Science
education is most effective when it captures the beliefs and "habits
of mind", or methods of thinking, that guide scientists in their own
explorations of the world. What are these beliefs and methods? Among them
are the beliefs that the world is understandable; that ideas are not fixed
but grow and change over time; that scientific knowledge is durable; and
that science cannot explain all things. Science also values certain rational
methods of inquiry. These include careful observation, thoughtful analysis,
healthy skepticism, the blending of logic and imagination, and the development
of sound and coherent predictions and explanations.
In keeping with these beliefs and methods, good science teaching encourages students to be curious, creative, open-minded, skeptical, willing to suspend initial judgments, able to collaborate with others, and be persistent in the face of failure. Research has validated several teaching strategies for developing these qualities and thinking processes. In the effective science classroom, the activity of finding out is as important as knowing the answer. For example, teachers might begin by posing questions about nature: What causes typhoons? Why do children look like their parents?
To answer these questions, students tend to go about the tasks of observing, collecting evidence, describing, and sorting. The next round of activity might involve asking more questions, following hunches, developing hypotheses, debating, and defending conclusions to other students. By continually moving back and forth among questions, observations, and experiments, students refine and validate their hypotheses and, at the same time, develop good thinking skills.
Three major efforts are underway to abandon conventional approaches to teaching science and adopt approaches that incorporate the new knowledge about effective science education. One of these new approaches is Project 2061 Science for All Americans, produced by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in 1989. Project 2061 describes what all students should know and understand about science, and recommends teaching in ways designed to address all students' learning styles, abilities, and cultural backgrounds. In 1993, AAAS also defined benchmarks for what students should know and be able to do at specific grade levels.
Another major effort initiated in 1989 is the Science Scope, Sequence, and Coordination Project by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). This project recommends five specific actions for restructuring the secondary school science curriculum: (1) engage students in direct experience with the natural world before they attempt to learn terms, symbols, or equations; (2) reduce the quantity of science topics and terminology covered; (3) study science disciplines every year in a multi-disciplinary approach; (4) approach concepts, principles, and laws of science at successively higher levels of abstraction; and (5) begin science studies with practical applications of science at a personal level, introducing global applications in the upper grades. The NSTA also calls for more science study in elementary school and eliminating tracking of students. Science education is in the process of undergoing a major shift.
The National Research Council (NRC), a committee of the National Academy of Sciences, is currently developing standards for content, teaching, assessment, and professional development of teachers, programs, and school systems in science. This effort is funded by the U.S. government, which seeks to develop broad-based science standards acceptable to the states.
The striking similarities among these three independent efforts suggests a major shift in science education. The changes are summarized in the Shifts in Mathematics and Science table below.
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