Science education

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Science education is the field concerned with sharing science content and process with individuals not traditionally considered part of the scientific community. The target individuals may be children, college students, or adults within the general public. The field of science education comprises science content, some sociology, and some teaching pedagogy.The standards for science education provide expectations for the development of understanding for students through the entire course of their k-12 education. The traditional subjects included in the standards are physical, life, and earth and space sciences. (http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/nses/1.html#why )

Contents

[edit] Historical background

Science education in secondary schools began in the UK around 1870, but it was not widespread until much later. The first step came when the British Academy for the Advancement of Science (BAAS) published a report in 1867 (Layton, 1981). BAAS promoted teaching of “pure science” and training of the “scientific habit of mind.” The progressive education movement of the time supported the ideology of mental training through the sciences. BAAS emphasized separately pre-professional training in secondary science education. In this way, future BAAS members could be prepared.

The initial development of science teaching was slowed by the lack of qualified teachers. One key development was the founding of the first London School Board in 1870, which discussed the school curriculum; another was the initiation of courses to supply the country with trained science teachers. In both cases the influence of Thomas Henry Huxley was critical (see especially Thomas Henry Huxley#Educational influence). John Tyndall was also influential in the teaching of physical science.[1]

In the US, science education was a scatter of subjects prior to its standardization in the 1890’s (Del Giorno, 1969). The development of a science curriculum in the US emerged gradually after extended debate between two ideologies, citizen science and pre-professional training. The National Education Association formed a Committee of Ten in 1892 to formulate a curriculum.The committee was composed of educators and was chaired by Charles Eliot of Harvard University. Two major recommendations of the committee were to introduce core subjects and teaching subjects for college-bound and terminal students. The committee recommended eight years of elementary education and four years of secondary education for students. According to the Committee of Ten, the goal of high school was to prepare all students to do well in life, contributing to their well-being and the good of society. Another goal was to prepare some students to succeed in college. [2]

This committee supported the citizen science approach focused on mental training and withheld performance in science studies from consideration for college entrance (Hurd, 1991). The BAAS encouraged their longer standing model in the UK (Jenkins, 1985). The US adopted a curriculum that was similar to the UK secondary schools; it included both pre-professional training and mental training.

The format of shared mental training and pre-professional training consistently dominated the curriculum from its inception to now. However, the movement to incorporate a humanistic approach, such as is science, technology, society and environment education is growing and being implemented more broadly in the late 20th century (Aikenhead, 1994). Reports by the American Academy for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), including Project 2061, and by the National Committee on Science Education Standards and Assessment detail goals for science education that link classroom science to practical applications and societal implications.

[edit] Pedagogy

Whilst public image of science education may be one of simply learning facts by rote, science education in recent history also generally concentrates on the teaching of science concepts and the addressing misconceptions that learners may hold regarding science concepts or other content. Research shows that students will retain knowledge for a longer period of time if they are involved in more hands on activities.

One the most approachable and important documents about science education is the volume "How People Think" by John D. Bransford, et al. In this compact and highly digested volume, the fruit of massive research into student thinking is presented as having three key findings:

Preconceptions 
Prior ideas about how things work are remarkably tenacious and an educator must explicitly address a students' specific misconceptions if the student is to abandon his misconception in favour of another explanation. Therefore, it is essential that educators know how to learn about student preconceptions and make this a regular part of their planning.
Factual Knowledge 
In order to become truly literate in an area of science, students must, "(a) have a deep foundation of factual knowledge, (b) understand facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework, and (c) organize knowledge in ways that facilitate retrieval and application."[1]
Metacognition 
Students will benefit from thinking about their thinking and their learning. They must be taught ways of evaluating their knowledge and what they don't know, evaluating their methods of thinking, and evaluating their conclusions.

Educational Guru Edward Bodnar has been pioneering new methods of teaching and learning the sciences through technology. His biggest contribution to the pedagogy is the use of the iPod in instructional strategies. No longer is it just a tool for listening to a boring professor talk for an hour over a topic in science, the content provided is now more entertaining as well as being informative. Additioanly Bodnar has been assigning his students to create the content that is posted to the iTunes site, giving the students more opportunity to become hands on in their own science education.

