Science headlines major overhaul of HSC syllabuses
SCIENCE lessons have been supercharged to stop Aussie students slipping behind the rest of the world under the biggest overhaul of key HSC subjects in two decades.
NSW
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SCIENCE lessons have been supercharged to stop Aussie students slipping behind the rest of the world under the biggest overhaul of key HSC subjects in two decades.
Landmark new science courses include an extension program that allows high-achieving students to work with practising scientists on national and international research projects.
The rigorous new science program has been lauded by the nation’s former chief scientist, Prof Ian Chubb, who said it was the first of its type in Australia “to be comprehensively introduced”.
New mathematics courses include a greater focus on technology and statistics and English has increased emphasis on the “craft of writing” — part of 23 new syllabuses rolled out for students in Years 11 and 12.
The syllabuses in English, maths, science and history are aimed at improving the skills of Australian students who have been slipping down the global rankings in core disciplines.
The classics, including Shakespeare and Dickens, are part of the English syllabus and in history both world wars are included along with the role of the Anzacs in Australian politics and culture.
The NSW Education Standards Authority said the new syllabuses emphasised depth and it had listened to criticism from employers that many school leavers applying for jobs lacked basic skills in literacy and numeracy.
Fads that worked their way into the school curriculum over the past 30 years, undermining the literacy and numeracy of thousands of children, have been replaced by back-to-basics syllabuses in key subjects.
“The new courses will bolster the important focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and build students’ writing skills,” chief executive David de Carvalho said.
For the first time HSC candidates will be able to study seven units of science for the end-of-school credential.
Prof Chubb said the new syllabus would make science interesting for students while also appealing to those who aimed to become scientists.
“The country needs this but more work has to be done to extend science (lessons) to younger children in primary schools,” he said.
From this year, Year 11 students can study one or more new science courses in biology, chemistry, earth and environmental Science, physics and investigating science.
Five new science-based life skills courses are also available.
The syllabus includes study of desalination, stem cell research, gravitational waves and the prediction of seismic events.
New English syllabuses place a high priority on development of students’ writing skills, grammar, punctuation, vocabulary and sentence structure.
They are designed to equip NSW students with the skills they’ll need for life after school.
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