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Vol. 11, No. 1, Spring/Summer 1998
From the Executive Director: Our Shared Role in Science Education
Reform
The National Science Resources Center devotes a great deal of time to curriculum
development because we believe that it is one of the five essential components of an
effective science education program. At the same time, we are aware that a curriculum, in
and of itself, has little meaning. It must be brought to life in the classroom.
This point was made beautifully by Peggy Willcuts, science specialist and elementary
science curriculum coordinator in Walla Walla, Washington, during a breakfast at the NSTA
national convention that commemorated the completion of the Science and Technology for
Children (STC) project. "STC," this veteran teacher said, "is like a lump
of clay that is not yet kiln fired. . . . I could use it as it is, but I can also mold and
shape it to fit my own vision."
This is what we, as curriculum developers, hope for. Our job is to provide school
districts and teachers with tools. We take great care to ensure that the materials we
create are as technically accurate, complete, and appealing to students as possible. We
field-test them before publication. But we also want—and expect—science
coordinators and classroom teachers to take the ingredients we supply and make them their
own.
Peggy Willcuts’s metaphor made me think of one of my own. It originated in the
observations of a friend who composes music. When he wrote his first orchestral
composition, he had every reason to believe it was good. After all, it followed the
principles he had studied in music theory, and he had worked on it and revised it
extensively. But it was not until he heard his composition played—by musicians from
the National Symphony Orchestra—that he realized how beautiful it could be.
Ensuring better science education is a shared responsibility. Each of us brings
different talents to the process. By blending our knowledge and skills, we can create
effective, high-quality science learning experiences for all students.
—Douglas Lapp
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