Students will enjoy many Benefits from the new Integrated Science Curriculum
- If they don’t have the chance to experience chemistry in Integrated Science school, how would they know if it is something they like? If they don’t get a chance to experience physics in their sophomore or freshman years, how will they be able to decide if it is something they want?
- They wouldn’t. But Cut Bank High School is changing that way of thinking. It will introduce a new way to teach science. It’s called Integrated Science.
- Aaron Hunter, Cut Bank High School’s second-year science teacher, stated that freshmen and sophomores only need to take biology and earth science for their science classes. The student will learn a bit of both earth science and biology through Integrated Science classes. Chemistry and physics are also included. These classes will integrate all sciences and show students how they relate to one another.
- Allyson Hoof is a veteran science teacher from Cut Bank High School. “Instead of focusing only on one area of science like political science books we do now, we will have to give the students the chance to study in all areas of science,” she said. “This teaching style will provide students with a better understanding of science and all science.”
- When students return to school for the 2014-2015 academic year, the new Integrated Science program begins in fall 2014. Hunter will be teaching Integrated Science I to the incoming freshmen. Students who are sophomores in the fall will learn Integrated Science II from Hoof.
- Although Integrated Science is intended to be a three year program, Cut Bank High School will only be incorporating two years of their program. The two-year program will provide students with instruction in more science areas than they were previously required. This gives them a broad view of science.
- Every year builds on the previous, so what you learned in your freshman year can be carried forward into sophomore. If a student wishes to continue their science studies in junior or senior year, they can choose the science area that they are most passionate about and want to continue for another year.
- Hunter stated that while it still meets all the requirements and provides science classes for the children, the program gives them a better understanding of how science can be applied in real life. “In today’s technological world, kids have to become more science-literate. This program will assist with that.”
- The National Science Foundation Association provided funding to help teachers and professors test teaching methods and make sure that the Integrated Science program works. Hoof said that it has been thoroughly tested.
