ABSTRACT: From the beginning of modern science in the 1600s, there has been an interest in
how to link academic science with the lifeworld of the student. To facilitate this purpose requires a
lived curriculum and a range of thinking skills related to the proper utilization of science/technology
information. The extent to which students acquire these cognitive competencies determines whether
or not they are scientifically literate. The supporting science curriculum must be culturally based
and in harmony with the contemporary ethos and practice of science. Never before have schools
faced such a rapidly changing landscape calling for a reinvention of school science curricula. This
article identifies elements of a curriculum framework and cognitive strategies that seek to prepare
students as productive citizens in today’s world.