The document discusses the curriculum and assessment policy statement (CAPS) for natural sciences in South Africa. It compares the traditional curriculum to the revised CAPS curriculum, noting shifts from passive to active learning, rote learning to critical thinking, and textbook-centered teaching to learner-centered facilitation. It outlines the principles of social transformation, high knowledge and skills, integration and progression that underlie the new CAPS curriculum. The document also discusses the specific aims of CAPS to develop scientific inquiry skills, subject content knowledge, and understanding of science's uses in society. It provides examples of curriculum content and skills in the four knowledge areas of life and living, matter and materials, energy and change, and planet Earth and beyond.

1. DEMONSTRATE AN UNDERSTANDING OF CURRICULUM AND
ASSESSMENT POLICY STATEMENT (CAPS) FOR NATURAL
SCIENCES_2021

2. LEARNING UNIT
1: Curriculum
development and
the fundamentals
of the NCS and
CAPS

4. Traditional curriculum Revised curriculum (NCS; CAPS)
Passive learners Active learners
Exam-driven Learners are assessed on an ongoing basis:
continuous assessment (CASS)
Rote-learning Critical thinking, reasoning, reflection and action
Syllabus is content-based and broken down into
subjects
An integration of knowledge; learning is relevant and
connected to real-life situations
Textbook bound and teacher centred Learner-centred; the teacher is the facilitator; the
teacher often uses group work and teamwork to
consolidate the new approach
Syllabus seen as rigid and non-negotiable Learning programmes seen as guides that allow
teachers to be innovative and creative in designing
programmes
Teachers responsible for learning; motivation
dependent on the personality of the teacher
Learners take responsibility for their learning;
learners are motivated by constant feedback and
affirmation of their worth
Emphasis on what the teacher hopes to achieve Emphasis on outcomes (what the learner becomes
and understands)

5. What is a
curriculum?

6. What is a curriculum ?
“The planned and guided learning
experiences and intended learning
outcomes, formulated through the
systematic reconstruction of knowledge
and experiences, under the auspices of the
school, for the learners’ continuous and
willful growth in personal social
competence.”
Source: Tanner (1980, p.13)

7. When designing a
new curriculum what
do you need to
consider?

8. The Tyler Model of
Curriculum Design
The nature &
structure of
knowledge
The needs of the
society
The needs of the
learner

9. Selection of Subject Matter
Criteria: Relevance,
importance, priority
Scope: Amount, depth
of coverage,
concentration
Sequence: Hierarchy &
progression of
complexity or difficulty

12. Needs of the Learner
*Cognitive development
*Linguistic development
*Psycho-social
development
*Moral/affective
development
*Vocational focus

13. The Needs of Society
Literacy
Vocational skills
Social order & morality
Interpersonal skills
Transmission of values &
culture
Creativity & innovation

14. What are the principles which
underlie the new curriculum ?
Principles Implications
Social transformation Responsible decision-making
High knowledge and high skills Specifies the minimum standard
Integration and applied competence Integration within and across
subjects
Progression Assessment standards show and
increased level expected
performance
Human rights, inclusivity,
environmental and social justice
Create inclusive environment
Valuing indigenous knowledge
systems
Indigenous knowledge of local
community must be recognized

15. SPECIFIC
AIMS
(CAPS)
The specific aims provide
guidelines on how to prepare
learners to meet the
challenges of society and
they feature during teaching,
learning and assessment.

16. SPECIFIC AIM 1
‘Doing science’
learners should be able to
carry out investigations,
analyse problems and use
practical processes and
skills in evaluating
solutions.

17. Example.
Attitudes and values underpin this ability.
Respect for living things is an example – learners
should not damage plants; if they examine small
animals they should care for them and release them in
the place where they found them.

18. Cont. (Diversity of plants)
Growing plants such as beans or maize seeds
to observe the stages in the life cycle.
Measure the height of the plant as it grows.
Record observations in diagrams, tables and
graphs

19. SPECIFIC AIM 2
specific aim 2: ‘Knowing the subject
content and making connections’
learners should have a grasp of scientific,
technological and environmental knowledge
and be able to apply it in new contexts.

20. Example
When learners do an activity, questions
and discussion must follow and relate to
previously acquired knowledge and
experience, and connections must be
made.

21. Cont. (Physical properties of
materials)
Reading and writing about how a material
such as a metal or plastic or fuel is produced
and its impact on the environment.

22. Useful and ‘wasted’ energy
Identifying the input energy, useful output energy
and ‘wasted energy’ when systems are operated.
[Use real examples or pictures of systems such as
electric drill, electric iron, kettle, food mixer,
candle, engine, paraffin lamp].

23. SPECIFIC AIM
3
Learners should understand
the uses of natural sciences
and indigenous knowledge in
society and the environment.
specific aim 3:
‘understanding the uses of
science ’

24. Example
Science learnt at school should produce learners who
understand that school science can be relevant to everyday
life.
Issues such as improving water quality, growing food
without damaging the land and building energy-efficient
houses are examples of applications.
An appreciation of the history of scientific discoveries, and
their relationship to indigenous knowledge and different
world views, enriches our understanding of the connections
between Science and Society.

25. Wonderbag Lunch Warmer

26. Calabash /Iselwa

27. Traditional beer

29. Learning outcomes (NCS)
LO1: Practical scientific inquiry and problem-solving
skills
LO2: Constructing and applying scientific knowledge
LO3: The nature of science and its relationships to
technology, society and the environment

30. 4 KNOWLEDGE AREAS
LIFE AND
LIVING
MATTER AND
MATERIALS
ENERGY AND
CHANGE
PLANET EARTH
AND BEYOND

31. PRACTICAL WORK
Practical work must be integrated with
theory to strengthen the concepts being
taught.
These may take the form of simple
practical demonstrations or even an
experiment or practical investigation.

32. skills
Accessing and recalling information – being able to use a variety of sources to acquire
information, and to remember relevant facts and key ideas, and to build a conceptual
framework
Observing – noting in detail objects, organisms and events
Comparing – noting similarities and differences between things
measuring – using measuring instruments such as rulers, thermometers, clocks and
syringes (for volume)
Sorting and classifying – applying criteria in order to sort items into a table, mind-map,
key, list or other format
Identifying problems and issues – being able to articulate the needs and wants of
people in society
Raising questions – being able to think of, and articulate relevant questions about
problems, issues, and natural phenomena
Predicting – stating, before an investigation, what you think the results will be for that
particular investigation

33. Refer to the CAPS document
Cognitive and Process Skills -