[edit] United States

In many U.S. states, K-12 educators must adhere to rigid standards or frameworks of what content is to be taught to which age groups. Unfortunately, this often means teachers rush to "cover" the material, without truly "teaching" it. In addition, the process of science is often overlooked, such as the scientific method, and critical thinking, producing students who can pass multiple choice tests (such as the New York Regents exams and the Massachusetts MCAS), but cannot solve complex problems. Although at the college level American science education tends to be less regulated, it is actually more rigorous, with teachers and professors fitting more content into the same time period.

In 1996, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences of the U.S. National Academies produced the National Science Education Standards which is available online for free in multiple forms. Its focus on inquiry-based science, rather than memorization-based science education, was somewhat controversial at the time, but has been shown to be more effective as a model for teaching science, if less amenable to multiple-choice tests.There are eight categories of national science education standards. These categories are unifying concepts and processes, science as inquiry, physical science, life science, earth and space science, science and technology, science in personal and social perspectives, and history and nature of science (www.nap.edu/readingroo/books/nses/6a.html).

Concern about science education and science standards has often been driven by worries that American students lag behind their peers in international rankings.[2] One notable example was the wave of education reforms implemented after the Soviet Union launched its Sputnik satellite in 1957.[3] In recent years, business leaders such as Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates have called for more emphasis on science education, saying the United States risks losing its economic edge. [4][5] Public opinion surveys, however, indicate most U.S. parents are complacent about science education and that their level of concern has actually declined in recent years.[6]

[edit] Physics education

Physics is taught in high schools, college and graduate schools. Physics First is a popular movement in American high schools. In schools with this curriculum 9th grade students take a course with introductory physics education. This is meant to enrich students understanding of physics, and allow for more detail to be taught in subsequent high school biology, and chemistry classes; it also aims to increase the number of students who go on to take 12th grade physics or AP Physics (both of which are generally electives in American high schools.)

[edit] Informal science education

Informal science education is the science teaching and learning that occurs outside of the formal school curriculum in places such as museums, the media and community-based programs. The National Science Teachers Association has created a position statement[7] on Informal Science Education to define and encourage science learning in many contexts and throughout the lifespan. Research in informal science education is funded in the United States by the National Science Foundation[3]. The Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education (CAISE)[8] provides resources for the informal science education community.

Examples of informal science education include science centers and science museums, many of which are members of the Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC)[9]. The Exploratorium in San Francisco and The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia are the oldest of this type of museum in the United States. Media include TV programs such as NOVA, Newton's Apple, The Magic School Bus, Dragonfly TV and Dora the Explorer. Examples of community-based programs are 4-H Animals Science programs, Hands On Science Outreach, NASA and Afterschool Programs[10] and Girls at the Center.

[edit] United Kingdom

In England and Wales schools science is generally taught as a single subject science until age 14-16 then splits into subject-specific A levels (physics, chemistry and biology). However, the government has since expressed its desire that those pupils who achieve well at the age of 14 should be offered the opportunity to study the three separate sciences from September 2008.[4] In Scotland the subjects split into chemistry, physics and biology at the age of 13-15 for Standard Grades in these subjects.

In September 2006 a new Science programme of study known as 21st Century Science was introduced as a GCSE option in UK schools, designed to "give all 14 to 16 year olds a worthwhile and inspiring experience of science"[5].

[edit] References

  1. ^ Bibby, Cyril 1959. T.H. Huxley: scientist, humanist and educator. Watts, London.
  2. ^ www.nd.edu/rbarger/www7/neacom10.html
  3. ^ National Science Foundation funding for informal science education http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5361
  4. ^ Kim Catcheside (2008). 'Poor lacking' choice of sciences. BBC News website. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved on 2008-02-22.
  5. ^ Welcome to Twenty First Century Science

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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