Page 189 - Microsoft Word - The Future of Learning April 2017.docx

This sample from the ‘Global Science Framework’ recognises the ‘Scientific principles’ and the four established scientific domains that are currently used in most school systems. The ‘Planet Earth and Beyond’ concept frameworks contains more concept frameworks than the other three science domains as it combines the geology of Earth, ecology/conservation and the study of astronomy. Two important notes:
• The sample curriculum design for science that follows, identifies the major concept frameworks that underpin the discipline of science. The definition of a concept framework in this context is ‘a network of interlinked concepts within each of the domains of the science discipline’. The interconnected network of concept frameworks for each discipline creates the essence of each discipline.
• Each concept framework may contain numerous interlinked concepts, and we have limited the number of concept frameworks for each discipline so that they are manageable and provide the learner with a foundation that enables them to successfully apply the Learning Process within the scientific context. The personalised learning approach allows the learner to understand their world and expand that world as they need or desire.
Each of the concept frameworks is mapped across five levels of cognitive development which would normally scale across the first 10 years of school. Each of the concepts that contribute to the concept framework takes anywhere from 10 minutes to a few days to be completed by learners, and each one can be achieved either individually or in teams.
There are two important points, made earlier in the text, that are particularly relevant here:
• Each concept within the concept framework needs to be applied to a range of different contexts for the knowledge to be developed through the ideation stage and then become established as a concept.
• The test for understanding is for the learner to apply the concept to a context they have not experienced before. If the learner(s) understand the concept, they should be able to predict with increasing accuracy the possible outcomes would be if that concept was to be applied to a previously unexperienced context.
An example: A learner may be prompted to want to understand how ecosystems work and how the life and death of each plant and animal in that ecosystem contribute to the longevity of the ecosystem itself. The concepts underpinning this concept framework are outlined below with each of the variables within each concept underlined. Variables are simply ‘things’ that can change for a range of different reasons such as the way temperature changes through the course of a day. There is a range of concept frameworks that underpin ecosystems and these include.
1. Each living thing shares some common life processes.
2. Each ecosystem contains a range of interdependent systems.
3. Every living thing is constantly adapting to changing environments in different ways.
Each of the underlying concepts contributes to the overall stability (or instability) of any ecosystem. Each concept always has two or more variables (underlined above) that have a relationship with each other. As one variable changes, the other changes also (cause and effect). Ecosystems are highly volatile and are always evolving, with new species moving in and out of the ecosystem as other variables change. The ecosystem is a relationship between numerous interconnected concepts that contribute to the creation of unique concept frameworks.
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