Some key questions with no easy answers
Dr Gregory P. THOMAS
Head, Department of Science
The Hong Kong Institute of Education
HONG KONG, CHINA
Email: gpthomas@ied.edu.hk
Contents
Key Questions Science Education Reform in Hong Kong Tentative proposals References
Key Questions
How do we know what we as science educators teach in our science education methods courses is appropriate for developing high quality science teachers? How do we decide? Who else, besides us, decides? What are our criteria? What are others' criteria and how do their criteria compare with ours? Why are our criteria valid? Are others' criteria more, less, or equally valid in comparison to ours. I have pondered such general questions in response to Norman Lederman's Presidential address at the annual meeting of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching in New Orleans in 2002. Lederman refloated common conundrums that I'm sure many science educators consider as we develop our science teacher education courses and in thinking about our community roles and responsibilities as science educators. Two issues he raised were, (a) that our research and what we teach does not resonate with either policymakers or teachers and, (b) that the research questions "that we ask very often just don't make sense to the concerns and needs of classroom teachers" (p. 4). No body who has been in science education for more than 5 minutes will be too surprised by these propositions. But how do we respond to them? How do we justify what we teach our students and our research agendas within the broader educational landscape? While we might be interested in promoting scientific literacy, helping students develop an understanding of the nature of science, developing a focus on student inquiry, or in my own case developing students' metacognition, how can we be sure that our interests match those interests of other educational stakeholders, and what do we do if they do not match? In what follows I reflect briefly on the current situation in Hong Kong and ask readers to seek comparisons between Hong Kong and their own educational contexts as they seek responses to these important questions and issues. Finally, I point to selected research that provides some examples of how shared criteria in relation to classroom reform, which is at the heart of educational reform, can be developed.
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