreciate the work of scientists.

Develop personal skills related to creativity, initiative, safe working, etc.

Develop positive attitudes towards science and scientists.

Develop positive attitudes towards science as a major factor in scientific endeavours.

Acquire communicative skills related to oral, written and symbolic/tabular/ graphical formats

Acquire communicative skills related to oral, written and symbolic/tabular/ graphical formats to better express scientific ideas in a social context.

Undertake decision making in tackling scientific issues.

Undertake socio-scientific decision making related to issues arising from the society.

Apply the uses of science to society and appreciate ethical issues faced by scientists.

Develop social values related to becoming a responsible citizen and undertaking science-related careers.

Education through science promotes STL

(a) ensuring relevance of school science (develop intrinsic motivation based on the students’ world).

(b) incorporating science into social decision making (school science is socio-scientific in nature)

(c) teaching students problem solving/inquiry skills (reaching scientific solutions that can then be transferred to issues and concerns in society)

(d) guiding students to gain an understanding of the nature of science (appreciate what science can and cannot do; how it can be carried out, what its limitations are; the value of the scientific enterprise; science as a social endeavour).

(e) enhancing generic competences related to personal attributes (aptitudes/attitudes) and social attributes (teamwork,values)

Education through Science addresses the Issues associated with Science Education

For the most part, science education is (EC, 2007)

• Not relevant• Boring• Too abstract• Difficult

Let us consider the possible ‘Education through Science’ way forward addressing these concerns.

Introducing the 3 stage model -an approach to the teaching of science

Consolidation of scientific learning through transference to the contextual frame and promoting socio-scientific decision making.

Meeting the science learning need by scientific problem solving learning, giving due attention to NOS.

Science learning is initiated by a familiar context as the frame of reference, It is linked to a need in the eyes of students.

In a social context involving science

In a science context (non-social)

In a socio-scientific context

The 3 stage modelStage 1 THE INITIAL MOTIVATIONAL (CONTEXT-BASED) STAGE All learning start within a context by means of a scenario.

Stage 1 is socio-scientific, but recognises a science learning component (& hence a need to determine students’ prior science knowledge).

Stage 1 strives for relevance but being familiar to students. Stage 1 is intriguing to students by addressing an issue or a concern that is

meaningful to students.

Relevance promotes interest to induce intrinsic (student driven) motivation

i.e Motivation = f(Rel) + f(Int) + [other Internal and External factors]

Stage 2 THE SCIENCE LEARNING, NON CONTEXTUALISED STAGE

(acquiring new science knowledge and skills through an inquiry learning approach & maintaining positive attitudes)

The teaching engages students in inquiry learning and is expected to engage students in SCIENTIFIC PROBLEM SOLVING and develop SCIENCE CONCEPTUALISATION.

If PROBLEM SOLVING IS THE COMPETENCE, then INQUIRY LEARNING IS THE APPROACH TO SKILLS AND CONCEPTUALISATION

Most teaching time in science education is associated with this stage.

THIS IS THE MAJOR STAGE FOR ACQUIRING NEW SCIENCE CONCEPTS AND DEVELOPING SCIENTIFIC AND GENERIC SKILLS

Stage 3 THE CONSOLIDATION RE- CONTEXTUALISED, SOCIO-SCIENTIFIC, DECISION-MAKING STAGE

The learning within stage 2 needs a science consolidation stage.

Students are expected to learn to associate the science they have acquired with the functioning, developments and issues within society.

Students engage in socio-scientific decision making (gaining competencies through utilising the acquired science in a new situation and engaging in argumentation).

Flowchart for the Module ‘Are we overusing Plastics?’

Stage

1

2

3

Plastics are all around us. We like to use them for many purposes. But this was not the case 100 years ago. And 100 years ago the issue of handling plastics waste did not arise.

Testing plastics from different sources. Can we categorise plastics ? Can we explain their properties by developing models (structures) ?

So what are plastics? What makes plastics so useful?

Devising tests to see if plastics have different properties

Identifying and explaining thermoplastics and thermosetting plastic materials.

What to do with plastic materials when we no longer need them? An issue.

Exploring options - landfill, burning, recycling, ensuring a LCA (life cycle analysis) policy, banning the use of certain, mixed (or all) types of plastics

With so many uses of plastics, are the plastics all the same?

Deciding how the disposal of plastics problem is best solved. Is using less plastics an option?

Exploring the advantage and disadvantages of thermoplastic and thermosetting materials

THE END

Assessing Capabilities

• Question

• If capabilities are complex and cannot be expressed precisely, how can they be assessed?

