FUSE and The Center for Unified Science Education

Barbara ThomsonAssistant Professor of Education

Center for Unified Science EducationOhio State UniversityColumbus, Ohio 43210

The Federation for Unified Science Education (FUSE) was estab-lished in 1966 as an association of teachers with a mutual interestin developing instructional programs in science in which the differencesbetween the sciences are dissolved or at least minimized in favorof the major ideas and concepts that permeate sciences in general.The purpose of FUSE was mainly that of providing a system ofmutual help in solving common problems.The original purpose continues today and the activities of FUSE

have been extended throughout the world. FUSE has conducted annualworking conferences since its inception. The site of each conferencehas been selected to enable direct observation of an ongoing unifiedscience program. The Ninth Annual FUSE Conference will be con-ducted in Deerfield, Massachusetts, in May of 1975.

During the early years of FUSE, individual members took theresponsibility of providing consultation and other dissemination typeactivities in response to requests from individuals and school groups.However, as time went on, the number of requests became too frequentfor FUSE people to handle since each had a full time job of hisown. As a result of this situation and in anticipation of a continuingincrease in the frequency of requests for information and help, FUSEincorporated on a non-profit basis and sought foundational supportto formalize its resource functions in a more or less permanent centerwith a few full time professional staff members.

In the early summer of 1972, the Center for Unified ScienceEducation was established by a grant from the National ScienceFoundation to FUSE. The Center was (and is) located at The OhioState University which provided some additional support.The mission of the Center is: a�to disseminate the concept of

unified science education and b�to facilitate the development ofhigh quality unified science programs in local schools (grades K-14).The Center operates with a full-time director, a full-time secretary,

a half-time coordinator, and several other part-time professionalsincluding at least two doctoral students. In addition to this * ’permanent’’staff. Center activities depend on extensive input from FUSE memberson an "as-needed" basis. Thus, the human resources of the Centerextend beyond the confines of its physical location.

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CENTER RESOURCESIn order to achieve its continuing objectives of dissemination and

facilitation, several resources have been established at the Centerand are being extended continuously. These resources are used bythe Center in conducting its program of activities and by individualsand teams in the science education community. Among these resourcesare:

1. Program description file.

This file contains a description of every known unified scienceprogram in the United States and other countries. Each descriptionhas been provided by the developers of the program. At present,the number of programs in this file is about 170 and they are categorizedas secondary, elementary, college, and K-12. Whether or not a givenprogram is included is determined by the developer of each programin terms of an operational definition established by the Center. Eachprogram is abstracted and an up-to-date compilation is maintainedas a general directory of unified science programs.

2. Student instructional materials collection.This is a collection of actual instructional materials used by selected

unified science programs. In a few cases the items are teacher guidesbut mainly they are materials actually placed in students hands. Atthe present time, complete or partial sets of materials are includedfrom about 50 different programs.

3. Specialized library.

Books and journal articles that have special relevance for unifiedscience education are included. The books are either those in whichthe philosophy of and rationale for unified science education are basedor which contain instructional materials that could be adapted forinclusion in a unified science program. An annotated bibliographyof the former type has been produced and is revised periodically.

4. Test file.

This contains an extensive collection of test instruments that havepotential value in evaluating unified science programs. Most of thetests have been developed in the course of doctoral studies and arenot "standardized." Many deal with the nature of science, scientificattitudes, science-society relationships, etc., which are not amongthe usual science course objectives.

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5. Evaluative studies collection.

This contains reports of studies done to evaluate a variety of unifiedscience programs. They range from informal studies to relativelysophisticated statistical investigations and from studies covering oneyear to those covering a whole multiple-year program.

6. Workshop modules.

This is a collection of self-contained learning activities, each ofwhich deals, with a specific unified science program or with someaspect of unified science curriculum development. Each modulerequires about 30-45 minutes of working time. Many are in the formof audiotapes or slidetapes but most are composed of some combinationof printed materials. These are intended for use at the Center, inworkshops conducted by Center staff, and in locally developedworkshops without intervention of "outside" people. In the lastmentioned case, selected modules are loaned from the Center to schoolsfor a specific day’s use. Colleges have also used these modules incurriculum courses. A listing of available modules is available onrequest from the Center.

7. Module bank.

This resource is in the formative stage at the present. When itis operational, it will contain a collection of abstracts of self-containedlearning activities (modules) that are commonly available and whichhave potential for use as components of unified science instructionalunits. Each abstract in the bank will be keyed to one of the manyspecific unit organizing themes advocated by the Center.

CENTER ACTIVITIES AND SERVICES

The usual activities of the Center are involved in maintaining,applying, and continuing development of the various resources. Manyactivities of the Center are one-of-a-kind efforts which are conductedin response to a specific request from an individual or a school group.These activities range from conducting a special week-long workshopin developing unified science instructional materials to providing aone-hour lecture on the philosophy and rationale for unified scienceeducation to identifying journal articles dealing with unified scienceeducation.The Center publishes a journal-newsletter. Prism II, on a quarterly

basis. At the present time, subscription to this publication is freeon request to science teachers and other interested educators. PrismII contains articles dealing with various aspects of unified science

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education, news of forthcoming events, and materials and servicesavailable through the Center and other sources.

During the past two years, the Center has conducted ten regionalworkshops in various parts of the nation. Each of these intensivetwo-day workshops has enabled participants to explore the conceptof unified science education and consider some alternative methodsof implementing the approach in their own school setting. The locations,dates, and procedures for applying for the 1974-75 workshops willbe announced in Prism II.

