Identification of Guideline-Based Components for Innovative Science Curricula

In both Korea and the U.S., science education leaders and specialists insist that there is a shortage of curricula to address the new national science education guidelines in support of reform. This paper addresses development of new curricula for science education reform in the hopes of facilitating further development of guideline-based curricula. We examine Korean and U.S. thematic-based (Korean Science Field Trip at Cultural Sites Program and U.S. Graduate Teaching Fellows in K-12 Education) and project-centered (Korean Teachers for Exciting Science and U.S. Foundational Approaches in Science Teaching Program) programs. Using the criteria of rationale for curriculum, content and scope, processes of implementation, and assessment strategies, we identify the curricular components that are common across four successful secondary science programs and determine which of these components address the national guidelines. Our findings indicate that common components of these four programs meet the expectations of the science guidelines being used to revamp science education in both countries. Therefore, these programs not only engage secondary students and teachers in practicing successful science education, but also lead to successful science education practices that can be incorporated in the future development of curriculum to support secondary science reform.