Changes in Science education: Difference between revisions

|content=1 Unit overview<br />2 What is science?<br />3 Problems of teaching the Nature of Science<br />3.1 Introduction<br />3.1.1 (A) Science and certainty<br />3.1.2 (B) Observation and measurement<br />3.1.3 (C) Scientific methods and critical testing<br />3.1.4 (D) Cause and correlation<br />3.1.5 (E) Historical development of scientific knowledge<br />3.1.6 (F) Creativity<br />4 Who is science education for?<br />5 Education for democracy?<br />6 The public understanding of science<br />7 A way ahead? – Beyond 2000<br />7.1 Introduction<br />7.2 Assessing the quality of data<br />7.3 Multiple interpretations in science<br />7.4 Modelling in science<br />7.4.1 Uses of models not made explicit<br />7.4.2 Assumptions within models<br />7.4.3 Modelling errors<br />8 What are the chances that scientific literacy will prevail? 9 Evidence of progress?<br />10 ‘Science for all?’ A look at some contexts<br />11 Primary science<br />12 Science in secondary schools<br />13 Post-compulsory science education<br />14 Final thoughts<br />Next steps<br />Glossary<br />References<br />Acknowledgements

|Learning Objectives=After studying this unit, you should be able to:<br>*demonstrate an understanding of problems associated with defining the Nature of Science;<br>*write in an informed way about the purposes of compulsory science education;<br>*be aware of the educational complications and implications associated with the phrase ‘the public understanding of science’;<br>*show an ability to comment critically on curriculum proposals that aim to promote science citizenship/scientific literacy;<br>*provide examples of how specific scientific understanding might be used by lay individuals in a practical context;<br>*explain how the uses of the term ‘scientific models’ are variable and complex and the pedagogic implications of this;<br>*identify factors that have to date inhibited the wide-scale adoption of curricula geared to the needs of science citizenship;<br>*describe some of the practical problems associated with the introduction of science into the (England & Wales) primary National Curriculum;<br>*have a preliminary understanding of issues associated with the teaching of science at secondary level, especially practical work and problems of teacher support;<br>*distinguish (as far as is possible) between vocational and ‘academic’ approaches to science teaching and differences in outcomes.

|useful information=Part of the Teach and Learn series from the Open University, this unit is an adapted extract from the Open University course [http://www3.open.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/course/seh806.htm Contemporary issues in science learning (SEH806)]

|format=6 PDF, 2 JPEG and 2 MPEG Layer 3 audio files.