LIFE AND EARTH SCIENCES CURRICULUM - INTERMEDIATE LEVEL
INTRODUCTION
The beginning of the twenty first century
witnesses a considerable progress in science and technology, as well as, their
applications to man's service. This progress, thus, requires the necessity of a
new orientation of teaching in response to the needs of the contemporary world.
For this reason, a curriculum of clearly defined objectives, updated knowledge,
new teaching methods and approaches, and varied evaluation techniques, is a
primary concern of education.
The program tends to establish a relationship
between technology and society with which the student has strong ties.
Moreover, the program deals with a global perspective about health and the environment.
This helps the student to maintain his health and the health of others, to
develop a responsible behavior towards the environment, and to comprehend
scientific messages transmitted by media.
By focusing on teaching scientific processes,
the student becomes an active participant in a problem situation. Further, it
allows the learner to acquire skills of: scientific
reasoning, communication, observation and experimentation techniques, and
transferring prior knowledge to new situations.
The curriculum clearly defines methodological,
technical, and cognitive objectives. The latter, is selected
and developed according to a vertical and a progressive coherence. The
focus is on considering the students' background in order to meet their needs.
The use of different approaches encourages them to construct their knowledge
themselves. In this perspective, it is emphasized that
evaluation must not be limited to recalled information but should also assess
the skills required to be achieved.
The curriculum fosters the development of
autonomy and responsibility of personal behavior in learners that are
characteristics of a free citizen.
OBJECTIVES
The actual progress of biology and its
fundamental knowledge, as well as, the technology of life, and their applications
for man's service requires a new orientation of teaching at the intermediate
level to cope with the contemporary world requirements. Such teaching should:
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Reinforce and
complete what has been acquired previously at the
primary level.
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Provide students with
a scientific culture necessary to help them in continuing their studies at the
secondary level, or to be vocationally oriented.
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Permit students to
acquire scientific processes, specifically by developing an experimental
approach and problem solving activities.
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Develop in students
a scientific attitude and motivate them to acquire a better autonomy.
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Encourage students
to appreciate the role of empirical proofs and models in science as well as to
consider and accept uncertainties of explanations and interpretations related
to the observed phenomena.
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Permit students to
conduct scientific messages; make scientific arguments; master the techniques
of observation, experimentation, and analysis; and acquire scientific accuracy
and critical thinking.
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Develop a sensibility
towards bioethical issues.
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Initiate in
students progressively and continually a scientific knowledge, technical
performances and actual research in science and technology.
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Permit students to
have tolerance and intellectual honesty while dealing with social, cultural,
and environmental problems of the contemporary world.
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Permit the student
to identify integrated domains within different disciplines and be able to
transfer them to different fields.
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Allow the students
to aquire a package of scientific knowledge necessary
for the comprehension of the contemporary world and its changes with respect to
life and environmental resources. This knowledge corresponds to fundamental
notions emerging from biological and geological concepts covered at the
intermediate level: behavior, nutrition and metabolism, biological renewal,
reproduction and genetics, interdependence of living things, and dynamics of
the earth.
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Foster in students
the understanding of the most common manifestations of the human functioning
and adopting a behavioral attitude towards hygiene and prevention according to aquired knowledge.
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Allow the student
to identify the essential biological, physical, and geological components of
the environment and to understand their relations that initiate the development
of an open and a responsible behavior toward environmental problems: management
of media and resources, preservation of species, and risk prevention.
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Make the student
aware of the organization of the living world, its unity and diversity.