• Answer

• They can only be assessed when the capability is shown in carrying out a specific action in response to a (perhaps unknown) situation.

• The potential to do so in new situations can only be judged (evaluated) as an indicator of capability in general.

Assessing Knowledge & Skills & Competences

• Question

• Does this mean that acquired scientific knowledge and skills should not be assessed?

• Answer

• No (they need to be assessed). • But it does mean that assessing

knowledge and skills, in isolation (as in a typical pencil and paper examination) cannot be expected to indicate possession of competences.

• The competence is the transfer, or application (the holistic using) of conceptual knowledge, skills and values in new situations.

Learning beyond Science Knowledge & Skills

• Question

• So does this mean that, in science lessons, students need to acquire knowledge, skills and develop attitudes (values), and then, in addition, there is a need to develop competences ?

• Answer

• Yes.

• The competences such as problem solving or decision making cannot be exhibited without a knowledge & skills base.

• But the gaining of competences requires going beyond simple abilities. It means possessing capabilities (a potential) to bring isolated and integrated learning to form a holistic action. And this goes beyond subject and need to integrate general competences (abilities), etc.

Does ‘Basic’ or ‘Fundamental’ Science exist?

• Question

• What science content must form the base for the gaining of competences ?

• Answer

• Competences are culturally and society dependent. [Being competent to drive a car in a small village is not the same as driving in a big city (or in, say, Germany as opposed to Bangladesh)]

• So while there are basic or fundamental experiences so as to cope in society, is there actually basic or fundamental science which is basic or fundamental worldwide? YOU DECIDE!!

Is the required science learning that portrayed in textbooks ?

• Question

• What is science ?

• Answer

• Two considerations –• If it is related to being a body of

knowledge, then it can relate to seeking explanations for natural phenomena (CONTENT).

• If, however, it is more a way of thinking, it facilitates creativity, imagination, ingenuity, problem solving and the making of decisions (WITHIN A CONTEXT).

• WHICH FOR COMPETENCE?

Regulations for Estonian National curriculum for secondary schools

The regulation was established on the basis of Subsection 3 (2) of the Basic Schools and Upper Secondary Schools Act.

• Chapter 2 GENERAL PART • Division 1 CORE VALUES OF UPPER SECONDARY EDUCATION• Division 2 LEARNING AND EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES

§ 4. Competences in the national curriculum

• Competence is indicated as the aggregate relevant knowledge, skills and attitudes that ensure the capability to operate productively in a particular area of activity or field.

• Competence can be categorized as either -

• Subject-specific competences, or • General competences and are shaped through all subjects as

well as during extra-curricular and out-of-school activity.

Subject fields

The primary objective of a subject field is to shape the corresponding subject field competences, supported by the objectives of, and learning outcomes in, each subject. The development of subject field competences is also supported by subjects in other subject fields and extracurricular and out-of-school activities.The national curriculum includes the following subject fields:• language and literature:; foreign languages;• mathematics; natural science;• social subjects; art subjects;• physical education. 

At the end of grade 12, upper secondary science school graduates are expected to have developed the capability to:

• analyse and interpret directly perceived phenomena, as well as phenomena imperceptible to our senses at the micro, macro and mega levels, and appreciate the role of models and their limitations in describing such phenomena;

• find and use sources of scientific and technological information in Estonian and English, presented at the verbal, numerical or symbolic level and are able to critically evaluate and appreciate such information from both a personal and social viewpoint;

Capabilities contd.• recognise socio-scientific issues in the environment, express

these in a scientific manner, use scientific methods to gather information and investigate problems, frame hypotheses, control variables, collect data/evidence through observations or experimentation, analyse and interpret results and present conclusions of the solution to the scientific problem as well as limitations and sources of error involved.

• use systematic information obtained from studying biology, chemistry, physics and geography, applied to socio-scientific issues, to make reasoned decisions which take into account other social, political, environmental, economic, ethical and moral aspects;

Capabilities contd

• appreciate the different sub-areas of the Natural Science domain, their areas of focus, the interlinking between them and recognise the focus of emerging, interdisciplinary scientific subjects in this overall system;

• appreciate science as a method of obtaining information in its historical and modern context and recognise its role as a creative enterprise in the context of scientific discoveries, ways of thinking, explaining phenomena and limitations in describing the actual world;

Capabilities contd

• evaluate the environmental and social effects of technological

achievements on the basis of scientific, social, economic,

political, ethical and moral standpoints;

• exhibit personal and social values associated with the

environment, the society as a whole and the role of science in

sustaining modern lifestyles, basing this on evidence that

indicate actions towards becoming a responsible citizen, and

• are interested in local and global phenomena plus new

developments in science and technology taking place in the

environment and the society and are motivated towards

making reasoned decisions in choosing a career, as well as

lifelong learning.

