History of the Project:

Programs such as SCIS and SAPA and ESS and COPES marked an historical first in science curriculum design for elementary schools. For the first time the development of what we have come to call scientific literacy beginning with the youngest pupils was the focus of national attention. For the first time the nation backed up its interest with national funding. For the first time the very best scientific minds in our top universities began to ask how our children could be prepared for a world that needs not only scientists but citizens capable of dealing with the political, social and economic impact of ongoing scientific progress. For the first time public funds were made available for nationwide curriculum development, testing, revision, retesting and revision with concomitant ongoing teacher training and support of the teacher in the classroom. For the first time teachers were given science lessons that were good science involving hands-on science learning, based on solid psychological principles, and thoroughly tested in diverse classrooms. The major portion of this unique educational experiment took place from about 1960 to 1975.

Basic Ideas:

There are several basic assumptions underlying the ESS program as well as the other programs found on this CD-ROM. The first is that science can be taught to young children in a way that is faithful to science as an intellectual approach to the world. In other words, the content must represent the best of scientific thinking in Physics, Chemistry, Biology, etc. A number of senior scientists at Harvard influenced the ESS program, especially Professor Philip Morrison. The philosophy of the ESS group was that the scientific principles should be taught more in an implicit manner than explicitly. For instance, symmetry in nature is an important concept in mathematics, physics and biology. This key idea could be taught in a carefully structured sequence of lessons in the context of each discipline. The ESS team, however, took an entirely different approach. They developed the unit Mirror Cards, which had children use small mirrors and a set of cards to experiment with the effects of combining the mirrors and cards to create new patterns or pictures. The unit does not push students to any particular application. Is this science or art or geometry or just play? It is any and all of the above. The second assumption of the "new" science programs is that children learn science best by doing science. Hands-on learning is the way to go. ESS takes the most radical approach to this principle by encouraging very open-ended activity and a minimum of teacher direction. The third assumption is that the lessons must take into account the empirical findings of developmental psychology. On this point ESS developers allow the children to function at their own levels; some will follow the activity on a very concrete level while others may go on to more abstract and formal thinking about what happens. This might vary widely within a classroom. The Harvard psychologist Jerome Bruner was a strong influence on the ESS program.

Method of Curriculum Development:

The Elementary Science Study was one of many curriculum development projects that came out of the Education Development Center, Inc., a private non-profit organization. EDC is located in Cambridge, Mass., not far from Harvard University. The work of EDC began in 1958 and continues today. ESS is an elementary school science program that was supported primarily by grants from the National Science Foundation. The project began on a small scale in 1960. Over its history more than one hundred scientists and educators were involved in the conception and design of ESS units of study. This was a very eclectic group of creative people ranging from professors of Physics to artists and musicians. Innovative teachers were invited to spend a summer or even a year at EDC where they were encouraged to develop materials that would excite children about science. Units were not explicitly tagged for the teaching of specific scientific concepts or aimed at a single grade level. The units were also designed so that they could be sequenced in a variety of ways. Structure was minimal. ESS units can be integrated into almost any science curriculum or combined to constitute a curriculum. Every unit was developed with the involvement of children and teachers. Testing was not so much concerned with cognitive outcomes as with motivation, curiosity, interest, involvement, and fun. If children are "turned on" by manipulating materials, experimenting, just messing about, then the unit was considered a success. Kits were produced for most units and the materials could often be "home made." There were no textbooks or student manuals, just a slim Teacher’s Guide. Teacher training concentrated on giving teachers practice in joining their students as fellow investigators and acting as a resource. Today the children might be encouraged to use the Internet as a resource to follow up on their investigations.

Materials:

The curriculum development process also involved commercial publishing houses, that helped with the development and packaging of classroom kits of materials. Webster McGraw Hill handled the ESS program. The logistics of supplying every teacher with all of the items necessary for each ESS unit proved to be a major challenge. The crucial problem turned out to be the ongoing maintenance of the items in the kits. Ultimately, school districts were successful in long term implementation of the program if they faced this logistics problem by hiring a materials specialist. Another key to successful implementation was a team approach within each school that involved teachers and administrators.

Long Term Outcomes:

ESS and other federally funded curriculum projects have continued to influence elementary school science instruction in a variety of ways. Commercial publishers have adapted large portions of the programs into their current curriculum materials. Teachers today use many of the approaches pioneered in the NSF curricula. Many of the science educators preparing teachers in colleges and universities began their own careers teaching these programs in trial schools or working under educators who helped to develop or test the original programs. Before the ESS group at Harvard and the other curriculum leaders did their work, science in the typical elementary school was a textbook subject and the content was a holdover from the nineteenth century. Since curriculum renewal is a recurring necessity, we present you here with 189 resources, a complete copy of the ESS teacher’s manuals. Have fun!

/Francis X. Lawlor, Ed.D.