Comparison Study on Goals and Content of Physics Curriculum for High School in Indonesia with Physics Curriculum in Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills
Topic
Indonesia has been being struggling for a long time to elevate the quality at all level of education but the best result seems still far away to be reached. OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) which was followed by 66 countries in 2006 released their report in 2007 showed that Indonesian student ranked 50 out of 57 ranks in science (PISA, 2007). This past 4 years, Indonesia has been focusing the attention to increase the quality of primary and secondary education by implementing a program named pioneering international standard school program. One of indicators of this program is to create and implement international standard curriculum in several pilot project high and secondary schools in each province in Indonesia. One hope tails this paper is to find something to contribute to the effort of concocting a high quality curriculum for high schools in Indonesia especially in physics.
This paper aims to study and compare the goals and the contents of the high school physics curriculum that is being applied in Indonesia and the one that is being applied in public schools Texas. The physics curriculum that is being applied in almost every high school in Indonesia is issued by The National Board of Educational Standard of Indonesia (BNSP-Badan Nasional Standar Pendidikan) and physics curriculums that are being applied in public schools in Texas are Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), Physics International Baccalaureate (Physics IB), and Physics Advanced Placement (Physics AP). There are three questions that backboned this paper. These questions are (1) how the goals of physics education are articulated in these curriculums? (2) How the contents are arranged to meet the goals? (3) What are the differences between these two curriculums in the way the goals are articulated and contents are arranged?
Literature review
Educational objectives serve the very basic principle in an education program. These objectives guide and shape the pathway of educators, government and all stake holders in education to provide a high quality of educational program to the students. “These educational objectives become the criteria by which materials are selected, content is outlined, instructional procedures are developed, and tests and examinations are prepared (Tyler, 1949, p. 3)”.
Furthermore, Tyler (1949) explained that there are three sources from which we can derive educational objectives. First source is studying the needs of the students. The needs of the students here refer to behaviors of the students that need to be changed; these behaviors include thinking, feeling and action, which are expected to profile the outcomes of an educational program. In science education, the needs of the students would be like to acquire scientific knowledge and skills and to apply the knowledge in their daily life now and in the future. Science knowledge is often discussed using terms such as facts, concepts, laws and theories. Scientific skills refer to the ability of the students to formulate problems, make hypothesis, perform experiment or lab-work, collecting and analyzing data, and deriving conclusions.
The second source of deriving educational goals is the study of present-day life. The study of present-day life to determine the goals of education is important because life is continually changing. What we counted as something valuable to learn years ago might not be important anymore in the present days and at the same time since life continually changing, new problems emerge and need to be solved. AIDS epidemic, issues surrounding genetics and environment, the rapid advance of Information and Communication technologies are good examples of contemporary issues that need to be count when we determine the goals of science education. Study the contemporary life as a source of educational goals will provide links between classes and real world. Specifically in science education seeing and practicing the application of knowledge that being studied by students in class will make the students to be able to make sense of the knowledge. Technology applications as products of science are examples of real applications that student can experience both in class and in the real world.
The third source is subject specialists. Tyler explained that this is the most common source used in educational institutions. Textbooks for schools and colleges are usually written by subject specialists. Therefore, their opinion about where the schools should be directed related to the teaching of a particular subject that they specialized in is influenced by their opinion that they have written in the textbooks. In detail, how the content are outlined, what to count as important or less important topics, essential or less essential topics, which topics should be taught first and which ones should be the next, which topics should be taught in which grade, and what skills or technical competences should be trained to the students are more or less depend on the experts opinion which can be seen in their textbook.
Bybee and DeBoer (1994) explained that in science curriculum there are three main goals that most prevalent over time. These goals are (1) personal and social development, (2) knowledge of scientific fact and principles, and (3) scientific methods and skills and the applications. Personal and social development refers to goals that focus on the well-being and the improvement of society. “Personal development includes such thing as intellectual growth, personal satisfaction, career awareness, and building moral character. Social development includes the maintenance of public health, a productive economy, a stable and orderly society, a physically safe environment, and a safe and secure nation (Bybee & Deboer, 1994, p. 358)”.
