Senior Phase
Natural Sciences
  General comment:

In the Senior Phase, there are eight Learning Programes based on the Learning Area Statements. Time allocations for each Learning Area are prescribed for all Grades and Phases. 		 
  Natural Sciences:

Definition

What is today known as ‘science’ has roots in African, Arabic, Asian, American and European cultures. It has been shaped by the search to understand the natural world through observation, codifying and testing ideas, and has evolved to become part of the cultural heritage of all nations. It is usually ‘characterised by the possibility of making precise statements which are susceptible to some sort of check or proof’ (McGraw-Hill Concise Encyclopaedia of Science and Technology, Second Edition, p.1647).

To be accepted as science, certain methods of inquiry are generally used. They promote reproducibility, attempts at objectivity, and a systematic approach to scientific inquiry. These methods include formulating hypotheses, and designing and carrying out experiments to test the hypotheses. Repeated investigations are undertaken, and the resulting methods and results are carefully examined and debated before they are accepted as valid. Knowledge production in science is an ongoing process that usually happens gradually, but occasionally knowledge leaps forward as a new theory replaces the dominant view. As with all other knowledge, scientific knowledge changes over time as people acquire new information and change their ways of viewing the world.

In the Senior Phase the learner shows an extension and consolidation of Intermediate Phase types of reasoning, rather than a major change in the character of thinking. That is, the learner still achieves best when there is a personal experience of objects, materials and situations. There is an increasing ability to generalise and construct principles which the learner applies to a variety of situations. By Grade 9, most learners are able to see that certain quantities are constant even when change takes place. For example, the learner understands that the mass of an amount of substance remains the same even if the shape of the substance changes or it is broken up.

The learner can think through more complex problems without actually doing them, provided pictures or models are available to work with. When doing investigations, the learner is interested in questions like: ‘Does it happen in other instances?’ and ‘Does it always happen?’ and ‘Is there a pattern?’ The learner is interested in making and checking cause-and-effect predictions.

The language of the learner has developed so that an increasing number of relational concepts can be used and understood. This enables the learner to investigate things like structure and function, adaptation, and energy transfers by conduction and convection. Examples of these relational concepts are: ‘all animals have structures which enable them to take in the food they need’ and ‘different substances conduct heat at different rates’. The learner can now use language to make finer distinctions, which demonstrates a better grasp of reality. For example, the learner can distinguish ‘air’ from ‘steam’, and ‘steam’ from ‘smoke’, and ‘water vapour’ from ‘air’ and the learner can also explain how the concepts ‘air’ and ‘the atmosphere’ relate to each other.

Although the learner’s thinking is still dependent on personal experience of objects and situations, by Grade 9 some abstract thinking is taking place. The learner begins to reason about situations which have never been experienced, and to apply principles to consider the possibilities in such situations. The Natural Sciences curriculum of the school needs to plan for this, and to provide tasks which elicit this type of thinking.

The older Senior Phase learner enjoys considering principles of authority and ethics, and the curriculum should provide opportunities to examine and debate these issues in the scientific, technological and environmental context. 		 
Learning Outcome 1: SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATIONS
The learner will be able to act confidently on curiosity about natural phenomena, and to investigate relationships and solve problems in scientific, technological and environmental contexts.
Assessment Standards: (Some examples)

Grade 7

We know this when the learner plans investigations: Plans simple tests and comparisons, and considers how to make them fair.

Achievement is evident when the learner, for example,
  • identifies a testable question among a set of possible questions;

Grade 8

We know this when the learner plans investigations: Identifies factors to be considered in investigations and plans ways to collect data on them, across a range of values.

Achievement is evident when the learner, for example,
  • modifies a vague question to make it testable;

Grade 9

We know this when the learner plans investigations: Plans a procedure to test predictions or hypotheses, with control of an interfering variable.

Achievement is evident when the learner, for example,
  • expresses a question in a testable form (e.g. ‘if we do X, then Y will happen’ or ‘X and Y are always related’);
Learning Outcome 2: CONSTRUCTING SCIENCE KNOWLEDGE
The learner will know and be able to interpret and apply scientific, technological and environmental knowledge.
Assessment Standards: (some examples)

Grade 7

We know this when the learner recalls meaningful information: At the minimum, recalls definitions and complex facts.

Achievement is evident when the learner, for example,
  • distinguishes vertebrates from invertebrates;

Grade 8

We know this when the learner recalls meaningful information: At the minimum, recalls procedures, processes and complex facts.

Achievement is evident when the learner, for example,
  • describes some symbiotic relationships among living things;

Grade 9

We know this when the learner recalls meaningful information: At the minimum, recalls principles, processes and models.

Achievement is evident when the learner, for example,
  • describes how heart, lungs and stomach work together to provide a human with energy;
Learning Outcome 3: SCIENCE, SOCIETY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
The learner will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the interrelationships between science and technology, society and the environment.
Assessment Standards: (some examples)

Grade 7

We know this when the learner understands science as a human endeavour: Compares differing interpretations of events.

Achievement is evident when the learner, for example,
  • identifies and explains differences in two reports of the same event or investigation;

Grade 8

We know this when the learner understands science as a human endeavour: Identifies ways in which people build confidence in their knowledge systems.

Achievement is evident when the learner, for example,
  • replicates an interesting investigation and findings of a learner at another school;

Grade 9

We know this when the learner understands science as a human endeavour: Recognises differences in explanations offered by the Natural Sciences Learning Area and other systems of explanation.

Achievement is evident when the learner, for example,
  • identifies sources and nature of authority in two differing explanations for an event, coming from two differing world-views;
To view the complete Natural Sciences Curriculum document, click here