Before the introduction of secondary education for all in 1970, science was taught as a compulsory subject in Forms 1 and 2 of highly-selective grammar schools in which the total annual intake of students was not more than 1,000.
The majority of students did not further their scientific knowledge beyond Form 2 since most students opted for language-related subjects. Physics, Chemistry and Biology were optional subjects mostly presented as an exercise in mathematical skills and devoid of experimental work and investigations.
The introduction of secondary education for all, coupled with the Nuffield Science Programme, pioneered the changes that moulded science learning into the interactive and investigative forms we experience today. The Nuffield Science Programme was mostly responsible for the supply of laboratory resources that ranged from chemicals and glassware to models of simple electric motors and generators and even ventured into more sophisticated equipment such as oscilloscopes, cathode ray tubes and cloud chambers, which were still unheard of 40 years ago.
Secondary education for all could be held partly responsible for the new and abrupt challenges that the teaching profession experienced during the first half of the 1970s. Since the learning abilities of students were now much more widely spread, teachers had to stretch their teaching capabilities to cater for high academic achievers as well as for students with a negative attitude towards learning.
Conscious of the urgency to find a solution to this problem, most science teachers took the initiative to embark on a number of innovative strategies based on student-centred learning as opposed to the former teacher-centred approach.
Science and Lyceum exam
The introduction of a selective examination for primary school children after completing Year 6 appeared a step in the right direction. This selective examination was mainly based on memory work that teachers passed on to students in the form of hand-outs.
It was soon found that 11-year-old students were condemned to memorising long extracts that deprived them of precious time they could use for play and socialising. Consisting of papers in Maltese, English, Mathematics, Religion and Social Studies, this selective examination was so demanding on the part of the teacher and so time-consuming with regard to syllabus coverage that the teacher was constrained to ignore completely the teaching of science.
During six years of primary education, students were deprived of a basic exposure to investigation that is vital as a foundation for science learning in a secondary school.
Science in the first two years
With regard to the teaching of science at secondary level, students are initially exposed to a two-year foundation course of science learning, most of which is within the classroom walls. Notwithstanding the fact that a government-MUT agreement stipulates that a teacher should not take groups of more than 16 students into a science laboratory, some teachers are currently ignoring the rule since they strongly believe active student participation is a must in every science curriculum.
Other teachers who are more conscious of safety precautions in the laboratory are making use of interactive animated software, making the lesson more virtual than practical.
While such good practices in the classroom are to be undoubtedly recommended, it must be emphasised that virtual experiments can never be a substitute for the real practical activities where students can engage themselves in a real science situation.
Science beyond Form 2
Instead of extending science learning into better skill-based practices and inquiry-based learning, the present curriculum compels state school students to follow a three-year physics course.
While some teachers are doing their utmost to mould a content-based syllabus into a variety of commendable laboratory practices, other teachers are still using a teacher-centred approach transmitting facts, principles and formulae, most of which students find meaningless and uninteresting.
Whether the physics lesson is theoretical or practical, the maximum number of students in a class is restricted to 16. This is supposed to ensure that students get individual attention and differentiated learning. In most cases, since the introduction of a 16-student class, teachers are making more and better use of resources, both in the laboratory where practical activities are held as well as in the classroom where the use of the laptop is increasingly becoming common practice.
A combination of investigative laboratory work and related computer software was something I have recently observed and noted with pride. The interest, the enthusiasm, the concentration and the fascination the students showed throughout turned the lesson into an activity of amusement and excitement.
Besides learning physics as a compulsory subject, Form 3 to Form 5 students can opt for chemistry or biology, or both. Those students who take at least one other science subject are in most cases science-oriented and aspire to follow a science-related career.
Both in chemistry and biology, there has lately been a shift towards more investigative laboratory practices and examinations in these subjects are focusing more on problem-solving skill-based questions rather than on recall.
Science for next generation
It is estimated that by 2020, the amount of knowledge currently available in the field of science will have increased threefold and knowledge will double within a two-year interval from then on. This means the knowledge teachers are currently passing on to their students may be insignificant, if not irrelevant, in 10 years’ time, when these students reach adulthood.
In view of this, the transmission of knowledge, particularly in the field of science, should not remain the primary aim of education. A shift from a knowledge-oriented system of teaching to an inquiry-based system is necessarily becoming the next step forward for achievement.
An innovative learning culture oriented towards creativity and enthusiasm must be centred around the talents of the individual students. Success cannot be measured solely through the acquisition of knowledge but also through the acquisition of personal and intrapersonal skills that are necessary for lifelong learning.
Apart from being skill-based rather than content-based, innovation in science learning requires a holistic approach towards the three main branches of science. Exposure to the concepts of physics only and inquiry-based investigations that are solely physics-related deprive students from some of the fundamental perceptions of our living environment and the world of materials, two issues whose importance nowadays cannot be overemphasised.
A curriculum that puts stress upon science as an answer to global needs and personal requests and is based upon hands-on investigations that excite, inspire and fascinate students is one ideal solution to science learning.
In a questionnaire I conducted recently, sixth formers who study at least one science subject at ‘A’ or intermediate level were asked to identify which topics of science they would be interested in if they were asked to follow again an ‘O’ level science course. Energy conversion was given priority by 92 per cent of students, use of solar energy by 85 per cent and recycling of waste by 77 per cent.
Should an innovative science curriculum incorporate the requests of students? Should it provide students with the answers they are trying to find? Should it be directed towards the students rather than towards memorising facts, laws and formulae?
Have your say
If you wish to contribute an article or would like a particular subject to be tackled in the Education section, call Davinia Hamilton on 2559 4513 or e-mail dhamilton@timesofmalta.com.