Learning Outcomes• So what are learning outcomes?

• They are explicit and measureable components of learning leading to competences and which when integrated form a base for developing competence.

• These learning outcomes encompass subject knowledge and skills, but also general attributes such as problem solving, decision making, communication, perseverance, creativity, collaborative working, consensus decision making.

Learning outcomes in upper secondary school

 Biology lessons in upper secondary school level are designed for students to gain competences to:• value their knowledge of, skills in and attitudes towards, biology

as important components of scientific and technological literacy and to be internally motivated for lifelong learning;

• acknowledge the interrelations of nature, technology and society and value their influence on the environment and society;

• gain a systematic overview of phenomena, diversity and processes making up the organic world, the relationships between organisms and their interaction with the inorganic world;

• show a responsible attitude towards the environment they live in and value biological diversity and a sustainable and responsible lifestyle;

contd• apply scientific methods in solving biological problems, plan, carrying

out and analysing observations and experimental results and present the results obtained in appropriate verbal and visual form;

• make competent socio-scientific decisions about the natural and social environment and predict the consequences of these decisions;

• use various (including electronic) sources to find information about issues in biology, to be able to analyse, synthesize and critically evaluate the information obtained from these sources and apply it effectively in explaining objects and processes in, as well as solving problems associated with, the organic world;

• where appropriate, use technological means, including ICT possibilities, in studying biology and carrying out investigations; and

• gain an overview of professions connected to biology and utilise knowledge and skills and interest in biology in planning futurer careers.

Taking one topic CellsLearning outcomes (at a specific topic level in Biology)• By the end of the course, students can:• explain the unity of organic nature of matter according to the main principles

of cell theory;• associate the structure of human epithelium, muscle, connective and

nervous cells with their functions and identify these tissues on slides, microscope images and drawings;

• explain the role of the cell nucleus and chromosomes in the functioning of cells;

• compare active and passive movement through the cell membrane;• associate the components of animal cells (the cell membrane, cell nucleus,

ribosomes, mitochondria, lysosomes, Golgi apparatus, endoplasmic reticulum and cytoskeleton) with their functions;

• identify the main parts of an animal cell on microscope images and drawings; and

• compile and analyse sketch drawings and definition cards for the functional relationships between cell components.

Section 2.6. Study Activities

PLEASE NOTE 

In planning and organising curricular activities

• the starting point is basic values, general competences, subject competences, educational goals and the expected learning outcomes of the curriculum,

• while also supporting integration with other subjects, generic competences and cross-curricular topics;

For STL - is the focus for the Science Curriculum on Science or on Education?

• The red (corner) - the Focus is on Science• The blue (corner) - the Focus is on Education

• Which for specialisation?• Which for all students ? • Which for the Estonian curriculum?

Summarising: the red or the blue

• SCIENCE through EDUCATION

• The emphasis is on the science

• The target is the specialist

• EDUCATION through SCIENCE

• The emphasis is on the education

• The target is all students

Science through Education Education through Science

Learn fundamental science knowledge, concepts, theories and laws.

Learn science knowledge and concepts important for understanding and developing capabilities for handling socio-scientific issues within society.

Undertake the processes of science through inquiry learning as part of the development of learning to be a scientist.

Undertake investigatory scientific problem solving to better understand the science background related to socio-scientific issues within society and develop capabilties to tackle unfamiliar problems.

Gain an appreciation of the nature of science from a scientist’s point of view.

Gain an appreciation of the nature of science from a societal point of view which can impact on the development of capabilties.

Undertake practical work and appreciate the work of scientists.

Develop personal skills related to enhance capabilties using creativity, initiative, safe working,

Develop positive attitudes towards science and scientists.

Develop positive attitudes towards science as a major factor in developing capability in scientific endeavours.

Acquire communicative skills related to oral, written and symbolic/tabular/ graphical formats

Acquire communicative skills related to oral, written and symbolic/tabular/graphical formats to better express scientific ideas in a social context.

Undertake decision making in tackling scientific issues.

Undertake socio-scientific decision making capabilties related to issues arising from the society.

Apply the uses of science to society and appreciate ethical issues faced by scientists.

Develop social values related to gaining capabilities to become a responsible citizen and undertake science-related careers.

