The Goals and History of Science Education

Chapter 4The Goals and History of Science

Education

The Goals and History of Science Education

Case to Consider: Fallacies as Norms

• A keynote speaker at a recent science education conference asserted that several fallacies have influenced the norms of practice for science teaching.

• What “fallacies” do you think were identified in the speech?

• Why have these fallacies persisted?

The Goals and History of Science Education

How to Read This Chapter

• There are two sections to this chapter. In the first you will find the goals of science education and how they have evolved over time. The second part of the chapter focuses on the history of science education including how researchers have investigated science teaching. You might want to start with the history of science.

• You’ll find a Web site developed by Annette Parrott, a science teacher in Atlanta, who traced the field of science teaching (science and technology as well), thousands of years into the past, focusing on the contributions of different ethnic groups to science education.

The Goals and History of Science Education

Chapter 4 Map

The Goals and History of Science Education

Invitations to Inquiry

• Why do we teach science in schools? • How and why have the goals of the science curriculum changed in this

century?• What are the origins of modern science education?• What was the Progressive Education Movement and how did it

influence the science curriculum?• What were the characteristics of the science curriculum reform during

the Golden Age of Science Education and how do they compare with the Standards-Based reforms of today?

• What are the contemporary trends in science education?• What should science education emphasize in the 21st Century?

The Goals and History of Science Education

Definitions of Scientific Literacy

• a mix of concepts, history and philosophy that helps you understand the scientific issues of our time.

• if you can understand scientific issues as described in magazines and newspapers, then you are scientifically literate.

• the ability to acquire scientific knowledge, and to comprehend, apply, and evaluate that knowledge.

The Goals and History of Science Education

Compare & Contrast

Project 2061 Project on S,S&C NSES

On a chart like this, use the material and the websites of these projects, and identify the major contribution of each on science teaching in today’s schools.

The Goals and History of Science Education

Inquiry 4.1: Goals of the Science Curriculum

• Brainstorm with peers and make a list of what you consider to be the most important goals of the science curriculum. Put your list away and come back to it later.

• Rank order a series of SciEd Goals according to your view of their relative importance (Inquiry Activity 4.1).

• How might these goal priorities differ for middle school versus high school?

The Goals and History of Science Education

Goals Beyond the Standards

• Science for Everyday Life– Relevance to students’ lives– Student-interest-centered teaching– Aikenhead’s view of humanistic

science

• Attitudinal Goals– Effect of attitudes on learning– Student perceptions of science

The Goals and History of Science Education

Inquiry 4.2: Icons of Science Education

• Roots: Pre-1900-1930

• Progressive Ed.: 1930-1950

• Golden Age: 1950-1977

• Back-to-Basics: 1977-1983

• Nation at Risk: 1983-1990

• Reforms of the 1990s

• The New Millennium

• What social forces influenced science education?

• What reports or commissions affected the goals of science teaching?

• What were the desired goals of science teaching?

• What was the focus of the science curriculum?

The Goals and History of Science Education

History of Science Education

• Design a time line of events in the history of science teaching in the last two centuries. Consider three concurrent historical timelines, Science, Technology and Science Education. Plot the events on adding machine tape, or some other material. Line the separate timelines up so that you can compare and contrast them across content areas.

• Use the resources in the Art of Teaching Science as well as the web sites at the end of the chapter.

History/Development

Roots, Pre-1900-1930

Progressive Ed., 1930-

1950

Golden Age, 1950-

1977

Back-to-Basics,

1977-1983

A Nation at Risk, the

1980s

Reforms of the 1990s

21st Century:

New Millenium

The Goals and History of Science Education

Historical Markers• Seven historical markers are identified to help us understand

the development of science education. These include:– Roots, Pre-1900-1930– Progressive Ed., 1930-1950– Golden Age, 1950-1977– Back-to-Basics, 1977-1983– Nation at Risk, 1983-1990– Reforms of the 1990s– The New Millennium

• Design a web showing the political, social and educational forces influencing one of the markers (see the Golden Age example on this and the next slide).

The Goals and History of Science Education

Golden Age Marker

Golden Age of Science Education1957-1977

Science & Math

Institutes

Academic Year

Programs

Summer Institutes

Secondary Science

High School Reform Projects

Middle School Reform Projects

Elementary Science

ESS(Education Development

Center)

SAPA (AAAS)

Influential People

Bruner, Piaget & other

psychologists

Zacharias of MIT &

other scientists

Role of the Federal

Government

Congress

National Science

Foundation

Political Events

Sputnik1957

Image of American Science

PSSCProject PhysicsCHEM Study

BSCS

IPSESCPISCS

SCIS (UC Berkeley)

The Goals and History of Science Education

Inquiry Activity 4.3. Comparing Projects from two Eras

• In this inquiry comparisons are drawn between projects in the Golden Era with those in the 1990s to today.

• Criteria:– Role of inquiry– Goals– Context for learning– Role of labs– Application of science to

society

The Goals and History of Science Education

Problems and Extensions:

1) Evaluate the K-12 sequence of Benchmarks for one conceptual area. Discuss your analysis with a partner who chose related Benchmarks.

2) Find two textbooks in your field and examine them in light of the National Science Education Standards. What is the role of inquiry in the texts (teaching method, learning process, way to portray science).

3) Design a time line of you personal “history of science education” that depicts the life experiences that led to your interest in science and teaching. This might be worth presenting and discussing in class, perhaps in small groups.