JOURNAL OF CURRICULUM STUDIES (J.C.S.)
Year:2006 | Volume:2 | Issue:2|Papers Count:6

Evaluation is based on a philosophical and epistemological foundation. There are two rival views in epistemology; one emphasizing the explicit, and the other the tacit knowledge. The epistemology of explicit knowledge is focused on objective evaluation as well as precision and explicitness. This stands in sharp contrast to the epistemology of tacit knowledge that considering hidden layers in the epistemic process, views over obsession with precision and explicitness in evaluation as a cause of inaccuracy in results. Given the philosophical and epistemological presuppositions in evaluation, any attempt at the improvement of evaluation methods requires, among other things, a critical study of the underlying presuppositions. To the extent that the current trend in explicit and objectivist evaluation relies on the atomistic version of explicit knowledge epistemology, it deserves extensive reflection and criticism. Such criticism is not only well deserved from the point of view of tacit knowledge epistemology, it is also appropriate from the network and holistic perspectives of the explicit knowledge epistemology as it neglects the complex interrelations of knowledge units.      

This research has been conducted with the aim of explaining, theoretically, dialectic constructivism, and presenting a framework for teaching science. In a sense, constructivism is the theory of learning and knowledge (science). As such, the nature of science and learning is initially addressed. Both these areas provide for a fundamental understanding of the constructivist theory as a widely accepted paradigm in education. Next, considering these foundations, a theoretical framework (consisting of world view, epistemological perspective, psychological status of mental activity, and educational structure) for teaching experimental sciences is presented. In reviewing the ideas in which this theory is rooted, Vygotsky and Dewey's perspectives are briefly discussed. Vygotsky's socio-cultural theory of psychological development and evolution, and Dewey's simultaneous attention to both psychological and social dimensions of education, figure extensively in dialectic constructivism. Finally the basic perspectives in this approach to teaching and learning, as well as its theoretical and practical dimensions, with emphasis on teaching experimental sciences, are reviewed.      

Considering the importance of the experimental science course in schools, and the findings of the international evaluation of the status of Iranian students in science, it is necessary that the Ministry of Education utilizes all possible tools for the students' advancement in science and technology and maximizes the investment in this area. In recent years learning theories have brought about a significant change in science education, especially by mixing in new technologies. In this article, the findings of a research project on the effects of multimedia method of teaching science on students' learning are discussed. The foundations of this method are the constructivist theory of learning, computer technology, and the cooperative learning strategy. In the process of utilizing this method, the students are active in producing knowledge through cooperation with each other and utilization of computer as the medium of knowledge construction. Findings show that students who learned science using the multimedia approach had higher achievement than those who utilized the traditional method.      

I was very please to be invited to speak at your conference and I think this technology- a video recorded in Hong Kong and played back at your conference in Iran- is a reflection of how modem technology can be sued to bring together. I have been asked to speak you today about school based curriculum development. I am going to do that is to talk about school based curriculum development (SBCD) in Hong Kong because at the moment is an important part of the education reform. I am going to talk about what SBCD is, what it takes to make participation to make school based curriculum development effective, and then finally I am going to raise some question about whether school based curriculum development is an educational process, or whether it is a political process, or whether is both of those thing. I shall leave you to have some question to answer about the nature of both the school based curriculum development and the extent to which it is relevant in your particular context.