Breath versus Depth 1
Running head: BREADTH VERSUS DEPTH
Depth is More Important than Breadth in the Teaching of Secondary Science
Con Position Paper
Andrew Stephens
California State University, Northridge

Breath versus Depth 2
Depth is more important than Breadth in the Teaching of Secondary Science-
Con Position Paper
As educators in the secondary sciences we often find ourselves faced with the constraint of finite time. When this point comes, we are forced to make a decision. Do we continue with the planned pacing to ensure a breadth and varied scope of concepts, ideas, and procedures; or, do we take more time to engage in an in depth curriculum of fewer topics? Similarly, science chairs and administrators face the decision of depth or breadth in the range of courses offered.
Depth, for the purposes of this paper, will share two meanings. In the case of an individual class, depth will be considered the path of deepened instruction on a few concepts at the expense of other topics. In the case of a school or district curriculum, depth will be considered the focusing of instruction on fewer fields of science (thus introductory and advanced courses in fewer fields) at the expense of other disciplines of science. Breadth will be considered the opposite in both cases: focusing on a higher number of broad topics in an individual course and focusing on more fields of science in a school curriculum.
In the teaching of secondary science, it is essential to focus on giving students a strong understanding of a wide variety of topics. For students to be literate in science they must have a breadth of knowledge from all scientific disciplines. They must understand basic broad topics in the physical sciences, life sciences, earth sciences, and beyond. The only way for secondary science educators to ensure this real world science literacy and to prepare the students for science careers is through instruction and curriculum that focuses on breadth. This breadth helps science teachers reach more students’ strengths and interests, helps students build background knowledge for future study, helps motivate intrinsic learning, and inspires more students to go on to careers in science that remain in very high demand.

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If you offer more varied science courses, you are more likely to solicit the interest of more students. In an integrated science course that covered a wide variety of topics, I found that
79 out of 84 students preferred the breadth of integrated science to the depth of a compartmentalized science. On average, these students indicated a one-point increase in their liking of science, on a scale of one (hating science) to five (loving science), after taking the course. This ultimately will help students in future science courses as interest increases intrinsic motivation to learn (Slavin, 2003). A varied selection of offered science courses also encourages more female students to continue with science classes. Physics is sometimes the only option for upper division science students (as was the case at the high school I attended and the one where I teach). This can hurt the female student’s statistical chances of continuing successfully because of their difficulty (when compared to males) in learning certain aspects of physics, its abstract math, and its spatial skills (Gurian, 2001). A higher variety of courses offered would likely result in more females and males alike taking more science courses (Coley, 1999).
The secondary schools are the ideal arena for a breadth of science courses and concepts.
This way students have an opportunity to find their scientific interest while developing the basic background knowledge necessary for science literacy and college science courses. Students who go to college with a background in a variety of sciences will have greater success because of their breadth of background knowledge (Slavin, 2003). In fact, the general scientific knowledge that a student possesses upon high school graduation may be his/her greatest scientific asset.
According to Hirsch (2001), the general ability to learn something new is more highly correlated to prior general knowledge (0.811) than to socioeconomic status (0.422). Hirsch (2001), also highlights that broad knowledge is the best doorway to deeper knowledge because the best way to learn a subject is through its general principals. Therefore, the more general scientific

Breath versus Depth 4 principals we expose our students to the more likely it is they can choose to learn the depth of a chosen discipline of science in the future.
A girth of science concepts, ideas, and procedures clearly aids in students’ high school and future science success. The greater depth should come in post-secondary education once the student has a solid foundation in the sciences and is better able to understand the nature of science and their own interests. This breadth could also help students understand the artificial compartmentalization of the sciences. Through a variety of sciences, students could learn in a more real world context and become inspired to increase the lowly number of science majors in the United States.

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References
Coley, R.J. (1999). Opportunity offered opportunity taken: Course taking in America high schools. Educational Testing Service Policy Notes 9, (1), 1-10.
Gurian, M. & Henley, P. (2001). Boys and Girls Learn Differently! San Fransisco: Jossey Bass.
Hirsch, E.D. (2001). What should we teach?. Educational Research, 59 (2), 6-73.
Slavin, R.E. (2003). Educational Psychology: Theory and Practice. San Fransisco: Allyn and
Bacon