‘Education through science’ promotes STL if permitted to:

(a) ensure relevance of school science (developing intrinsic motivation based on the students’ world).

(b) incorporate science into social decision making (school science is socio-scientific in nature)

(c) teach students problem solving/inquiry skills (reaching scientific solutions that can then be transferred to issues and concerns in society)

(d) guide students to gain an understanding of the nature of science (appreciate what science can and cannot do; how it can be carried out, what its limitations are; the value of the scientific enterprise; science as a social endeavour).

The Issue with Science Education – where is this renewed pedagogy?

For the most part, current science education is (EC, 2007)

• Not relevant (textbook focused• Boring (factual and text driven)• Too abstract (conceptual and not visual)• Difficult (not experienced in society)

• In short. Science education is ‘science through education.’• It is time to consider a possible ‘Education through Science’

way forward.

An ‘education through science approach’ to the teaching of science

Consolidation of scientific learning through transference to the contextual frame and promoting socio-scientific decision making.

Meeting the science learning need by scientific problem solving learning, giving due attention to NOS.

Science learning is initiated by a familiar context as the frame of reference, It is linked to a need in the eyes of students.

In a social context involving science

In a science context (non-social)

In a socio-scientific context

The 3-stage modelStage 1 THE INITIAL MOTIVATIONAL (CONTEXT-BASED) STAGE Relevance drives motivation. All modules start within a relevant, familiar context

(socio-scientific) by means of a scenario.

Stage 1 is socio-scientific and hence relates to a science learning component (& hence an important need is to determine students’ prior science knowledge within stage 1).

Stage 1 strives for relevance by being familiar to students as an important step towards interest and hence motivation.

Stage 1 is intriguing to students by address an issue or a concern that is meaningful to students.

Stage 2 IBSE in a DE-CONTEXTUALISED STAGE

(acquiring capabilities and new science knowledge and skills through an inquiry learning approach but maintaining positive attitudes)

The teaching engages students in inquiry learning and is expected to engage students in student-driven SCIENTIFIC PROBLEM SOLVING.

If PROBLEM SOLVNG IS THE SKILL, then INQUIRY LEARNING IS THE APPROACH and the target is problem solving capability.

Most teaching within science education needs to be associated with this stage.

THIS IS THE MAJOR STAGE FOR ACQUIRING NEW SCIENCE CONCEPTS & SKILLS (and interrelating these – concept map)

A Possible Chlorine Concept Map

CHLORINE

is an

ELEMENTit is

Diatomic and a Gas at room temperature

BLEACH

prepared by (industrially) Conc. HCl +

KMn04

prepared by (in laboratory)

1. Forming chlorinated hydrocarbons2. Purifying drinking water 3. Oxidation processes

uses

1. Green coloured gas2. Reasonably soluble in cold water 3. Poisonous and choking

physical properties

1. Acidic2. Oxidising agent 3. Chlorinating agint

Electrolysis of Rock Salt

chemical properties

formed by

Volumetric analysis

1. Indicator paper2. Coloured flowers3. Coloured cloth

strength determined by

reacts with

1. Forming chlorinated hydrocarbons

2. Purifying drinking water 3. Oxidation processes

Stage 3 THE CONSOLIDATION, RE- CONTEXTUALISED, SOCIO-SCIENTIFIC, DECISION-MAKING STAGE

The learning needs a science consolidation stage (the new science is shown to have meaning).

Students are expected to gain the capability to associate the science they have acquired with society.

Students engage in socio-scientific decision making (gaining competences through utilising the acquired science in a new situation and developing argumentation skills).

Flowchart for the Module ‘Are we overusing Plastics?’

Stage

1

2

3

Plastics are all around us. We like to use them for many purposes. But this was not the case 100 years ago. And 100 years ago the issue of handling plastics waste did not arise.

Testing plastics from different sources. Can we categorise plastics ? Can we explain their properties by developing models (structures) ?

So what are plastics? What makes plastics so useful?

Devising tests to see if plastics have different properties

Identifying and explaining thermoplastics and thermosetting plastic materials.

What to do with plastic materials when we no longer need them? An issue.

Exploring options - landfill, burning, recycling, ensuring a LCA (life cycle analysis) policy, banning the use of certain, mixed (or all) types of plastics

With so many uses of plastics, are the plastics all the same?

Deciding how the disposal of plastics problem is best solved. Is using less plastics an option?

