2014

Comparative Study of Grade 8 Science and Mathematics Curriculum

Sulthan Ramiz PGIS/SE/M.Sc/SED/BE/14/02Postgraduate Institute of Science University of Peradeniya

Comparative Study of G rade 8 Science and Mathematics Curriculum of Sri Lanka

The teachers’ instruction manual by the National institute of Education consist of the various

curriculum which is a guidance that provides the teachers with excellent assistance on the teaching

approaches and how to organise the classroom activities to make it student-centred. This paper aims

in making a comparative study of the grade 8 science and mathematics curriculum.

When looking into both the curriculum there are similarities as well as differences. Both the science

and mathematics curriculums consist of three major components. They are the detailed syllabus, the

learning-teaching methodology and assessment and evaluation component.

The aim of learning mathematics which are based on five criteria that includes, the knowledge and

skills, communication, relationships, reasoning and problem solving is clearly given in the

mathematics curriculum. However in the science curriculum the aims are not given but course

objectives for grade 6 to 11 science is given which consists of 8 objectives. It is important that when

curriculums are designed to have both aims as long term goal and objectives as short term.

One another good aspect of the mathematics curriculum is that it has given details about the topics

which have to be taught in the respective term. In other words it indicates the teaching sequences of

the various topics with the minimum number of periods required to complete the competency levels.

Such a sequence helps teachers in selecting the topics based on their complexity as the topics are

sequenced from simple to complex. On the other hand in the science curriculum no such sequence is

given and instead of the number of periods, the time required for each competency is given. In the

science syllabus each competencies require a minimum of 120 minutes to complete the task.

The science and mathematics curriculum are based on a new approach that is competency based,

activity oriented and also student-centred. In both the curriculum the various competencies and

competency levels with detailed activities that provide opportunities to extend learning-teaching

process beyond the classroom environment is clearly given.

There are 8 competencies mentioned in the science syllabus and 31 in the mathematics syllabus. Each

competency has different levels consisting of number of lessons varying from a minimum of one to a

maximum of eight. In the science syllabus most number of lessons are designed for competency level

number 2 which states that, inquires the compatibility of properties of substances in relation to day to

day requirements. There is a total of 8 competency levels (lessons) designed for this competency

number 2. In the case of mathematics most lessons are designed for competency 3 and 20 with a

maximum of three competency level lessons in each.

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Another important common feature in both the manuals is that the syllabi are based on particular

themes. The science syllabus is based on five themes. They are observing the environment, organisms

and life processes, matter, their properties and interactions, Earth and space, Energy, and force and

work. Whereas the mathematics syllabus is based on six which includes numbers, measurements,

algebra, geometry, statistics, and sets and probability. In the mathematics manual it was clearly given

how the content maps each of the themes so very easily any once can relate the topics to the theme.

However in the science syllabus the topics were not mapped with the themes so it is sometimes

difficult to say to which theme the topic relate to.

When looking into the learning and teaching methodology both the curriculums suggest the teacher to

take the role of a transformer of knowledge rather than as a transmitter of knowledge. In both

curriculums the main methodology used to achieve the competency levels are planned based on the 5-

E models which are engagement, exploration, explanation, elaboration and evaluation. Therefore the

lessons designed are very much student-centred where the voice of the students is heard in the

classroom instead of the dominance teacher’s voice. This model not only makes the students to learn

the concepts but also help the students to acquire skills and certain traits like self-discipline, listening

to others, working cooperatively with others, helping each other, management of time, creativity,

honesty etc. For example during the exploration stage of the model the students use cooperative

learning strategies that may developed such skills and traits through the hidden curriculum.

The activity columns of both the curriculums are well planned with detailed explanation of how to

implement the activities in order to achieve the competency levels. Each segment of the activities is

well planned with time duration required to conduct the activities and also with the criteria for

assessment and evaluation of the competency levels.

The curriculums also suggest some school policies and programmes that would help a better

implementation of the syllabi. Once common thing highlighted in this section was that the current

time allocated for the periods may not be enough to implement all of the activities suggested in the

curriculum. Therefore the curriculums recommend the school management to take into consideration

this and give two adjacent periods for the better implementation of the activities. One of the important

things noticed in the science curriculum is that the curriculum suggests that the practical sessions and

theory sessions should not be separated but instead must happen simultaneously through hand on

practical experiences by way of the proposed activities. Both the science and mathematics curriculum

suggest co-curricular programmes that can be carried out in the school that my develop students

scientific and mathematical skills and knowledge and these articles that the student make must be

displayed as an exhibition to recognises students work and to motivate them.

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The final component of the curriculum is the assessment and evaluation component. In both the

curriculum it is highlighted that the assessment should never be postponed to the last, instead students

must be continuously assessed especially when the students are engaged in the explanation and

elaboration stages of the designed activities. This provides the students with enough feedback which

will feed-forward the students when the students face learning difficulties. In both the science and

mathematics curriculum five criteria have been suggested in order to facilitate assessment and

evaluation. Of these three criteria are related the subject content relevant to each competency levels.

The remaining two criteria are based on the learning-teaching process. Both the curriculums

emphasise for teachers to identify these five behavioural changes and must confirm the development

of these five behaviours and should be communicated to the students and parents.

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