The Challenger Learning Centre missions
are extremely effective educational tools. They capture the fun and excitement
of space travel while allowing your students to develop their problem-solving
and cooperative-learning skills. More specifically, they provide an excellent
context for cross-curricular learning and teaching, and they allow the
teacher to address almost any curriculum concept, from Science and Technology
to Mathematics and Language.
This document outlines some of the links of our Challenger Learning
Centre program to the new Ontario Curriculum for Grades 1-8, including
the Science and Technology, Language and Mathematics curricula.
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The Goals of Science
and Technology Education:
The Challenger Learning Centre provides students with a unique opportunity
to participate in simulation programs of high interest and also to use
skills and knowledge from other subject disciplines. Challenger Learning
Centre programs provide an excellent forum to the three goals of the
science and technology curriculum.
These goals are intended to ensure that all students acquire a basic
scientific literacy and technological capability before entering secondary
school.
The goals for students are:
- to understand the basic concepts of science and technology
- to develop the skills, strategies, and habits of mind required for
scientific inquiry and technological design
- to relate scientific and technological knowledge to each other and
to the world outside the school
In the Challenger program students are actively involved in role playing
a real life problem within a given context; they are actively involved
in developing skills and habits of mind for scientific inquiry. Throughout
their involvement in the simulation, both prior to coming to the Challenger
Learning Centre and during their mission, students are developing their
understanding of basic concepts related to space and space exploration.
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These goals are equally important. They can be achieved simultaneously through learning activities that combine the acquisition of knowledge with both inquiry and design processes in a concrete, practical context. At the same time, these learning activities must enable students to develop the communication skills that are an essential component of science and technology education.
- The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 1-8: Science and Technology
(Ontario Ministry of Education and Training, 1998) Page 3 |
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Alignment to Science and Technology Strands:
The Challenger Learning Centre Programs are currently available to diverse
age groups: Return to the Moon, Grades 4-12; Voyage to Mars,
Grades 4-12. These programs align most closely to Grades 5, 6, 7 and 8 in the
elementary curriculum. The two programs could be linked to the Grades 6 and
9 Earth & Space Strand and the new Grade 11 and 12 Science & Space
Expectations.
The following shows the alignment of Challenger Learning Centre Programs to
the Grades 5-8 strands in The Ontario Curriculum Grades 1-8, Science and Technology.
| Challenger Learning Centre Program |
Grade and Strand alignment |
| Return to the
Moon |
- Grade 6: Earth and Space Systems
- Grade 6: Matter and Materials
- Grade 4: Earth and Space Systems (limited)
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| Voyage to Mars |
- Grade 6: Earth and Space Systems
- Grade 6: Matter and Materials
- Grade 4: Earth and Space Systems (limited)
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Challenger Program
Support Materials:
Part of the Challenger program includes teacher training where teachers
receive instructional support materials to help prepare their students
for the Challenger mission. These materials aid the teacher in building
a complete space unit around the Challenger program.
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The support materials for the (specific) programs offered in the Challenger Learning Centre are rich with information and hands-on activities. They provide teachers with support for both background information and clearly laid out lesson plans.
-Marietta Bloch, Ontario Curriculum Consultant and writer |
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Language Curriculum:
To demonstrate the links of the Challenger Programs to the Language curriculum
the table below shows the overall expectations that are relevant for Challenger
for Grade 6. Other grades have similar expectations related to the corresponding
strands.
| The Ontario Curriculum Grades 1-8, Language
(Grade 6) |
| Writing |
- communicate ideas and information for a variety of purposes
- use writing for various purposes and in a range of contexts
- produce pieces of writing using forms techniques and resources appropriate
to the form and purpose, and materials from other media
- use and spell correctly the vocabulary appropriate for this grade
level
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| Reading |
- read a variety of fiction and non-fiction materials for different
purposes
- read independently
- explain the interpretation of a written work, supporting it with
evidence from the work and from their own knowledge and experience
- understand the vocabulary and language structures appropriate for
this grade level
- summarize and explain the main ideas in information materials, and
cite details that support the main idea
- plan a research project and carry out the research
- understand specialized words or terms, as necessary
- use a variety of conventions of formal texts to find and verify information
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| Oral and Visual Communication |
- make reports, describe and explain a course of action, and follow
detailed instructions
- ask and answer questions to obtain and clarify information
- communicate a main idea about a topic and describe a sequence of
events
- contribute and work constructively in groups
- demonstrate the ability to concentrate by identifying main points
persuade listeners in conversations, discussions or presentations
- follow up on others' ideas, and recognize the validity of different
points of view in group discussions or problem-solving activities
- identify questionable strategies (e.g., exaggerated claims, one-sided
presentation of information) presenters use to influence audience
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Mathematics Curriculum:
To demonstrate the links of the Challenger Programs to the Mathematics curriculum
the table below shows the overall expectations that are relevant for Challenger
for Grade 6. Other grades have similar expectations related to the corresponding
strands.
| The Ontario Curriculum Grades 1-8, Mathematics
(Grade 6) |
| Number Sense and Numeration |
- understand the significance of numbers in the greater world and evaluate
the use of numbers in the media
- explain their thinking when solving problems involving whole numbers,
fractions, decimals, and percents
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| Measurement |
- demonstrate an understanding of and ability to apply appropriate
metric prefixes in measurement and estimation activities
- select among commonly used SI units of length, mass, capacity, area,
and volume in solving problems
- relate time, and distance and speed: kilometres per hour
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| Geometry and Spatial Sense |
- demonstrate an understanding of coordinates in a Cartesian plane
in the first quadrant and plot points
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| Patterning and Algebra |
- describe patterns encountered in any context, make models of the
patterns, and create charts to display the patterns
- identify and extend patterns to solve problems in meaningful contexts
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| Data Management and Probability |
- systematically collect, organize, and analyze data
- use computer applications to examine data in a variety of ways
- interpret displays of data and present the information using mathematical
terms
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Summary:
It has been shown above how Challenger Programs relate to the implementation
of the new Ontario Curricula. We are currently in the process of detailing
the specific expectations that are addressed by the Challenger Learning Centre
programs and teacher support materials and developing additional support materials
which broaden the number of specific expectations covered. Please visit
this page in the future for the latest report on Challenger curriculum
links.
Acknowledgement:
The Ontario Science Centre wishes to acknowledge and express great thanks
to Marietta Bloch for her work in establishing much of the above document.