The second goal, knowledge of scientific fact and principles, has been a main goal of science education. Roberts (1982) as quoted in Peter Fensham (2004) stated that science curriculum had given clear priority to the goals such as “(1) solid foundation that is knowledge that prepared for scientific topics that came in the succeeding years of schooling and (2) Correct explanation as a representation at the school level of a topic of its current description in science” (p.23). Examples of these kinds of goals are to understand nature and the law of the nature and to make science more advance than the science that we have today. For high school students, the idea of preparing solid foundation has been translated to preparing students to be ready for continuing their education to college level.
Scientific methods and skills aim to train and equip students with the scientific approach in solving problems. Several textbooks defining these skills as steps in solving scientific problems like defining a problem, forming hypotheses, making observations, performing an experiment and drawing conclusions, but we know that science methods and skills are more than that. In a subject like physics we can find more about these skills from the simple ones like the ability to use scientific measurement tools, drawing and reading graph to the more advance skills like planning field observations and designing technological tools that employ certain physics concept. This paper will identify the presence of the three main goals mentioned above in the physics curriculums for high school in Indonesia and in the (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills) TEKS, physics AP and Physics IB.
Method and Data
This paper employed literature study method. The goals and the content of each curriculum were identified and presented in table and diagram.
The major sources of data for this paper are
(1) Physics curriculum for high school grade 10, 11, and 12 in Indonesia, and
(2) TEKS especially sections that related to physics course
a. §112.38 : Integrated Physics and chemistry, recommended for grade 9 and 10
b. §112.39 : Physics, recommended for grade 9, 10, 11, and 12
c. §112.42 : Integrated Physics and chemistry
d. §112.47 : Physics
e. §112.64 : refers to Advanced Placement (AP) Physics B
f. §112.65 : refers to Advanced Placement (AP) Physics C
g. §112.69 : refers to International Baccalaureate Physics (IB) Physics
Data
1. Tabel.1. and graph. 1.
Distribution of basic goals in physics curriculum for high school in Indonesia
A, B and C represent the types of basic goals
A. Personal and social development
B. Knowledge of scientific fact and principles
C. Scientific methods and skills and the applications
2. Tabel.2. and Graph. 2.
Distribution of basic goals in physics curriculum for high school in TEKS
3. Tabel.3. and Graph. 3.
Distribution of basic goals in AP Physics B and IB Physics HL
4. Tabel.4. and Graph. 4.
Distribution of basic goals in physics curriculum for high school in TEKS, physics curriculum for high school in Indonesia, AP Physics B, and IB Physics HL
A, B and C represent the types of basic goals
A. Personal and social development
B. Knowledge of scientific fact and principles
C. Scientific methods and skills and the applications
5. Comparison of Content Outline between Physics Curriculum for High Schools in Indonesia and TEKS
Content Outline TEKS, AP Physics and IB Physics Physics Curriculum for High Schools in Indonesia
Grade (smstr)
Measurement
SI System
Vector
§112.39, §112.47, AP, IB
§112.39, AP, IB
X(1)
X(1)
Mechanics
Newton's laws of motion, Kinematics,
Dynamics
Gravity
Statics,
Fluid,
Harmonic Oscillator
Work, Energy, Power
Acoustics,
Wave
§112.38, §112.39, §112.42, §112.47, AP, IB
§112.38, §112.39, §112.42, §112.47, AP,IB
§112.38, §112.39, §112.42, §112.47,AP, IB
§112.39, §112.47, AP, IB
§112.39, §112.47, AP, IB
§112.39, §112.47 AP, IB
§112.39, §112.47AP, IB
§112.38, §112.39, §112.42, §112.47, AP, IB
§112.39, AP, IB
§112.39, §112.42, §112.47, AP, IB
X(1)
X(1),
XI(1)
XI(1)
X(1)
XI(2)
X(1)
XI(1)
XII(1)
XII(1)
Electromagnetism
Magnetism
Maxwell's equations, Electrostatics, Electrodynamics,
Electricity AC /DC,
Optics
§112.47, AP, IB
§112.47, AP, IB
§112.47, AP, IB
§112.47, AP, IB
§112.47, AP, IB
§112.47, AP, IB
XII(1)
XII(1)
XII(1)
XII(1)
X(2)
X (2)
Theory of relativity
General principle of relativity,
Inertial frame of reference, Lorentz transformation, Length contraction,
Time dilation
Principle of Relativity,
Proper length, Proper time,
Einstein Equation
Rest energy, Rest mass, Special principle of relativity,
Twin paradox,
