Teaching the nature of science

A topic in teaching science

When developing a science curriculum, it is necessary to be selective. One important issue is the balance between teaching about some science (the products of science – the theories, models and so forth) and teaching about science, the nature of science (the processes of science).

(Read about the science curriculum)

Learning about the nature of science is important for future scientists, but, arguably, is at least as important for those who will not go on to work in science. That is, it is something that all citizens need to learn about – for example to appreciate why scientists may disagree about COVID or climate changeor other issues:

"Similarly, if we want students to understand public debate about contemporary scientific issues such as climate change, then they need to appreciate how science works through processes of argumentation about evidence… If we teach about the consensual models and theories of science only once they have become well established, then real 'science in the making', with its claims and counterclaims will seem very unfamiliar. Most informed observers consider there to be a wide consensus among scientific experts that the climate is changing, and that human activity is a contributing factor. There are a few dissenting voices, and ongoing debates about such matters as how quickly change is occurring; how atypical the current rate of change is; and just how much of the change is down to anthropogenic inputs into the atmosphere. That diversity is normal and to be expected in an area of ongoing science, but this is not the image of science given by traditional science teaching, which often presents science as almost factual; as proven; as agreed upon by scientists as a whole. This has been described as presenting science as a rhetoric of conclusions" (Taber, 2019: p.34).

 

Some themes in the nature of science

There are a number of aspects of the nature of science of interest. For example in 'Reflecting the nature of science in science education' I very briefly discuss:

This whole area is very complex, so it is important that these ideas are represented in the science curriculum (as curricular or curriculum models) in ways that are accessible to learners.

Read about curricular models of science

Scientific practices

An authentic science education must include some focus on teaching about some science, but must also give some insight into scientific practice such as argumentation.

One core aspect of science which has tended to receive limited explicit attention in science teaching is explanation. Explanation is at the heart of science but students are seldom given explicit opportunities to evaluate critique and construct explanations.

Read about teaching about scientific explanations

Work cited:
facebookShare on Facebook
TwitterTweet