Active consultation and long range cooperation with school groupsin the actual development of unified science programs is a majoractivity of the Center. Often this takes the form of a team effortinvolving Center personnel and people with unified science experiencefrom within the geographical region of the concerned school group.

UNIFIED SCIENCE STUDY AT THE CENTER

Many study opportunities are available at or through the Center.A course, "Unified Science Curriculum Design and Development,"is taught under the auspices of The Ohio State University. The coursecarries 3-5 quarter hours of graduate or advanced undergraduate credit.Arrangements can be made for the credit to be transferred to otherinstitutions.The Center also supports several doctoral students who also partici-

pate heavily in the ongoing activities of the Center. The degree programsof these students are specifically designed to develop a strong emphasisin unified science curriculum development.The special position of Center Staff Associate has been established

for non-degree seeking individuals who wish to spend some extendedtime at the Center studying unified science and/or working directlyon the development of unified science instructional materials. Thisposition is ideal for people on sabbatical leave, international educators,and science department chairmen during the summer.On a less formal basis, the most frequently utilized role for studying

at the Center is that of "working visitor." These visits can occurpractically anytime during the year and typically run for 1-10 days.Arrangements are usually made in advance and the visit consists ofusing Center resources and staff to suit individual interests. Detailsof this and other ways of using the Center directly are availableon request.

CURRICULUM METHODOLOGY ADVOCATED BY CENTER

The Center, along with FUSE, acknowledges that there are poten-tially many techniques possible for applying and implementing the

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unified science concept. Nevertheless, the Center strongly advocatesthe "modular unit" approach to unified science curriculum designas an optimum starting place for science teacher development teams.(3) This approach features a structural format that is unique andwas first explicated by Victor Showalter during the Sixth AnnualFUSE Conference at Moline, Illinois, in October 1971.

This model, in effect, assumes that the unit is the basic componentof a unified science curriculum. The unit is defined as an organized"chunk" of learning activity that lasts about six weeks (less at earlyelementary levels). Internally, the unit begins with a group module(i.e., learning activity) that introduces the unit and starts the studentson the way to achieving the objectives of the unit. The second stageof the unit enables each student to choose two or three alternativemodules from a list of four or more that are available. Each of theseserves as a "vehicle" to work toward the objectives of the unit.This stage lasts approximately four weeks and students work eithersingly or in small groups on a self-paced schedule. The third stageof the unit is a generalizing module of the group type and includesa final test.The modular unit structure has the advantage of enabling students

to learn both in groups and individually. Further, the structurefacilitates the design and assembly of units by local teacher teamsusing as components modules that already exist in other instructionalsources. These sources include, but are not limited to, books, laboratorymanuals, films, etc. In general this structure or format enablesguidelines established by the Center for an idealized unified scienceunit to be fulfilled. These guidelines are: "The unified science" unitshould:

1�be organized around a theme which is either: (a) a big idea (concept) thatpermeates all sciedces, (b) a process of science, (c) a natural phenomenon,or (d) a problem.

2�incorporate learning activities from several of the specialized sciences includingone or more of the behavioral or social sciences.

3�be based on a few clearly stated objectives in learner terms and which areconsistent with overall program objectives.

4�provide learning activities for 4-8 weeks of usual school time.5�incorporate a variety of learning modes, many of which include "concrete"

experiences.6�be essentially self-contained, yet be an integral part of the local science program.

It should be interesting to and usable by learners at a specified grade level.7�include an end-of-unit test based on achievement of unit objectives and should

contain only a few (if any) items of a purely recall nature.8�utilize a format that will lend itself to continuing evolution of the unit in time.9�contain opportunities for learners to make some choices of what and how they

learn.10�utilize commonly available equipment and materials, require a minimum expendi-

ture for special equipment and materials, be compatible with local constraints,and capitalize on existing resources.

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11�be prefaced by a rationale which is addressed to both learners and teachersand which describes reasons for the unit’s importance, interest, etc.

12�include several opportunities for learners to self-check their progress towardachieving the goals.

13�be accompanied by a brief description of the teacher’s role in teaching theunit.

14�identify the source of the learning activities used in "building" the unit. Activitiesadapted from or located in other sources should be clearly linked to the unit.

15�include a list of materials and resources required in the unit and their sourceor location.

16�be accompanied by an accurate estimate of the man-hours of effort requiredto assemble the unit.

The Center maintains a collection of exemplary modular units whichcan be used as models by local development teams. However, noneof these models is recommended for actual classroom use by teachersother than those who originally developed the unit. The reason forthis is that teachers generally teach best those things which theythemselves have devised. In contrast, units always seem to sufferin the "translation" when taught by someone else. In other words,the only time units get taught in the spirit in which they are conceivedis when they are taught by the conceiver(s).

In addition to unit guidelines, the Center also advocates that eachunit be developed within the overarching framework of programguidelines which are intended for the total science program in a schoolor school system. These larger guidelines may vary from school toschool but should be consistent with the general recommendationsestablished by the National Science Teachers Association. (1)

Further information about Center resources, activities, recommen-dations, etc., can be obtained by writing to: FUSE Center, Box 3138,University Station, Columbus, Ohio 43210 or by telephoning (614)422-1053.

REFERENCES

1. Curriculum Committee of the National Science Teachers Association. "SchoolScience Education for the 70’s," The Science Teacher, November 1971.

2. SHOWALTER, VICTOR, et. aL, "Characteristics of the Science Unit," Prism II, Autumn1973.

3. SHOWALTER, VICTOR, "The FUSE Approach," The Science Teacher, February 1973.

MAKE PLANS NOW TOATTEND THE 1975 ANNUAL

SSMA CONVENTION�CHICAGO