Science

Research during the past decade has greatly enriched our knowledge about the ways that curriculum design can impact learning in science. An important contribution comes from design-based research - an emerging methodology. Researchers have sought to synthesize refinement studies of curricular innovations. Frameworks to organize design knowledge are emerging. We demonstrate the potential use of such frameworks to guide the process of curricular design by describing two approaches for synthesizing design knowledge: the design principles and the design patterns approaches. Both approaches view science learning as a process of knowledge integration. These approaches can contribute to courses in curriculum design and help designers build on widely used materials to improve student learning.