§112.47, AP, IB
AP, IB
AP, IB
AP, IB
AP, IB
AP, IB
AP, IB
AP, IB
AP, IB
AP, IB
AP, IB
AP, IB
AP, IB
XII(2)
XII(2)
XII(2)
XII(2)
XII(2)
XII(2)
XII(2)
XII(2)
XII(2)
XII(2)
XII(2)
XII(2)
XII(2)
Finding and Discussion
Personal and Social Development Goals
Personal and social development goals are not found to be articulate as skills or knowledge related to particular topics in physics in curriculum for high school in Indonesia. In physics curriculum for high school in Indonesia, personal and social development goals stated as general goals of teaching physics but this kind of goals were not found to be connected to particular topics in physics. There are two general goals of physics curriculum for high school in Indonesia that related to personal and social development goals. These goals are to establish a positive attitude toward physics by realizing regularity and beauty of nature and to glorify the greatness of God Almighty and to inculcate scientific attitude of honest, objective, open minded, resilient, critical, and may cooperate with other people (Curricullum for high school in Indonesia, 2008). Another problem is it will be difficult to know when these goals are achieved by students. There is no such instrument to measure such honest, objective and open minded and things like that. The last one is even we can identify the presence of these attitude in students it will still difficult to tell whether this attitude resulted from teaching physics or not, since the teaching of these values can be found in any other aspect of life.
In TEKS, personal and social development goals are more realistic and measurable then the ones that found as general goals in physics curriculum for high school in Indonesia. Personal and social development goals that can be found in TEKS such as to demonstrate safe practices during laboratory and field investigation, to demonstrate an understanding of the use and conservation of resources and the proper disposal of recycling material, to describe connection between physics and chemistry, and future career (TEKS, p.33). These goals are realistic and measurable. It will not difficult for teachers to make instrument in order to assess the achievement of these goals among the students.
Personal and social development goals are also not found in curriculum AP Physics and IB Physics. These two curriculums are mostly focus on knowledge and application of physics. One reason that might be answer the absence of such goals in AP Physics and IB Physics is because AP Physics and IB Physics are additional curriculum that employ by school for specific goals such us to prepare students to be ready to continue their education for college. Mostly, schools that employ AP and IB Physics have their own curriculum that will characterize personal and social profile of their outcomes.
Knowledge of Scientific Fact and Principles
Knowledge of scientific fact and principles are the most dominant goals in these curriculums. AP Physics and IB Physics High Level (HL) articulate more of these goals in their curriculums than in two other curriculums. AP Physics and IB Physics cover almost all physics topics and more thorough in explaining physics topics compare to the other curriculums. In TEKS basics concept of physics such as TEKS are covered but more advance topics are accessed through AP Physics and IB Physics. Table 5 shows that physics curriculum for high school in Indonesia cover all topics needed to prepare student to be ready for continuing their education to college level even without using AP Physics or IB Physics curriculum. In Indonesia there are limited numbers of schools, especially private schools and international schools which are already using AP Physics and IB Physics curriculum in addition to national curriculum.
Scientific Methods and Skills, and the Applications
It is interesting that TEKS has more goals related to scientific methods and skills, and the application compare to other curriculum. We can see that TEKS lays the foundation of Scientifics skills and methods, and basic concepts of physics before introducing the students to the more advance topics from AP Physics and or IB Physics curriculum. TEKS section 112.65 and section 112.69 stated that prerequisites courses recommended for AP physics are Physics, Algebra I, Algebra II, Geometry, and Calculus, and TEKS section and prerequisites courses recommended for IB Physics is two years of high school laboratory science. By doing this student will more confidence to study the more advance topics after having good understanding in basic concepts.