Exploring the advantage and disadvantages of thermoplastic and thermosetting materials

THE END

Learning Outcomes in Chemistry (for Esters, amides and polymers)

By the end of the course, students are expected to have the capacity to:• compile meaningful, empirically derived chemical equations: ester formation,

alkaline hydrolysis of esters, acid hydrolysis of esters and formation and hydrolysis of amides;

• explain reactions with problems concerning the practical use of reversible reactions – improving yield rate, speeding up a process (e.g. using catalysis) and economic aspects of production;

• explain the differences between addition polymerisation and poly-condensation;

• identify with justification a short segment of a polymer composed of monomers and vice versa – recognising the repeat units in a piece of a polymer and the original material of these units;

• evaluate the hydrophobic/hydrophilic properties of polymers on the basis of their structure and draw conclusions on the hygienic and practical properties of these materials; and

• explain the properties of polyesters and polyamides from the point of view of their practical use and compare these materials with natural materials.

Remember• The driving purpose of science education is to enable

scientific literacy (or capability) for all.

• Embedded within the multi-dimensional notion of scientific capability are:

• dispositional facets, such as interest and curiosity,

• operational facets, such as creativity and problem solving, and

• cognitive facets, such as reasoning and critical thinking.

Through learning scientific ideas, practices, language and values.

• it is intended that students will choose to engage with and use science as future learning citizens, innovative science professionals and informed critics.

• All students will learn the ways in which science interacts with our physical, constructed and social worlds, and how it interacts with their personal lives and the communities within which they interact.

• In teaching science, we need to be invitational, beginning in students’ worlds, seeking ways to engage students in thinking and working through science.

As a student who has studied science, you are aware of the

importance of fuels in a modern technological society.

Potentially both petroleum oils and vegetable oils are fuels usable in society.

What conceptual understanding, skills and values (towards employees and future customers) should you envisage if you are asked to a make a decision within an industry whether fuels from vegetable oils are viable.

In arriving at your ultimate decision you should indicate how you considered the following: ….• The meaning of a fuel, a petroleum oil, vegetable oil• Properties of a desirable fuel (such as petroleum or vegetable oil)• Why petroleum oil and vegetable oil can be used as a fuel• Source of petroleum oil and vegetable oil• Why there might be question mark against the viability of vegetable oils and

why the viability of petroleum oils was not to be questioned.• The carbon footprint in choice of fuel• Safety factors for workers involved in handling the fuel• Political and ethical considerations that impact on a decision• Tests to be carried out to determine the quality and suitability of the fuel.• Cost of fuel impact

CHEMISTRY 6-12

The teacher (A)• Is able to plan an inquiry-based science program for

students, using as a framework, • Develops a framework of yearlong and short-term goals for

students.• Understands curriculum design to meet the interests,

knowledge, understanding, abilities, and experiences of students.

• Selects teaching and assessment strategies that support the development of student understanding and encourage a community of science learners.

• Works with colleagues within and across disciplines and grade levels.

(B) Is able to guide and facilitate learning by:

• Focuses and supports inquiries while interacting with students.

• Facilitates discussion among students about scientific ideas.• Challenges students to accept and share responsibility for

their own learning.• Recognizes and responds to student diversity and

encourages all students to participate fully in science learning.

• Encourages and models the skills of scientific inquiry, as well as the curiosity, openness to new ideas and data, and questioning that characterizes science.

(C) Is able to engage in ongoing assessment of own teaching and of student learning.

In doing this, one:• Uses multiple methods and systematically gathers data

about student understanding and ability.• Analyzes assessment data to guide teaching.• Guides students in the evaluation of their work.• Uses student data, observations of teaching, and

interaction with colleagues to reflect on and improve teaching practice.

• Uses student assessment information and classroom observation to report student achievement to students and parents.

(D) Is able to design and manage learning environments that provide students with the time, space, and resources needed for developing science skills by.

• Structures the time so that students are able to engage in extended investigations.

• Creates a setting for student work that is flexible and supportive of science inquiry.

• Ensures a safe working environment.• Makes the available science tools, materials, media, and

technological resources accessible to students.• Identifies and uses resources outside the school.• Engages students in designing the learning environment.

(E) Is able to develop communities of science learners that reflect the intellectual rigor of scientific inquiry and the climate conducive to science learning, by:

• Respects the diverse needs, skills, and experiences of all students.

• Enables students to have a significant voice in decisions about the content and context of their work and prepares students to take responsibility for learning.

• Encourages collaboration among students.• Structures and facilitates ongoing formal and informal

discussion based on a shared understanding of rules of scientific discourse.

• Models and emphasizes the skills and value of scientific inquiry.

THANK YOU