N.H. Admin. Code § Ed 306.45 - Science Education Program
(a) Pursuant to
Ed
306.26, the local school board shall require that a
science education program in each elementary school grades, excluding
kindergarten, provides:
(1) Planned
activities designed to:
a. Develop students'
critical thinking skills;
b.
Promote the acquisition of positive attitudes, including, but not limited to,
curiosity, initiative, self-reliance, and persistence; and
c. Develop an awareness of and involvement
with the natural world;
(2) Planned activities designed to increase
students' factual knowledge and conceptual understanding of the nature of
science, unifying themes of science, and physical, biological, and earth space
sciences; and
(3) Opportunities for
students to develop a knowledge and understanding of process skills such as
observing, classifying, measuring, and inferring through activities that allow
each student to:
a. Explore, collect, handle,
sort, and classify natural objects;
b. Use strategies to organize and identify
the questions children ask from natural world observations;
c. Use tools, including, but not limited to,
nonstandard measures, rulers, and magnifiers, to enhance observations and
collect represent and interpret data;
d. Organize data in multiple ways using tools
of technology, including calculators, computers, and handheld electronic
devices;
e. Communicate through
reading, writing, speaking, listening, creating, and viewing to describe their
observations of the natural world; and
f. Model and communicate safety and health
related issues relating to exploration, activities, and inquiry associated with
materials, tools, and procedures.
(b) Each district shall establish a
comprehensive curriculum that meets the needs of the students as described in
(a) above and helps students progress as provided in
RSA 193-C:3,
III.
(c) Pursuant to
Ed
306.26, the local school board shall require that a
science program in each middle school provides:
(1) Planned activities in grades 5-8 designed
to increase students' factual knowledge and conceptual understanding of the
nature of science, unifying themes of science, and physical, biological, and
earth space sciences;
(2)
Instruction in grades 6 to 8 which provides a semester or yearlong and content
connected experiences in biology life science, physical science, and earth
space science;
(3) Opportunities
for students to develop a knowledge and understanding of process skills such as
observing, classifying, measuring, graphing, inferring, experimenting, and
communicating; and
(4) Systematic
instruction, laboratory experiences and activities designed to enable students
to:
a. Gather scientific data through
laboratory and field work;
b.
Employ safe practices and techniques in the laboratory and on field
trips;
c. Apply scientific concepts
and skills in solving real problems and in everyday situations;
d. Understand the impact of science and
technology on daily life;
e. Be
aware of science-related societal issues;
f. Investigate the natural world and acquire
an understanding of scientific explanations of natural phenomena;
g. Acquire an understanding of the history of
science and its impact on society and the realization that science is a human
endeavor;
h. Become familiar with
science and technology related careers;
i. Engage in full and partial
inquiries;
j. Use their
understanding of background content and theories to guide their design of
observations and investigations;
k.
Shape and modify their background knowledge through experiments and
observations;
l. Develop their
abilities in systematic observation, making accurate measurements, and
identifying and controlling variables; and
m. Express their understanding through the
use of writing, labeling drawings, completing concept maps, developing
spreadsheets and creative representations, and designing computer images and
representations.
(d) Each district shall establish a
comprehensive curriculum that provides for continued growth in all content
areas consistent with
RSA 193-C:3,
III.
(e) Pursuant to
Ed
306.27, the local school board shall require that a
science program in each high school provides:
(1) Opportunities for students to become
familiar with the impact, limitations, fundamental principles, and methods of
science;
(2) Opportunities for
students to acquire knowledge of the natural world through the application of
logical thought processes such as observation, hypothesizing, experimentation,
and the drawing of conclusions;
(3)
Opportunities for students to develop a knowledge and understanding of
attitudes and problem-solving techniques essential for life in an increasingly
complex technological society;
(4)
Courses totaling at least 5 credits in science comprised of offerings in each
of the following areas:
a. Physical science
which shall include:
1. Conservation of
matter;
2. Conservation of energy,
matter and energy in nuclear phenomena;
3. Newton's Laws involving the structure and
interaction of matter and energy;
4. Chemical principles, including the ability
to distinguish among materials by utilizing observable properties;
and
5. Physical principles,
including the application of knowledge of forces and motion to all types of
motion in the universe;
b. Biology which shall include:
1. Molecular and cellular biology;
2. Genetics;
3. Plant and animal diversity and the
structure and function of plants and animals;
4. The principles of classification,
including fundamental structures, functions, and mechanisms of inheritance
found in the major grouping of organisms including bacteria, fungi, protists,
plants, and animals;
5. Population
biology;
6. Organic evolution and
patterns and products of evolution, including genetic variation,
specialization, adaptation, and natural selection;
7. Ecology and animal behavior and how
environmental factors affect all living systems, including individuals,
communities, biomes, and the biosphere, as well as species to species
interactions; and
8. The concept
that organisms are linked to one another and to their physical setting by the
transfer and transformation of matter and energy to maintain a dynamic
equilibrium;
c.
Chemistry which shall include:
1. Structure of
matter;
2. States of
matter;
3. Chemical
classification;
4. Introductory
organic chemistry;
5. Reactions of
matter such as acids, bases, oxidation-reduction, electrochemistry,
equilibrium, kinetics; and
6.
Thermodynamics;
d.
Physics which shall include:
1. Principles of
mechanics;
2. Laws of
conservation;
3. Basics of
waves;
4. Fundamentals of
electricity and magnetism; and
5.
Atomic and nuclear physics;
e. Earth space science which shall include
the concepts that the earth:
1. Is a unique
member of our solar system, located in a galaxy, within the universe;
2. Is a complex planet with 5 interacting
systems, namely:
(i) Solid earth or
lithosphere;
(ii) Air or
atmosphere;
(iii) Water or
hydrosphere;
(iv) Ice or
cryosphere; and
(v) Life or
biosphere; and
3.
Contains a variety of renewable and nonrenewable resources; and
f. General or advanced science
which shall include subject matter appropriate to the disciplines listed in e.
above; and
(5)
Systematic instruction, fieldwork, experimentation and activities designed to
enable students to:
a. Know about the
diversity of natural phenomena and the methods of studying and classifying
them;
b. Recognize the
interrelationship and interdependence of living organisms and the role of a
biological organism in a physical world;
c. Understand the scientific method of
investigation, including the role of observation and experimentation in the
advancement of scientific knowledge;
d. Gather scientific data through laboratory
and field work;
e. Construct tables
and graphs from given data and interpret data presented in tables and
graphs;
f. Draw conclusions and
inferences from data;
g. Apply
scientific concepts and skills in solving real problems and in everyday
situations;
h. Communicate
observations and experimental results both quantitatively, through the use of
mathematical relationships, and qualitatively, in clear and concise spoken or
written language;
i. Appreciate the
unifying concepts and principles within the natural sciences;
j. Be aware of the philosophical, ethical,
legal, political, and economic impacts of science and technology;
k. Acquire an understanding of the history of
science and the realization that science is a human endeavor; and
l. Be aware of concerns about the current and
future impacts of science and technology on society and the
environment.
(f) Science courses in high schools shall
teach the fundamentals of science and incorporate all of the content-specific
components listed in (e) above and as many of the other non-course frameworks
and concepts, including, but not limited to, science as inquiry/science and
technology and society/unifying themes, as are appropriate.
(g) High school science courses shall be
designed to prepare students for meeting or exceeding the end of grade 10
proficiencies in science consistent with
RSA 193-C:3,
III, regardless of the grade in which the
course occurs.
Notes
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