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Asia-Pacific Forum on Science
Learning and Teaching, Volume 4, Issue 2, Foreword (Dec., 2003) Jack HOLBROOK Rethink Science Education
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Asia-Pacific Forum on Science
Learning and Teaching, Volume 4, Issue 2, Foreword (Dec., 2003) Jack HOLBROOK Rethink Science Education
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PARADIGM CHANGE 2 Science Teaching is approached from a Societal Perspective
The teaching of science needs to be relevant (Holbrook, 1998). It is much easier to learn when something makes sense and is related to one's life, interests or aspirations. Putting forward science as isolated facts, or unrelated theories can be expected to lead to memorisation and the development of poorly conceptualised learning, or even misconceptions.
In the past, students have been shown to be very good at memorising and it is probably true that the more able students tend to have a greater capacity to memorise and regurgitate such information in an examination. But this is not learning that is likely to lead to public understanding of science and technology within society.
For a scientist, relevance of science may well come from the orderly arrangement of facts, postulates and laws. The arrangement of science, starting from the fundamental building blocks and its development into more and more complex ideas, is logical and usually well understood by scientists. It allows patterns to be created and generalisations to be formed, thus lowering the need for memorisation of isolated facts.
However, the student is not a scientist (and noting the low percentage of scientists worldwide, is unlikely to become one). The student cannot be expected to have the extensive background that will enable him or her to appreciate patterns and how the fundamental building blocks form the basis for making sense of the scientific world.
Nevertheless, students do have some knowledge about society. They live in the society and are aware of relevant issues in that society. They have constructed many conceptual ideas and are aware of many concerns within the society. The society is really the students' frame of reference.
It would seem appropriate, therefore, for science taught in schools to attach more importance to its links to society and be made appropriate for that society, either at present, or in the future. Only in this way is it likely to be seen to be relevant by students. It thus follows that a fundamentals based science curriculum, approached from a scientist's point of view, needs to be challenged. A frame of reference needs to be taken, which relates to the issues and concerns of society (both present and futuristic) as appreciated by students*.
The science ideas to be included needs to be:
- a stepping stone to solving, or making decisions about the concerns or issues;
- introduced on a 'need to know' basis, relevant to the issue or concern;
- bound by the society. The extent and depth of treatment is governed by the society;
- relevant to the students at their current stage of development.
However, it is important to realise that the STL philosophy is more than simply relating science to society. It is not science conceptual ideas, followed by society ideas. The philosophy behind STL teaching is that the science conceptual learning, an essential component of science education, is embedded within the resolving of a societal issue or concern relevant to the student.
The science conceptual learning and associated higher order cognitive skills (the education in science aspect) are acquired to aid the problem solving and hence help students be in a position to undertake socio-scientific decision making. This is then taken into account, alongside other attributes e.g. economics, or environmental factors, which may need to be considered in the decision-making process by which the issues or concerns are addressed. However, the science conceptual component will be a major factor in the decision-making, because the teaching is taking place in a context of science within society. This leads to a very different approach to science education and tends to suggest tat there is no "basic" science in school science and no essential "big ideas" that need to be incorporated within school science.
* The emphasis on issues and concerns seems to be important. Just because something is related to everyday life does not automatically mean it is seen as relevant to students. The relevancy is likely to be linked to the immediate concern or issue of the society, expressed in the media and impinging on the students' daily life.
Copyright (C) 2003 HKIEd APFSLT. Volume 4, Issue 2, Foreword (Dec., 2003). All Rights Reserved.
