Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, Volume 1, Issue 2, Foreword (Dec., 2000)
Yin Cheong CHENG
A Paradigm Shift in Science Learning and Teaching
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New Quality Assurance in Science Education

Since the traditional paradigm of science education emphasizes the delivery of science knowledge and skill, the quality assurance of science education is often focused on how well science learning and teaching are organized to deliver the necessary knowledge and skills of science to students; how well the delivery of science knowledge and skills to students can be ensured through the improvement of teaching and learning; how well teachers' science teaching can be improved in a given time period; and how well students can arrive at a given standard in science examinations.

Clearly, the paradigm shift towards triplization induces a new conception of quality assurance of science education. The new quality assurance can be based on the following major questions:

  1. How well science learning and teaching are triplized?  (This question aims to ensure that student learning and teacher teaching in science can be well placed in a globalized, localized, and individualized context.)
  2. How well students' science learning opportunities are maximized through the IT environment, networking, teachers, and schools? (This question intends to ensure the maximizing of opportunities for students' science learning in a triplized environment.)
  3. How well students' self learning in science is facilitated and sustained as potentially life long ? (This question tries to ensure the maximized opportunities for students' self-learning in science are sustainable to life long.)
  4. How well students' contextualized multiple intelligences and their ability to triplize their self learning in science are developed ?  (This question focuses on ensuring the relevance and outcome of student' science learning in terms of multiple intelligences and ability of triplizing self-learning)

From the above discussion, we can see that the new paradigm of science learning and teaching is completely different from the traditional thinking and practice. The new paradigm is really important to reforming the curriculum and pedagogy of science education in different parts of the world if globalization, localization, individualization, and contextualized multiple intelligences are all considered to be necessary in education for the new millennium.


 

 Finally, I have a dream in science education:

All our students will become triplized (globalized, localized, and individualized) in science learning and fully enjoy self exploration and actualization in the learning process; and

All our teachers will become triplized in science teaching and share the joy of triplized learning and teaching with their students and pursue life-long learning and professional development.

All our schools will become triplized in science education and create unlimited opportunities for all students' life-long science learning in the new century.

 

Copyright (C) 2000 HKIEd APFSLT. Volume 1, Issue 2, Foreword (Dec., 2000)