MULTI-STEP SYNTHESIS: A LITERATURE REVIEW FOR STANDARDS- AND RESEARCH-BASED CURRICULUM DESIGN IN ADVANCED/HONORS HIGH SCHOOL CHEMISTRY COURSES
Open Access
Author:
Koscelansky, Connor
Area of Honors:
Secondary Education
Degree:
Bachelor of Science
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Dr. Scott P McDonald, Thesis Supervisor Dr. Scott P McDonald, Thesis Honors Advisor Ravinder Koul, Faculty Reader
Keywords:
chemistry education chemical education curriculum curriculum and instruction curriculum design secondary education science science education lesson plan unit plan teaching advanced placement next generation science standards ngss pedagogy literature review
Abstract:
In the interest of designing a hypothetical advanced or honors-level high school chemistry course, I have conducted a literature review of relevant chemical and science education research and the most recent national-level performance and accountability standards for chemistry education in the United States—the Next Generation Science Standards and the Advanced Placement (AP) Chemistry program. The purpose of this is to communicate to educators where the overlap between effective pedagogical practices for chemistry and professional standards-based expectations lies, how to reconcile these domains into a cohesive instructional approach, and in the process inform curriculum design for an academically rigorous and engaging advanced/honors chemistry course at the secondary level. The literature review concludes with a set of design principles towards this purpose and appendices showing an example Unit Plan implementing those principles across roughly eight to ten days of block instruction.
