Alignment between Biology Curriculum Objectives and Assessment at Higher Secondary Level
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47067/real.v5i4.283Keywords:
Curriculum Alignment, Assessment, Outcome Base Content, Curriculum DevelopmentAbstract
Curriculum alignment is basically the process of formally evaluating a course or an educational programme to address the changing needs of society and the workforce, which is done by educators across all levels. In this study, researcher investigated to what extent the curriculum objectives are aligned with assessment of Biology, explored the available laboratory facilities for Biology students, and find out the opinion of teachers and students about the implementation of the Biology National Curriculum 2006. A mixed methods approach was employed to get a clear understanding of the problem. All biology students and teachers from Islamabad Model Colleges of Islamabad were the population of the study. The samples were chosen by a random sampling technique. The researcher used a checklist for students, semi-structured interviews for biology teachers, and lab observation was also done to check the available resources for conducting practicals. The researcher personally visited all institutions for data collection. Researcher used percentage for the analysis of students' checklist. Qualitative data got from interviews of teachers were analyzed using NVIVO. It was found that the objectives were not fully aligned with assessment; students were not satisfied with curriculum objectives; learning activities were partially aligned with the curriculum; assessment plans were also partially aligned with the curriculum; time is not enough to cover the whole content; teachers are not satisfied with the performance of the learners; teachers try their best to cover the content. It is recommended that courses may not be so lengthy. The assessment may be aligned with the objectives of the National Curriculum, the focus of the students may change from getting marks to concept clarification, lab equipment may be provided to institutes, lab equipment may be updated and according to the quantity mentioned in the Biology National Curriculum 2006.
References
Antes, A. L. (2014). Aligning objectives and assessment in responsible conduct of research instruction. Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education, 15(2), 108-116.
Aviles, C. B. (2001). Creatively Adapting Mastery Learning and Outcome-Based Education to the Social Work Classroom.
Bhatti, A. J., Jumani, N. B., & Bilal, M. (2015). Pakistan Journal of Social Scienc Analysis of Alignment between Curriculum and Biology Textbook at Secondary Level in Punjab. Pakistan Journal of Social Sciences (PJSS), 35(1), 261-272.
Biggs, J. (1996). Enhancing teaching through constructive alignment. Higher education, 32(3), 347-364.
Blumberg, P. (2009). Maximizing learning through course alignment and experience with different types of knowledge. Innovative Higher Education, 34(2), 93-103.
Cohen, S. A. (1987). Instructional alignment: Searching for a magic bullet. Educational Researcher, 16(8), 16-20.
Creswell, J. W. (2009). Research designs: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. California: Sage.
Davila Rubio, A. M. Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design. Alexandria, VA: association for supervision and curriculum development ASCD.
Freeman, S. H. (2011). Increased course structure improves performance in introductory biology. CBE Life Sciences Education, 10(2), 175-186., Meltzer, D. E.
Gitomer. (2011). Road maps for learning and teacher evaluation. Measurement: Interdisciplinary Research & Perspective, 9(2-3), 146–148.
Kearsley, G. &. Lynch, W. (1996). Structural issues in distance education. Journal of Education for Business, 71(4), 191-195.
Lam, B. H. (2013). Examining the alignment of subject learning outcomes and course curricula through curriculum mapping. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 38(12), 97-119.
Martin, F. (2011). Instructional design and the importance of instructional alignment. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 35(12), 955-972.
Martone, A. &. Sireci, S. G. (2009). Evaluating alignment between curriculum, assessment, and instruction . Review of educational research, 79(4), 1332-1361.
Meltzer, D. E. (2002). The relationship between mathematics preparation and conceptual learning gains in physics: A possible “hidden variable” in diagnostic pretest scores. American journal of physics, 70(12), 1259-1268.
Momsen, J. L., Long, T. M., Wyse, S. A., & Ebert-May, D. (2010). Just the facts? Introductory undergraduate biology courses focus on low-level cognitive skills. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 9(4), 435-440.
Momsen, J., Offerdahl, E., Kryjevskaia, M., Montplaisir, L., Anderson, E., & Grosz, N. (2013). Using assessments to investigate and compare the nature of learning in undergraduate science courses. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 12(2), 239-249.
O’Neill A., Birol, G., & Pollock, C. (2010). A Report on the Implementation of the Blooming Biology Tool: Aligning Course Learning Outcomes with Assessments and Promoting Consistency in a Large Multi-Section First-Year Biology Course. Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning,1(1), 8.
Poni, Z. (2015). The alignment between curricululm objectives and assesment of isiXhosa at grade 12.
Shaltry, C. (2020). A new model for organizing curriculum alignment initiatives. Advances in physiology education, 44(4), 658-663.
Squires, D. (2012). Curriculum alignment research suggests that alignment can improve student achievement. The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas, 85(4), 129-135.
Tyler, R. W. (2013). Basic principles of curriculum and instruction. University of Chicago press.
Webb, N. L., Horton, M., & O'Neal, S. (2002). An Analysis of the Alignment Between Mathematics Standards and Assesment for three states. Wisconsin center for Education Research .university of Wisconsin-Madison.
Webb, N. L. (1997). Criteria for Alignment of Expectations and Assessments in Mathematics and Science Education. Research Monograph No. 6.
Wotring, A., Chen, H., & Fraser, M. (2021). Exploring Curriculum Alignment through Syllabus Document Analysis: From National Language Policy to Local ELT Practice. Iranian Journal of Language Teaching Research, 9(2), 57-72.
