Tg physical science - overview  (Page 3/5)

Physical sciences

As economic growth is stimulated by innovation and research which is embedded in the Physical Sciences, this subject plays an increasingly important role to meet the country’s needs. The nature of the Physical Sciences and the needs of the country are reflected in the curriculum. The specific aims direct the classroom activities that intend to develop higher order cognitive skills of learners, needed for higher education.

The nature of the Physical Sciences is to:

• investigate physical and chemical phenomena through scientific inquiry, application of scientific models, theories and laws in order to explain and predict events in the physical environment;
• deal with society's need to understand how the physical environment works in order to benefit from it and responsibly care for it;
• use all scientific and technological knowledge, including Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) to address challenges facing society.

The specific aims of Physical Sciences

The specific aims provide guidelines on how to prepare learners to meet the challenges of society and the future during teaching, learning and assessment. The Specific Aims of the Physical Sciences (CAPS document, stated below) are aligned to the three Learning Outcomes (NCS document) with which you are familiar. Developing language skills as such is not a specific aim for the Physical Sciences, but we know that cognitive skills are rooted in language; therefore language support is crucial for success in this subject.

The specific aims for the Physical Sciences are:

• Specific aim 1: to promote knowledge and skills in scientific inquiry and problem solving; the construction and application of scientific and technological knowledge; an understanding of the nature of science and its relationships to technology, society and the environment.
• Specific aim 2: to equip learners with investigating skills relating to physical and chemical phenomena. These skills are: classifying, communicating, measuring, designing an investigation, drawing and evaluating conclusions, formulating models, hypothesising, identifying and controlling variables, inferring, observing and comparing, interpreting, predicting, problem solving and reflective skills.
• Specific aim 3: to prepare learners for future learning (including academic courses in Higher Education), specialist learning, employment, citizenship, holistic development, socio-economic development, and environmental management. Learners choosing Physical Sciences as a subject in Grades 10 - 12, including those with barriers to learning, can have improved access to professional career paths related to applied science courses and vocational career paths.

Within each of these aims, specific skills or competences have been identified. It is not advisable to try to assess each of the skills separately, nor is it possible to report on individual skills separately. However, well designed assessments must show evidence that, by the end of the year, all of the skills have been assessed at a grade-appropriate level. Study the next section that deals with assessment.