The Content of the Curriculum
TEKS which integrated with AP Physics (TEKS §112.64 and §112.65) and IB Physics (TEKS §112.69) covers the same topics throughout high school years with the physics curriculum for high school in Indonesia does. However, TEKS in integrated with AP and IB Physics provide more chance to students to learn basic concepts of physics such as measurement, vector, kinematics, dynamics, and work and energy. These basic concepts repeated continually in different courses in TEKS. For example measurement and vector are covered by TEKS §112.39, §112.47, AP and IB, Newton laws of motion are covered by TEKS §112.38, §112.39, §112.42, §112.47, AP, and IB. Meanwhile, Physics curriculum for high school in Indonesia is designed as a one way direction. All physics topics are covered by the curriculum but they are taught only once in a particular grade and semester.
Conclusions
1. Knowledge of scientific fact and principles are the most dominant goals of teaching physics for high school as can be found in TEKS, Physics curriculum for high school in Indonesia, Physics AP and Physics IB.
2. Personal and social development goals are stated as general goals in physics curriculum for high school in Indonesia but such goals are not found articulated in specific topics or specific grade.
3. Personal and social development goals that are articulated in TEKS are mostly related to energy conservation, environment issue, and career awareness.
4. TEKS articulated more goals related to scientific methods and skills, and the application compare to other curriculums.
5. TEKS which integrated with AP Physics and IB Physics curriculum covers the same topics throughout high school years with the one that covered by physics curriculum for high school in Indonesia, but TEKS provides more chance to students to learn basic concepts of physics.
References
(n.d.). Retrieved april 5, 2010, from http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/rules/tac/chapter112/index.html.
(n.d.). Retrieved may 12, 2010, from http://schools.roundrockisd.org/westwood/
Alsop, S., & Hicks, K. (2001). The Goals of Science Education. In S. Alsop, & K. Hicks, Teaching Science, a hanbook for primary & secondary school teachers (pp. 25-34). London & Sterling: Bell & Bain Ltd, Glasgow.
Bybee, R. W., & Deboer, G. E. (1994). Research on Goals for the Science Curriculum. In P. Blosser (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Teaching and Learning (pp. 357-387). New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
Curricullum for high school in Indonesia. (2008). Jakarta: BSNP Jakarta.
Fensham, P. (2004). School Science and Its Problems with Scientific Literachy. In E. Scanlon, P. Murphy, J. Thomas, & E. Whitelegg (Eds.), Reconsidering Science Learning (pp. 21-36). London and New York: RoutledgeFalmer.
PISA. (2007). PISA 2006, Science Competencies for Tomorrow's World. Paris: OECD.
Shami, P. A. (2008). Reforming Science Curriculum and Teaching. Islamabad-Pakistan: Academy of Educational PLanning and Management Ministry of Education Pakistan.
Tyler, R. W. (1949). Basic Principle of Curriculum and Instruction. Chicago and London: the University of Chicago Press.
Indonesia has been being struggling for a long time to elevate the quality at all level of education but the best result seems still far away to be reached. OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) which was followed by 66 countries in 2006 released their report in 2007 showed that Indonesian student ranked 50 out of 57 ranks in science (PISA, 2007). This past 4 years, Indonesia has been focusing the attention to increase the quality of primary and secondary education by implementing a program named pioneering international standard school program. One of indicators of this program is to create and implement international standard curriculum in several pilot project high and secondary schools in each province in Indonesia. One hope tails this paper is to find something to contribute to the effort of concocting a high quality curriculum for high schools in Indonesia especially in physics.
This paper aims to study and compare the goals and the contents of the high school physics curriculum that is being applied in Indonesia and the one that is being applied in public schools Texas. The physics curriculum that is being applied in almost every high school in Indonesia is issued by The National Board of Educational Standard of Indonesia (BNSP-Badan Nasional Standar Pendidikan) and physics curriculums that are being applied in public schools in Texas are Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), Physics International Baccalaureate (Physics IB), and Physics Advanced Placement (Physics AP). There are three questions that backboned this paper. These questions are (1) how the goals of physics education are articulated in these curriculums? (2) How the contents are arranged to meet the goals? (3) What are the differences between these two curriculums in the way the goals are articulated and contents are arranged?
Literature review
Educational objectives serve the very basic principle in an education program. These objectives guide and shape the pathway of educators, government and all stake holders in education to provide a high quality of educational program to the students. “These educational objectives become the criteria by which materials are selected, content is outlined, instructional procedures are developed, and tests and examinations are prepared (Tyler, 1949, p. 3)”.
