Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, Volume 3, Issue 1, Article 10(June, 2002) Teresa T S WONG A Case Study of School-Based Science Curriculum Development: Overview of Project Approach and Process of Implementation Previous Contents Next

The Implementation Phase
During this phase of the project, the school project coordinator takes on a liaison role by working closely with the participating teachers, and constantly readjusting the action plan according to their feedbacks. The Curriculum Development Team and the participating teachers are engaged in the following collaborative process:

1. Curriculum developers observe and videotape the lesson/day of activity.

2. Observations are made regarding classroom arrangement, classroom environment, teacher-student interaction and the utilization of time, facilities and the designed activities.

3. To facilitate teachers' discussion on developing and assessing the student work specific for the project, and to enable them to share their results with other participating schools, teachers are asked to analyze the student work according to a standard template provided by the SAW project. Then, they are invited to share the student work, the completed template along with the accompanying teaching materials on the SAW online database.

4. Workshops with teachers and/or students are conducted upon request by specific schools to address issues related to schools' SBSCD foci. 

The Evaluation Phase
As the whole SBSCD project was carried out within one school term, the outcomes derived from the objectives at the planning phase may not be verified to be sustainable results from the project. However, the following aspects are more readily measurable and the experiences can then be shared by the Curriculum Development Team:

• To find out the teachers' awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of their own teaching after implementing the SBSCD

• To identify factors aiding or hindering the processes of SBSCD

• To discover the causes and effects for the interaction between the curriculum developers and teachers (e.g. reasons for teachers' choice of suggested activities.)

• To explore the schools' cooperative climate relating to SBSCD

• To identify resources and organizational structures conducive to SBSCD

The following means are used to investigate the above aspects for each school:

1. Immediate feedback after implementation: 
   Soon after the teacher carries out the implementing lesson, the curriculum developer conducts a brief meeting with the teacher to provide feedback on the lesson/activity implementation. The videotaped lesson is returned to the teacher, so he or she may refer to them to reflect upon teacher-student interaction, effectiveness of the planned activities, and to find out any areas for improvements. 

2. Questions for interview and questionnaire are formed to identify the following professional growth after participating in the SBSCD:

   • Awareness of strength and weakness of teaching.

   • Increased exposure and understanding of lesson planning strategies and different teaching methods.

   • Deepened understanding of students' ability in learning after providing different learning settings and assessment instruments.

   • An increase in personal interest for participation in SBSCD.

   • Improvement in collaboration and communication with colleagues during the implementation phase

   • A growth of motivation for personal professional development.

   To provide constructive feedback on the SBSCD project:

   • Opinion on the workload and time commitment required for the SBSCD.

   • Discovery of any hindering factors for the SBSCD and justifying them according to two categories: factors that were dealt with successfully during the project, as well as factors that could not be addressed and their reasons.

   • Comment on general effectiveness and overall value (for the school) of SBSCD.

   • Comment on the quality and quantity of support by the Curriculum Development Team.

3. An interview and a separate questionnaire are given to the School Project Coordinator. （The role of the School Project Coordinator is usually taken by the science panel or the subject grade coordinator.） Questions are asked to examine the following issues:

   • Difficulties in communicating with various personnel such as principal, teachers, laboratory technicians (secondary school) and curriculum developers, and initiating communications among them.

   • Any logistic problems during the project.

   • Strategies attempted to address the above problems.

   • Perceived support from the school principal for the SBSCD.

   • Comment on sequencing, frequency and method of communication with respect to all the introduced activities.

   • Any personal gains from this management experience. 

In addition to gaining these specific feedbacks, it is the ultimate goal of this evaluation process to provide a reflection opportunity for leading the schools in their realization of future science curriculum directions through the experiences gathered from this project. Throughout the execution of this three-phase SBSCD process, curriculum developers take into account teachers' existing believes of their own teaching approach and their attitudes towards introducing to new ideas. Teachers' collaboration in the planning, implementation and reflection are strongly encouraged.