Science education

Science education is the field concerned with sharing science content and process with individuals not traditionally considered part of the scientific community. The target individuals may be children, college students, or adults within the general public. The field of science education comprises science content, some social science, and some teaching pedagogy.The standards for science education provide expectations for the development of understanding for students through the entire course of their k-12 education. The traditional subjects included in the standards are physical, life, and earth and space sciences.

Historical background

Science education in secondary schools began in the UK around 1870, but it was not widespread until much later. The first step came when the British Academy for the Advancement of Science (BAAS) published a report in 1867 (Layton, 1981). BAAS promoted teaching of “pure science” and training of the “scientific habit of mind.” The progressive education movement of the time supported the ideology of mental training through the sciences. BAAS emphasized separately pre-professional training in secondary science education. In this way, future BAAS members could be prepared.

The initial development of science teaching was slowed by the lack of qualified teachers. One key development was the founding of the first London School Board in 1870, which discussed the school curriculum; another was the initiation of courses to supply the country with trained science teachers. In both cases the influence of Thomas Henry Huxley was critical (see especially Thomas Henry Huxley#Educational influence). John Tyndall was also influential in the teaching of physical science.^[1]

In the US, science education was a scatter of subjects prior to its standardization in the 1890’s (Del Giorno, 1969). The development of a science curriculum in the US emerged gradually after extended debate between two ideologies, citizen science and pre-professional training. As a result of a conference 30 leading secondary and college educators in Florida, the National Education Association appointed a Committee of Ten in 1892 which had authority to organize future meetings and appoint subject matter committees of the major subjects taught in U.S. secondary schools . The committee was composed of ten educators (all men) and was chaired by Charles Eliot of Harvard University. The Committee of Ten met, and appointed nine conferences committees (Latin, Greek, English, Other Modern Languages, Mathematics, History, Civil Government and Political Economy, and three in science). The three conference committees appointed for science: (1) physics, astronomy, and chemistry; (2) natural history; and (3) geography. Each committee, appointed by the Committee of Ten, was composed of ten leading specialists from colleges and normal schools, and secondary schools. Each committee met in a different location in the U.S. The three science committees met for three days in the Chicago area. Committee reports were submitted to the Committee of Ten which met for four days in New York to create a comprehensive report (NEA, 1894). In 1894, the NEA published the results of work of these conference committees (NEA, 1894).

Of particular interest here is the Committee of Ten recommendations for the science curriculum. It recommended four possible courses of study: Three of the courses of study had the following science recommendations

• High School Science (9-12)

      Grade 9: Physical Geography (3p)
     Grade 10: Physics(3p),
                        Botany or Zoology (3p);
     Grade 11: Astronomy 1/2 year & Meteorology, 1/2 year (3p)
     Grade 12:  Chemistry (3p)
                        Geology or physiography,  1/2 year
                                                     &                                                    (3p)
                         Anatomy, physiology, and hygiene, 1/2 year

For the classical course of studies Greek replaced many of the sciences

       Grade 9: Physical  geography (3p)
     Grade 10: Physics (3p),
                       
     Grade 11:
     Grade 12:  Chemistry (3p)
 

See Sheppard & Robbins (2007) For a more full discussion of the recommendations of the Committee of Ten.

The curriculum shown above has been largely replaced by the physical/earth science or biology, chemistry, and physics sequence in most high schools.

According to the Committee of Ten, the goal of high school was to prepare all students to do well in life, contributing to their well-being and the good of society. Another goal was to prepare some students to succeed in college. ^[2]

This committee supported the citizen science approach focused on mental training and withheld performance in science studies from consideration for college entrance (Hurd, 1991). The BAAS encouraged their longer standing model in the UK (Jenkins, 1985). The US adopted a curriculum was characterized as follows (NEA, 1894):

• Elementary science should focus on simple natural phenomena (nature study) by means of experiments carried out "in-the-field."
• Secondary science should focus on laboratory work and the committees prepared lists of specific experiments
• Teaching of facts and principles
• College preparation

The format of shared mental training and pre-professional training consistently dominated the curriculum from its inception to now. However, the movement to incorporate a humanistic approach, such as is science, technology, society and environment education is growing and being implemented more broadly in the late 20th century (Aikenhead, 1994). Reports by the American Academy for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), including Project 2061, and by the National Committee on Science Education Standards and Assessment detail goals for science education that link classroom science to practical applications and societal implications.

Pedagogy

Whilst public image of science education may be one of simply learning facts by rote, science education in recent history also generally concentrates on the teaching of science concepts and the addressing misconceptions that learners may hold regarding science concepts or other content. Research shows that students will retain knowledge for a longer period of time if they are involved in more hands on activities.

One the most approachable and important documents about science education is the volume "How People Think" by John D. Bransford, et al. In this compact and highly digested volume, the fruit of massive research into student thinking is presented as having three key findings:

Preconceptions

Prior ideas about how things work are remarkably tenacious and an educator must explicitly address a students' specific misconceptions if the student is to abandon his misconception in favour of another explanation. Therefore, it is essential that educators know how to learn about student preconceptions and make this a regular part of their planning.

Factual Knowledge

In order to become truly literate in an area of science, students must, "(a) have a deep foundation of factual knowledge, (b) understand facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework, and (c) organize knowledge in ways that facilitate retrieval and application."[9]

Metacognition

Students will benefit from thinking about their thinking and their learning. They must be taught ways of evaluating their knowledge and what they don't know, evaluating their methods of thinking, and evaluating their conclusions.