In this next article of my series on curriculum redesign in middle years Science, I aim to weave together the foundational ideas established in my previous pieces – defining curriculum intent and using research to inform choices. This article will focus on how these processes utilised the design thinking principles, and helping to shape the core question driving our curriculum redesign.
This article will explore the unique journey of curriculum redesign that began, somewhat unconventionally, with a reflective phase. Unlike the typical starting point of design thinking, which is identifying a specific problem or question, this process commenced with a deep dive into the existing curriculum’s rationale, its alignment with broader educational goals, and its effectiveness in preparing students for future learning stages.
Through this introspective journey, I recognised how personal biases and perceptions could significantly shape curriculum design. This realisation was a crucial theme in my first article, which focused on defining the curriculum’s intent – what we want, need, and should teach. The second article extended this discussion by emphasising the importance of grounding curriculum choices in solid research.
The current phase of the redesign process involved a thorough analysis of our existing teaching content against external exam specifications and national curriculum standards. This assessment uncovered a predominance of content-focused teaching, overshadowing the core aspects of science as a discipline rooted in inquiry, research, and procedural understanding. This insight led to formulating the central problem statement/question for our curriculum redesign;
“How can we prepare learners for tomorrow’s world, ensuring that science education not only meets the immediate requirements of their next educational stage but also equips them for a future filled with uncertainties?”
With the problem statement/question set, the task at hand can be delved into, ideating middle years Science curricula. The question itself is carefully crafted. Schools always have a pathway, a plan, for students to follow; in other words, the next step for students is marked and clear. We had a decision to make; do we prepare our students for ‘our’ next steps, or do we prepare them for any? And what does tomorrows world look like? Ultimately, as an international school with a transient population, it is not only ethical but right to prepare learners for ‘any’ next stage, even if that makes the task at hand harder, and embedding our ideas into what tomorrow’s world will look like is ambiguous yet exciting. Another opportunity for research and reflection present itself as a precursor to the next stage of the process.
This comprehensive approach ties together the concepts of curriculum intent and research-based decision-making, illustrating how they have informed and shaped the crucial question at the heart of our curriculum redesign. In the next article I will continue to build on the process, as it progresses and sharing the next stage of the curriculum redesign process; ideation.
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