| In the mid-1990s, the Alberta government cut provincial spending substantially. A Three-Year Business Plan to restructure education and a Quality Teaching initiative were also issued by the provincial government. In 1995 a revised provincial elementary school science curriculum was released. I was concerned with the number of changes being made in a fairly short period of time, but uncertain if these changes posed any problems for teachers or students. To ascertain if a problem or problems did exist, I undertook this study.; Through my examination of elementary science curriculum documents, teacher professional development in six Alberta school districts, and perceptions of exemplary science lessons described by selected Albertans, the situation gained clarity. My analysis, using the Dewey/Schwab theory of levels of intellectual space, indicated that problems did exist. First, an analysis of the curriculum documents (the Program of Studies, provincially-prepared assessment materials, and provincially-authorized teaching resources) indicated a strong provincial emphasis was placed on students acquiring Correct Explanations (Roberts, 1982). This is a problem as such lessons involve students predominantly in procedural science, in activities located in the first and second levels of intellectual space. Additionally, the science lessons described as exemplary by many study participants would involve students predominantly in the first and second levels of intellectual space. Finally, the professional development being offered to teachers was also primarily procedural in nature, involving teachers, too, in activities located in the first and second levels of intellectual space.; Through this research, problems and a desirable goal (support for students and teachers to commonly operate in the third and fourth levels of intellectual space) coemerged. In order to help ameliorate the problematic situations identified, I conclude with recommendations for conducting future deliberations on why science should be taught in elementary schools, what science should be taught, and how best to teach that science, “a process in which all pool their ingenuities, insights, and perceptions in the interest of discovering the most promising possibilities” (Schwab, 1983, p. 255). |
