Schools

District 61 Reviews Science Curriculum

New emphasis focuses on hands-on learning in all grades.

The Darien School District 61 Science Committee recently turned the tables on parents and staff by asking them to grade the science curriculum at the district’s three schools.

For the most part, the district received grades in the B and C range—but it’s already on the road to raising that perception to an A+.

The grades are part of a multiyear examination of the science curriculum at , and , which started in November 2009. 

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The science committee presented results from surveys, as well as curriculum changes for the upcoming school year at a district round-table Tuesday at Eisenhower Junior High.

Eighth-grade science teacher Joe Polasek said the curriculum review is an opportunity for collaboration and communication between the three schools.

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The revised curriculum eliminates unnecessary repetition—spots, for example, where the same area of science was taught two years in a row. 

“There are reasons to repeat things that were done at earlier grades, but they should be repeated purposefully,” said Lace Principal Marty Casey.

When a discipline is revisited at a later grade, the teachers will repeat enough material so as to jog students’ memory and rapidly begin to expand into new territory.

“Earlier grades do a little bit of everything, and then the older grades will build on the foundation from the earlier grades,” Polasek said.

The district also is establishing “SMART” goals for each school, which stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant/realistic/results, and time bound.

Eisenhower students, for example, will be held accountable for their learning by maintaining a science journal throughout the school year.

Students at Lace and Mark DeLay will participate in more hands-on experiments, something both parents and teachers expressed a desire for in the surveys.

In fact, every person questioned said the schools’ science curricula should emphasize hands-on learning, Polasek said.

It all feeds into the committee’s mission for the district: to create scientifically literate citizens better enabled to make good decisions in all aspects of their lives.

As Polasek said, it may be a sign of a paradigm shift.

For decades, classrooms have focused on math and reading. Science is trending toward becoming an interdisciplinary subject woven into those two core subjects.

“We are striving for an aligned, spiraling curriculum where thought, rigor, authenticity and diversity build each year,” the committee wrote.

Survey results: What grade would you give the district (teachers)/your child's school's (parents) science education program?

Teachers Mark DeLay Parents Lace Parents EJH Parents A 9% 3% 15% 34% B 36% 27% 50% 51% C 30% 57% 27% 12% D 0% 13% 4% 2% F 0% 0% 4% 0% Other 21% 0% 0% 0%


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