Furthermore, Tyler (1949) explained that there are three sources from which we can derive educational objectives. First source is studying the needs of the students. The needs of the students here refer to behaviors of the students that need to be changed; these behaviors include thinking, feeling and action, which are expected to profile the outcomes of an educational program. In science education, the needs of the students would be like to acquire scientific knowledge and skills and to apply the knowledge in their daily life now and in the future. Science knowledge is often discussed using terms such as facts, concepts, laws and theories. Scientific skills refer to the ability of the students to formulate problems, make hypothesis, perform experiment or lab-work, collecting and analyzing data, and deriving conclusions.
The second source of deriving educational goals is the study of present-day life. The study of present-day life to determine the goals of education is important because life is continually changing. What we counted as something valuable to learn years ago might not be important anymore in the present days and at the same time since life continually changing, new problems emerge and need to be solved. AIDS epidemic, issues surrounding genetics and environment, the rapid advance of Information and Communication technologies are good examples of contemporary issues that need to be count when we determine the goals of science education. Study the contemporary life as a source of educational goals will provide links between classes and real world. Specifically in science education seeing and practicing the application of knowledge that being studied by students in class will make the students to be able to make sense of the knowledge. Technology applications as products of science are examples of real applications that student can experience both in class and in the real world.
The third source is subject specialists. Tyler explained that this is the most common source used in educational institutions. Textbooks for schools and colleges are usually written by subject specialists. Therefore, their opinion about where the schools should be directed related to the teaching of a particular subject that they specialized in is influenced by their opinion that they have written in the textbooks. In detail, how the content are outlined, what to count as important or less important topics, essential or less essential topics, which topics should be taught first and which ones should be the next, which topics should be taught in which grade, and what skills or technical competences should be trained to the students are more or less depend on the experts opinion which can be seen in their textbook.
Bybee and DeBoer (1994) explained that in science curriculum there are three main goals that most prevalent over time. These goals are (1) personal and social development, (2) knowledge of scientific fact and principles, and (3) scientific methods and skills and the applications. Personal and social development refers to goals that focus on the well-being and the improvement of society. “Personal development includes such thing as intellectual growth, personal satisfaction, career awareness, and building moral character. Social development includes the maintenance of public health, a productive economy, a stable and orderly society, a physically safe environment, and a safe and secure nation (Bybee & Deboer, 1994, p. 358)”.
The second goal, knowledge of scientific fact and principles, has been a main goal of science education. Roberts (1982) as quoted in Peter Fensham (2004) stated that science curriculum had given clear priority to the goals such as “(1) solid foundation that is knowledge that prepared for scientific topics that came in the succeeding years of schooling and (2) Correct explanation as a representation at the school level of a topic of its current description in science” (p.23). Examples of these kinds of goals are to understand nature and the law of the nature and to make science more advance than the science that we have today. For high school students, the idea of preparing solid foundation has been translated to preparing students to be ready for continuing their education to college level.
Scientific methods and skills aim to train and equip students with the scientific approach in solving problems. Several textbooks defining these skills as steps in solving scientific problems like defining a problem, forming hypotheses, making observations, performing an experiment and drawing conclusions, but we know that science methods and skills are more than that. In a subject like physics we can find more about these skills from the simple ones like the ability to use scientific measurement tools, drawing and reading graph to the more advance skills like planning field observations and designing technological tools that employ certain physics concept. This paper will identify the presence of the three main goals mentioned above in the physics curriculums for high school in Indonesia and in the (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills) TEKS, physics AP and Physics IB.
Method and Data
This paper employed literature study method. The goals and the content of each curriculum were identified and presented in table and diagram.
