Learning‐goals‐driven design model: Developing curriculum materials that align with national standards and incorporate project‐based pedagogy

TLDR

Science education reform stresses rigorous standards and innovative pedagogy to make science more meaningful and successful. The paper presents a learning‑goals‑driven design model that integrates national standards with project‑based pedagogy for curriculum development. The model is applied within the IQWST middle‑grade science curriculum project, using a case study of a unit across two enactment cycles to illustrate how its three characteristics guide design, diagnose issues, and inform solutions. The model revealed three key characteristics—unpacking standards, specifying learning goals via learning performances, and aligning goals with activities and assessments—and its iterative use led to substantial student gains in science content and inquiry. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., Sci Ed 92:1–32, 2008.

Abstract

Abstract Reform efforts in science education emphasize the importance of rigorous treatment of science standards and use of innovative pedagogical approaches to make science more meaningful and successful. In this paper, we present a learning‐goals‐driven design model for developing curriculum materials, which combines national standards and a project‐based pedagogical approach. We describe our design model in the context of the Investigating and Questioning our World through Science and Technology (IQWST) project, which is developing a three‐year coordinated series of middle grades science curriculum materials. From using this model in the development and enactment of the curriculum, we identified three important characteristics: unpacking national science standards, developing a learning performances approach to specifying learning goals, and aligning learning goals, instructional activities, and assessments. Using a case study of an IQWST unit from initial development through two cycles of enactment, we describe how these three characteristics help guide curriculum design, identify design issues in curriculum enactments, and guide the development of design solutions. The iterative use of the learning‐goals‐driven design model coupled with the analysis of multiple data sources informed our revision of the curriculum materials, resulting in substantial student learning gains for the targeted science content and scientific inquiry learning goals. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed 92 :1–32, 2008