Research in science, content knowledge structure, and secondary school curricula

Three high school science curricula were developed during the 20th century. The first, "content-oriented,'' reflected the body of knowledge in science resulting from the scientific research. The second, named "inquiry-oriented,'' dominated from similar to 1960 to similar to 1980. It included content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge and advocated an inquiry mode of instruction and learning. The third, "problem-oriented," curriculum will lead us to the next millennium. It includes content knowledge integrated with the Science-Technology-Society approach, trying to reflect science, technology, societal issues, and students' needs. In this paper, an attempt will be made to connect the research in science, changes in the body of content knowledge, changes in the structure of high school science curricula, and modes of instruction. These changes allow teachers to test students for knowledge and for a variety of cognitive and affective skills, using performance assessment leading to alternative ways of evaluating and grading students.