The major sources of data for this paper are
(1) Physics curriculum for high school grade 10, 11, and 12 in Indonesia, and
(2) TEKS especially sections that related to physics course
a. §112.38 : Integrated Physics and chemistry, recommended for grade 9 and 10
b. §112.39 : Physics, recommended for grade 9, 10, 11, and 12
c. §112.42 : Integrated Physics and chemistry
d. §112.47 : Physics
e. §112.64 : refers to Advanced Placement (AP) Physics B
f. §112.65 : refers to Advanced Placement (AP) Physics C
g. §112.69 : refers to International Baccalaureate Physics (IB) Physics
Data
1. Tabel.1. and graph. 1.
Distribution of basic goals in physics curriculum for high school in Indonesia
A, B and C represent the types of basic goalsA. Personal and social development
B. Knowledge of scientific fact and principles
C. Scientific methods and skills and the applications
2. Tabel.2. and Graph. 2.
Distribution of basic goals in physics curriculum for high school in TEKS
3. Tabel.3. and Graph. 3.
Distribution of basic goals in AP Physics B and IB Physics HL
4. Tabel.4. and Graph. 4.
Distribution of basic goals in physics curriculum for high school in TEKS, physics curriculum for high school in Indonesia, AP Physics B, and IB Physics HL
A, B and C represent the types of basic goalsA. Personal and social development
B. Knowledge of scientific fact and principles
C. Scientific methods and skills and the applications
5. Comparison of Content Outline between Physics Curriculum for High Schools in Indonesia and TEKS
Content Outline TEKS, AP Physics and IB Physics Physics Curriculum for High Schools in Indonesia
Grade (smstr)
Measurement
SI System
Vector
§112.39, §112.47, AP, IB
§112.39, AP, IB
X(1)
X(1)
Mechanics
Newton's laws of motion, Kinematics,
Dynamics
Gravity
Statics,
Fluid,
Harmonic Oscillator
Work, Energy, Power
Acoustics,
Wave
§112.38, §112.39, §112.42, §112.47, AP, IB
§112.38, §112.39, §112.42, §112.47, AP,IB
§112.38, §112.39, §112.42, §112.47,AP, IB
§112.39, §112.47, AP, IB
§112.39, §112.47, AP, IB
§112.39, §112.47 AP, IB
§112.39, §112.47AP, IB
§112.38, §112.39, §112.42, §112.47, AP, IB
§112.39, AP, IB
§112.39, §112.42, §112.47, AP, IB
X(1)
X(1),
XI(1)
XI(1)
X(1)
XI(2)
X(1)
XI(1)
XII(1)
XII(1)
Electromagnetism
Magnetism
Maxwell's equations, Electrostatics, Electrodynamics,
Electricity AC /DC,
Optics
§112.47, AP, IB
§112.47, AP, IB
§112.47, AP, IB
§112.47, AP, IB
§112.47, AP, IB
§112.47, AP, IB
XII(1)
XII(1)
XII(1)
XII(1)
X(2)
X (2)
Theory of relativity
General principle of relativity,
Inertial frame of reference, Lorentz transformation, Length contraction,
Time dilation
Principle of Relativity,
Proper length, Proper time,
Einstein Equation
Rest energy, Rest mass, Special principle of relativity,
Twin paradox,
§112.47, AP, IB
AP, IB
AP, IB
AP, IB
AP, IB
AP, IB
AP, IB
AP, IB
AP, IB
AP, IB
AP, IB
AP, IB
AP, IB
XII(2)
XII(2)
XII(2)
XII(2)
XII(2)
XII(2)
XII(2)
XII(2)
XII(2)
XII(2)
XII(2)
XII(2)
XII(2)
Finding and Discussion
Personal and Social Development Goals
Personal and social development goals are not found to be articulate as skills or knowledge related to particular topics in physics in curriculum for high school in Indonesia. In physics curriculum for high school in Indonesia, personal and social development goals stated as general goals of teaching physics but this kind of goals were not found to be connected to particular topics in physics. There are two general goals of physics curriculum for high school in Indonesia that related to personal and social development goals. These goals are to establish a positive attitude toward physics by realizing regularity and beauty of nature and to glorify the greatness of God Almighty and to inculcate scientific attitude of honest, objective, open minded, resilient, critical, and may cooperate with other people (Curricullum for high school in Indonesia, 2008). Another problem is it will be difficult to know when these goals are achieved by students. There is no such instrument to measure such honest, objective and open minded and things like that. The last one is even we can identify the presence of these attitude in students it will still difficult to tell whether this attitude resulted from teaching physics or not, since the teaching of these values can be found in any other aspect of life.
