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Changes to Science 10 Exam

Hi all,

For those of you that haven't been on the Min of Ed site for a while, came across this posting today:

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Science 10:

Effective September 2011, the prescribed learning outcomes which cover the Energy Transfer in Natural Systems sub-organizer, will no longer be examined on the Science 10 provincial examination.

The Science 10 table of specifications, along with the two sample and the two released exams will be posted on the website, to reflect this change.

Retrieved June 2, 2011 from http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/exams/specs/welcome.htm

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We've really missed the theme and concept of energy when it comes to our Junior Science curriculum. This is a major gap that may come back to haunt us in the Senior Sciences ... only province in Canada not to have it. And somewhat ironic as we move forward on a political agenda that has energy as a key economic driver, but we don't teach it grades 8 to 10 in any meaningful way!

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Aliisa Sarte on June 7, 2011 at 6:10pm

Wow! Kind of strange. Do you know why they would take that part off of the exam? I'm hoping we all keep teaching it as usual, as it is a very important piece of science literacy and one of the few parts of the curriculum that connects to current events and future policy. Was there discussion around this? I'm curious about the reasons behind this decision.

Permalink Reply by Anne Stewart on June 9, 2011 at 4:52pm

I posted a comment on this topic to the general science group but perhaps it should have gone here. It seems more than ironic. How do science ten teachers feel about this. Is it an irreversible change? What is the process to change it back, if there is one?

Anne Stewart

Permalink Reply by Lionel on June 9, 2011 at 9:44pm

For everyone following this thread,

Anne's post is here:

Crosspost from other Discussion by Anne Stewart

I've asked a few of my Ministry contacts for some context around this change. I think the questions Aliisa and Anne ask are good ones. Hopefully the response I can post here this weekend will provide a bit more background.

Permalink Reply by Lionel on June 13, 2011 at 1:12pm

Hi all,

Rather than put a lengthy update here, I've summarized the response from the Ministry on my bscienceinteractions.com blog that can be found at:

http://www.bcscienceinteractions.com/profiles/blogs/update-on-chang...

If you're curious about other thoughts and ramblings I have on Science Ed and Education in general, check out my other blog at:

http://gravitationalideas.blogspot.com/

If there's any other questions, let me know and I'll see what I can find.

Permalink Reply by Eric Rustand on June 26, 2011 at 1:05pm

It is about time the Ministry realized that grade 10 science is too jam packed with content to make it a good course. The need to get through the material limits the amount of labs, demos, and projects that an effective science class enjoys.

The choice of what to take off the exam is interesting though. If I was removing content from the course I would take out the motion unit. That unit belongs to physics 11 and should not have been thrown into a general science class. There are many more physics topics that would be more engaging for general science students. Kinematics should be left for those with an aptitude and desire for physics.

Thanks for the info on the changes.

Permalink Reply by Simone Stella on June 30, 2011 at 2:11pm

I agree with you on that one Eric. The course is so jam packed with content as it is. By the time we get to the physics unit, the kids are mentally drained and their desire to try to learn it is greatly diminished. I think the ministry dropped the ball on this decision.

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