Albany Senior High School/Curriculum plans/Science

VISION: that all students practice as scientists

The Nature of Science forms the core of our curriculum and

• by its very nature, nurtures curiosity and creativity.
• inspires development of science as a culture with its particular knowledge, language, customs, practices, traditions, attitudes and values.
• this empowers practitioners to be scientifically literate, able to make reasoned decisions required for increasingly complex 21st century issues.

VALUES

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EXPECTATIONS

AKO (learn to learn: teach to learn)

Our teaching and learning is based on 21st century pedagogy and current research.

It is aligned with the ASHS teaching portrait, school curriculum and assessment policy.

As learners we will: know what we are learning and why by mapping the main ideas collaborativley. connect learning of the big ideas to our lives. reflect on what we already know and then use different ways to learn new things. apply the new things we have learnt to different situations. reflect and seek feedback to find what our next steps will be.

2. How will our assessment promote effective learning?

Formative asessment and the use of milestones will be used to give feedback on the learning. Summative assessment consists of primarily internal assessment and some external assessment. Assesment always informs the effectiveness of the learning and the teaching.

3. What does an effective 100-minute lesson look like?

All participants are engaged through exploration of ideas and concepts, explaining using nature of science principles, extending knowledge and understanding and evaluating the learning.

Lessons will be responsive to the class and individual learners by profiling and professional inquiry.

Curriculum design

What do we want our students to learn and/or develop? 

In all courses, the tenets of the Nature of Science (as outlined on Science Learning) will be developed using the achievement objectives for each subject strand as the contexts for learning. The Nature of Science reflects the Key Competencies. The Senior Secondary teachers guide on TKI will be used as the base line for any course development.

Quality assurance

How will we ensure that standards are transparent, clear, reliable, valid and fair?

Guidelines will be followed as set out in the NZQA teachers handbook.

Self review

What data will we collect and how will we use it?

Both formal and informal data will be collected. Formal data through work required to be submitted for feedback and grading Informal data through discussion and surveys. Data will be used to inform and direct the teaching of a concept or tenet of the nature of science.