Revised
Version of STC Curriculum Available in January; Plans for Second Edition
Also Under Way
Vol.12, No. 2, Fall/Winter 2001
The National Science Resources Center�s Science
and Technology for Children� (STC�) curriculum has undergone its
first major revisions. The updated versions of STC Teacher Guides,
Student Activity Books, and Student Notebooks will be available from
the STC publisher, Carolina Biological Supply Company, in January
2002. In addition, plans are under way for the second edition of the
curriculum.
Highlights of the revisions
The most obvious changes in the 2002 edition of
STC are colorful new covers, which complement the design of the
NSRC�s Science and Technology Concepts for Middle Schools� (STC/MS)
curriculum.
Between the covers are some substantive changes
that reflect a growing body of research that shows the link between
quality K�8 science education and literacy. For example, the teacher
guides now contain an introductory section entitled �Science
Notebooks in the STC Classroom.� This section describes why a
science notebook is important. It gives teachers guidance on how to
incorporate science notebooks and writing into an inquiry-centered
classroom. It gives hints on how to review students� notebooks,
including an assessment rubric. This new insert concludes with
references for ways to improve students� reading and writing skills
during science class.
Student materials contain changes as well. Each
Student Activity Book and Student Notebook now includes a one-page
Introduction. One purpose of this new page is to present the unit�s
objectives in student-friendly language. The introductions also
explain the importance of keeping a science notebook and stress the
role of note taking in scientific enterprise.
Finally, all the books now contain glossaries
that define, at age-appropriate levels, some of the key terms
introduced in the unit, as well as process words that are commonly
used in inquiry-centered science.
A final note: The revisions described here have
entailed no changes in lesson procedures or lab materials. The new
books and the old books might look different, and improvements have
definitely been made. The science concepts and lessons, however,
remain the same.
STC, 2nd edition
The STC revisions complete, NSRC administrators
and developers, teachers, and staff of Carolina Biological are
beginning work on a far more ambitious task: to prepare the second
edition of the STC curriculum.
Ensuring that the scientific content of the
curriculum, the last unit of which was published in 1997, is up to
date is just one of the challenges. A second focus will be to
incorporate the use of technology into the STC classroom. There will
also be more emphasis on encouraging students to use the Web for
independent research.
Other changes will provide teachers with more
techniques for using science class as a springboard for engaging
students in reading and writing. The revised units will also offer
students a greater range of reading selections. A stand-alone book of
readers, all reviewed by technical advisers for science content and
relevance to the unit, will be part of the revised curriculum. The
readers will also ensure that the STC curriculum is more fully aligned
with National Science Education Standards that emphasize science in
personal and social perspectives and the history and nature of
science. The new edition will also provide much more emphasis on
various means of assessing student work.
Work on �STC 2� will begin early in 2002.
Watch ScienceLink for further information.
�L.H.
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