Study Of High School Science Curriculum

In 2005, Shanghai began setting a high school course: Science. This course is an important component of the design proposal of 12-year integrated science curriculum, which goes through a process of "integration, disintegration and integration" in Phase II of the curriculum reform in Shanghai. In the last stage of the senior high school, it will go through the "integration" process, and it is a required course.Based on this course, the study attempts to explore theories related to the integrated science course in senior high school, finds out major problems existing in science course in high schools in China, and puts forward suggestions. The issue of whether to set integrated science courses in high school or not, and how to set the curriculum is what the study tries to solve.Starting from the concepts like curriculum analysis, integrated curriculum and integrated science curriculum, the paper presents the analysis of literature, applies system theory and methodology, and then reveals the meaning of the integrated science curriculum: a curriculum consisting of various elements with different weight distributions and different ways of organization.This study first demonstrated the necessity of setting senior high integrated science curriculum from the theoretical basis, international development trend and the limitations of specific courses in the integrated science curriculum. Second, the author uses methods including questionnaire, case analysis, interviews and field observation to conduct field survey on the factors affecting the normal running of high school science courses. Senior high school students in some middle schools in Shanghai, setters of the curriculum standards, compilers of the course books, teachers teaching this course are interviewed or observed. Third, based on the frameworks of classroom analysis established by Anderson, Lorin W., Krathwohl, David R. and others, the author conducts case study and research in classroom teaching of the science course. In detail, the author tries to explore, and research into the descriptions of classroom situations, the analysis of teaching objectives, teaching activities and classroom teaching assessment and the like, and answers the questions of learning, teaching, assessment and consistency in teaching processes. Fourth, based on the realistic findings, the author further discusses the theoretical orientation and realistic thinking of constructing senior high integrated science curriculum. The author also tries to seek a solution regarding how to set senior high integrated science curriculum, and gives suggestions concerned with the construction of the integrated science curriculum from the aspects of Target Needs, theoretical basis, construction system, realistic thinking and the like.Questionnaire is designed to find out the goals of science education which will serve as the basis for curriculum setting. The theoretical basis for the construction of the integrated science curriculum is discussed, and a theoretical hierarchy model concerning the integrated science curriculum is put forward. Based on this model, the author proposes several comprehensive mechanisms of the construction of comprehensive science course and discusses the realistic situation of the construction.Lastly, the author explores how to implement the science curriculum from three aspects: to understand and deal with the relationship between the integrated science course and subdiscipline courses, to assess and deal with the relationship among integrated science courses, and the relationship between senior high science courses and teachers of these subjects.The main conclusions of the study are as follows:First, traditional science curriculum of branching has limitations, and senior high integrated science course is very necessary. The characteristics of basic education in senior high school determine that the main objective of senior high integrated science is to improve students' scientific literacy. Science education should enable students to see things from the scientific perspective, and to apply all the relevant science knowledge to the real life. But from the field survey data, we can see that there is no strong correlation between different branches of the science curriculum; teachers are indifferent to knowledge and contents in other subjects; the connection between the elements of different subjects is not strong, and students' comprehensive ability to apply what they have learnt to the real life is not strong. Therefore, the relationship between science curriculum of branching and integrated curriculum should be handled appropriately so that each can be made the best use of and can complement each other, making contributions to the quality of senior high science education.Second, curriculum content, examination assessment, and sets of software and hardware are major reasons that may prevent the science course in senior high in Shanghai from getting implemented effectively.Third, the construction of senior high comprehensive curriculum should bring different courses into full play in science education. That the science courses in Shanghai senior high place a high premium on the science education by means of reading is an important point. However, it is difficult to obtain the ideal effect in practice through this single curriculum building mode. The author thinks that it is better to adopt the construction mechanism of comprehensive science courses to improve the senior high science course in Shanghai.Fourth, the setting of senior high integrated science courses depends on the appropriate relationship between branch science courses and integrated science courses, relevancy to the examination assessment and a qualified team of teachers.