Some Teaching Thoughts on the Removal of Climate Change from the BC Science 10 Provincial Exam

I've had a few folks ask about the teaching implications of the removal of the prescribed learning outcomes around Climate Change for the provincial exam. Below is what I've been saying to folks. I would be curious to hear any other points of view or thoughts on this issue of removing a current, topical issue based unit from the exam.

********************* Pasted conversation from various emails ****************************************

Hello XXXX,

My sense of the current situation around the changes to the exam are:

Yes, the outcomes not being tested are chapters 10 and 11 in BC Science 10.
While not on the Table of Specifications, the PLO's do remain in the curriculum.

When this unit was conceived during the Pan Canadian Science Project the
intent of the Climate Change unit was to give the students an opportunity to
connect some of the knowledge and skills they acquired during Science 8 - 10
to a present day issue. This unit provides an excellent context for this to
occur. Something the other courses, that cover this concept, do not do it in
the same manner. Or put more succinctly, other subjects do not analyze an
issue through a Science, Technology, Society and the Environment lens.

So, perhaps this is a good time to reaffirm that as professionals we focus
on more than just the exam for Science 10. Yes, the test is part of the
graduation package, but so are the concepts woven into chapters 10 and 11 of
the BC Science program part of our students lives.

I would argue that understanding some of the scientific concepts behind
climate change will be more helpful in the long run to our students than a
provincial exam worth 20% of their final mark.