In TEKS, personal and social development goals are more realistic and measurable then the ones that found as general goals in physics curriculum for high school in Indonesia. Personal and social development goals that can be found in TEKS such as to demonstrate safe practices during laboratory and field investigation, to demonstrate an understanding of the use and conservation of resources and the proper disposal of recycling material, to describe connection between physics and chemistry, and future career (TEKS, p.33). These goals are realistic and measurable. It will not difficult for teachers to make instrument in order to assess the achievement of these goals among the students.
Personal and social development goals are also not found in curriculum AP Physics and IB Physics. These two curriculums are mostly focus on knowledge and application of physics. One reason that might be answer the absence of such goals in AP Physics and IB Physics is because AP Physics and IB Physics are additional curriculum that employ by school for specific goals such us to prepare students to be ready to continue their education for college. Mostly, schools that employ AP and IB Physics have their own curriculum that will characterize personal and social profile of their outcomes.
Knowledge of Scientific Fact and Principles
Knowledge of scientific fact and principles are the most dominant goals in these curriculums. AP Physics and IB Physics High Level (HL) articulate more of these goals in their curriculums than in two other curriculums. AP Physics and IB Physics cover almost all physics topics and more thorough in explaining physics topics compare to the other curriculums. In TEKS basics concept of physics such as TEKS are covered but more advance topics are accessed through AP Physics and IB Physics. Table 5 shows that physics curriculum for high school in Indonesia cover all topics needed to prepare student to be ready for continuing their education to college level even without using AP Physics or IB Physics curriculum. In Indonesia there are limited numbers of schools, especially private schools and international schools which are already using AP Physics and IB Physics curriculum in addition to national curriculum.
Scientific Methods and Skills, and the Applications
It is interesting that TEKS has more goals related to scientific methods and skills, and the application compare to other curriculum. We can see that TEKS lays the foundation of Scientifics skills and methods, and basic concepts of physics before introducing the students to the more advance topics from AP Physics and or IB Physics curriculum. TEKS section 112.65 and section 112.69 stated that prerequisites courses recommended for AP physics are Physics, Algebra I, Algebra II, Geometry, and Calculus, and TEKS section and prerequisites courses recommended for IB Physics is two years of high school laboratory science. By doing this student will more confidence to study the more advance topics after having good understanding in basic concepts.
The Content of the Curriculum
TEKS which integrated with AP Physics (TEKS §112.64 and §112.65) and IB Physics (TEKS §112.69) covers the same topics throughout high school years with the physics curriculum for high school in Indonesia does. However, TEKS in integrated with AP and IB Physics provide more chance to students to learn basic concepts of physics such as measurement, vector, kinematics, dynamics, and work and energy. These basic concepts repeated continually in different courses in TEKS. For example measurement and vector are covered by TEKS §112.39, §112.47, AP and IB, Newton laws of motion are covered by TEKS §112.38, §112.39, §112.42, §112.47, AP, and IB. Meanwhile, Physics curriculum for high school in Indonesia is designed as a one way direction. All physics topics are covered by the curriculum but they are taught only once in a particular grade and semester.
Conclusions
1. Knowledge of scientific fact and principles are the most dominant goals of teaching physics for high school as can be found in TEKS, Physics curriculum for high school in Indonesia, Physics AP and Physics IB.
2. Personal and social development goals are stated as general goals in physics curriculum for high school in Indonesia but such goals are not found articulated in specific topics or specific grade.
3. Personal and social development goals that are articulated in TEKS are mostly related to energy conservation, environment issue, and career awareness.
4. TEKS articulated more goals related to scientific methods and skills, and the application compare to other curriculums.
5. TEKS which integrated with AP Physics and IB Physics curriculum covers the same topics throughout high school years with the one that covered by physics curriculum for high school in Indonesia, but TEKS provides more chance to students to learn basic concepts of physics.
References
(n.d.). Retrieved april 5, 2010, from http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/rules/tac/chapter112/index.html.
(n.d.). Retrieved may 12, 2010, from http://schools.roundrockisd.org/westwood/
Alsop, S., & Hicks, K. (2001). The Goals of Science Education. In S. Alsop, & K. Hicks, Teaching Science, a hanbook for primary & secondary school teachers (pp. 25-34). London & Sterling: Bell & Bain Ltd, Glasgow.
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