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APPLICATION NO : R168A20006 APPLICANT : Florida Department of Education 325 West Gaines Street, Suite 522 Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0400 CONTACT PERSON : Martha M. Green TELEPHONE : (904) 487-8823 AWARD TO DATE : $966,000 PROJECT PERIOD : 10/01/92-09/30/95
Florida will develop a framework specific to its needs, yet in congruence with the national initiatives in science education and current state-wide educational reform. This framework will be developed around a set of organizing principles that emphasize the connections among the traditional science areas; the interactions among science, technology and society; and processes and values of science. There will be recommendations for developmental benchmarks to guide state and local assessment strategies. A committee of practicing science educators will be convened to develop the framework. They will be guided by an advisory committee which is a subset of the committee that presently advises Florida's National Science Foundation Statewide Systemic Initiative. Certain components of this three-year project will be carried out in cooperation with the services of the National Science Teachers Association.
The second phase of the project will take the elements of the newly developed framework and incorporate them into a software tool for local curriculum designers. This tool will facilitate the design of science programs for school and district needs and community requirements, yet will ensure that students meet the world-class standards needed to enable them to compete in the global economy.
Representatives from the teacher education institutions (both public and private) will develop recommendations for changes in teacher education programs and will examine present state certification procedures for possible alterations. Additionally, an in-service component for K-12 science teachers will be developed at the Miami Museum of Science in cooperation with Florida Atlanta University. This component will build on traditional in-service as well as on the use of non-traditional settings such as museums and amusement parks as vehicles for science instruction based on the principles of the new science framework.
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