CONTENTS:
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Grade Seven |
|
1)
Nutrition This part deals
with the behavioral aspects of animals related to how they recognize, obtain
and consume their food. The study about food
consumption is limited to the transformation of food into nutrients that can be utilized by the organism. The organic
matter produced by chlorophyllic plants or consumed
by non-chlorophyllic plants and animals is used for body construction. The study of
transfer of matter between the producers, consumers and decomposers will be
the first entry to provoke the students' sensibilities toward the
environment. § Feeding behavior of animals -
Means of obtaining food in animals. -
Capturing, and digesting
food. § Nutritional needs of plants -
Chlorophyllic plants. -
Non-chlorophyllic plants. § Respiration in living things -
Animal
respiration -
Plant respiration
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Fermentation § Relation between environmental conditions, body
activities, and nutrition -
Relationships between food energy and body activity requirements. -
From passive to
active life : hibernation and germination. § Nutrition and respiration: vital requirements -
Importance of nutrition and respiration at the level of the organism. -
Importance of nutrition and respiration at the level of the habitat. 2)
Reproduction This part
clarifies the significance of sexual reproduction in contrast to vegetative
reproduction. The study of
different modes of sexual reproduction in animals is
exposed in a behavioral way. § Animal reproduction -
Courtship in animals during sexual reproduction. -
Fertilization -
Development § Plant reproduction -
Reproduction of flowering plants. -
Reproduction of non-flowering plants. -
Significance of reproduction. 3)
Inter-relationships between
living things This part deals
with the relationships between living things and the influence of
environmental factors. The study of food
webs leads to the concept of transformation and cycling of matter. The multiple
applications of productivity (agriculture, animal raising) focuses on Man‘s responsabilities towards the management of dynamic
equilibrium in nature. § Study of an ecosystem § Relations between organisms in ecosystems § Food web in an ecosystem § Man and natural equilibrium |
|
Grade Eight |
|
1)
Human reproduction This part
includes an overview of biological phenomena taking place from puberty until
birth and lactation. Birth control is converged
in a social context in order to develop in students the respect of life and
their responsibilities as future citizens and parents. As for sexually
transmitted diseases, there is an emphasis on their prevention, which is a
personal and social necessity. § Puberty and adolescence § Reproductive organs § Functioning of the reproductive system § Fertilization, development, and birth § Birth control § Sexually transmitted diseases: AIDS 2)
Immunology Responses of the
immune system are identified through the analysis of
reactions of the organisms to certain microbial infections and blood
transfusion. The distinction
between specific and non specific responses is
covered, as well as, notions of disorders and deficiencies of the immune
system. Different means
of defense developed by man to prevent and fight diseases are
also dealt with. § Immunological specificity -
Characteristics and mechanism of an immune reaction. -
Antimicrobial defense. -
Organ and tissue transplantation. -
Blood transfusion. § Deficiencies and disorders
of the immune system. -
AIDS and allergies. § Preventive and curative methods -
Vaccination and serotherapy. -
Aseptic and antiseptic procedures, chemotherapy and the use of
antibodies. 3)
Earth and the environment This part deals with
the concrete geodynamic manifestations of the earth activity. This leads to the
study of changes starting from rocks to landscape which
constitutes the life frame work of The study of geology,
particularly, the relationship between man and earth, contributes to develop
in students a sense of space and long time responsibility towards the
environment (problems of renewable and non renewable natural resources). § Geology: earth science -
Rock beds. -
The use of rocks by § Manifestations of earth activity -
Volcanoes, earthquakes, and rock deformation. § Structure and dynamics of earth § Circulation of matter in earth § Geology and human responsibilities -
Conservation and management of underground water, fossil fuels, and soil. -
Detection and prevention of natural disasters. |
|
Grade Nine |
|
1)
Nutrition and metabolism The study of
nutritional functions covered in the first year is
considered as the basis for the study of nutrition at the molecular
and cellular level. The diversity of functional activities of man are studied in a global perspective. While explaining
different functions, anatomy of systems is also explained
when needed. Practicing a well
balanced diet is in favor of fostering health education and comprehending the
causes of nutritional diseases. § Transformation of food into
nutrients: digestion. § Uptake of oxygen and release
of carbon dioxide in the organism: respiration. § Transport and distribution
of nutrients and oxygen to organs: blood circulation. § Use of nutrients and oxygen. -
Oxidation of nutrients and energy liberation. -
Synthesis of organic materials, cellular growth and proliferation. § Regulation of internal body fluids: urinary function
§ Nutrition and health -
Varied and balanced diets. -
Criteria of a balanced diet. 2)
Nervous coordination and
human behavior The study of a number of reactions in response
to external stimuli gives evidence of the involvement of receptors,
conductors, nervous centers and effector organs.
Voluntary and involuntary reactions are considered. This leads to the study
of the elaboration of tactile sensations, sensory receptors in the skin, and
the notion of a neuron and a synapse. These phenomena are
explained at the cellular level. Raising the awareness of the dangers of
tobacco, alcohol, and drug abuse is emphasized to
promote the individual responsibilities in society. § Responses of organisms to environmental stimuli § Tactile sensations § Substance abuse 3)
Reproduction and genetics This part
explains sexual reproduction at the chromosomal and cellular levels to
understand genetic assortment. It covers ethical
and medical issues resulting from genetic engineering. § Chromosomes and genetic
information. -
Hereditary traits and genetic program. -
Sex determination. -
Chromosomes, vehicles of heredity. § Mitosis -
Multiplication of the zygote. -
Transmission of information in cells. § Meiosis and gene assortment -
Sexual reproduction and maintaining the karyotype
of the species. -
Sexual reproduction and exchange of genetic material. § Mendel’s work. § Production of useful
substances for the food industry and medicine by genetic engineering. |