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Extracts from the Queensland Syllabu

ority was utterly rejected bY the nAustralian Council of Deans of ltScience, representingthe heads of uscience faculties in the nation's vuniversities. The council's execu- s.

tive director, John Rice from Syd-

Experimentation on the science syion's deans of science as funda-mentally misunderstanding thenatuie of scientifi c inquiry.

The description is contained inan overarching statement intro-ducing the syllabus for physics,chemistry and biology for Years lland 12 entitled: "A view of scienceand science education."

"Science is a social and culfuralactivity through which explan-ations of natural phenomena aregenerated," it says.

"Explanations of natural

phenomena may be viewed as

mental constructions based onpersonal experiences and resultfrom a range ofactivities includingobservation, experimentation,imagination and discussion.

"Accepted scientific concepts,theories and models may beviewed as shared understandingsthat the scientiflc communitY Per-ceive as viable in light of currentavailable evidence."

The view ofscience as outlinedby the Queensland Studies Auth-

Explanations of natural phenomeniconstructs based on personal experi

Science students are encouraged tocultural perspectives of science.

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NATIONAL EDUCATIONCORRESPONDENT

SCIENCE as taught in Queens-land schools is a "social and cul-tural activity" that generatesexplanations of natural phenom-enon based on "personal experi-ences", a view rejected by the nat-

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tific knowledge sound as thoughit's no more than the fantasies of abunch ofscientists," he said.

"That's quite wrong. It fails tounderstand the way in which sci-ence gtounds itself in observationand testable hypotheses."

The Queensland Studies Auth-ority said the statements concem-ing a view ofscience and scienceeducation should be read in thecontext ofthe entire syllabus and itwas not, andwas never intended tobe, a definition ofscience.

The authority said the state-ment was "intended to reflectthe complex nature by which sci-entific understandings haveprogressed".

"The extract is referring to away of viewing science educationthat makes the subject engagingand meaningful in the classroom,"the QSA said in a statement.

"The process of deriving scien-tificfacts and empirical knowledgehas occurred as scientists have ob-served, experimented, imagined

and discussed their understand-ings. QSA's science syllabusesmake clear that there is a body ofconceptual knowledge and factsthat underpin the study ofsubjectssuch as physics, chemistry andbio-logy." The authority said all teamswriting science syllabuses forQueensland included a practisingscientist and science education

Continued on Pole 8

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ryllabus puts feelings before factsrmena may be viewed as mental:xperiences.

;ed to appreciate the social ande.

yllabus Authority

e ney University, said it rvas a mis-)f leading view of science and mis-lf understood "the unique way in's which science goes about under-l- standingthings".l- "That statement makes scien-