The essay The Thinking Curriculum (North Central Regional Educational Laboratory, n.d.) discusses four goals that students should achieve in science:
Project 2061 [a long-range effort to help American students achieve science literacy] urges schools to guide students to develop an awareness of what the scientific endeavor is and how it relates to their culture and their lives. Students come to see how science, mathematics, and technology often work together, each spurring the growth of the others. They should see that an understanding of how things behave leads to the development of technology. They should appreciate how various natural and social sciences differ in subject matter and technique, yet share the assumption that objects and events have a constancy in pattern and structure that can be revealed through systematic study. They should understand that mathematical knowledge arose out of an early need for better navigation and calculation of land areas. And they should see that scientific knowledge is an open inquiry with a long history, motivated by a fundamental human desire to be curious, to probe the mysteries of the universe and life, and to gain some illumination of those mysteries in systematic study. This inquiry is furthered by development of instruments that extend our capability to hear and see phenomena in the world. Mathematics gives us a language to carry out this inquiry. Thus, the scientific endeavor is an ongoing, human endeavor uniting science, mathematics, and technology in extending our ability to understand and create change in the world.
Project 2061 also states that students should be able to use their knowledge of science, mathematics, and technology to make their world more comprehensible and more interesting. Students must develop well-articulated views of the world based on scientific principles and concepts. Some examples of such views include an understanding of the structure of the universe and the evolution of life within it. This understanding emerges from an intriguing and increasingly sophisticated insight that the materials and forces are the same everywhere in the universe. Everywhere substance is made up of atoms, and matter attracts matter through the force of gravity. Students can use basic concepts of matter, energy, force, and motion to understand the stars above and the earth below. Students come to appreciate the rich diversity of life forms on earth at the same time that they develop an understanding of the surprising similarity of these life forms in structure and function. In addition, the recommendations propose that students should be knowledgeable about the general features of the planet Earth, the living environment, human life and society, and technology.
Project 2061 notes that the social and historical natures of science are an important part of a curriculum. Students should see how the powerful ideas of science emerged from particular historical, cultural, and intellectual contexts. Students should understand that scientific knowledge has a history. Most of that history has been marked by a gradual accretion of facts, but certain remarkable episodes in this history caused us to dramatically reconceptualize how we view the world. Students should appreciate these episodes, what led up to them, and their significance for the scientific endeavor and the broader culture and history. For example, students should understand how conceptions of the physical world changed from Aristotle, to Galileo, to Newton, up to Einstein. They can role-play individuals who hold to these various conceptions and explain phenomena from these diverse perspectives. To account for a rock being pulled to earth, the Aristotelian would explain how earth (the rock) seeks out the like substance of the ground, while the Newtonian would appeal to the universal force of gravitation. Or students could study how Chinese ideas about astronomy differed from medieval European ideas, and reflect on how these different perspectives imply different conceptions of humanity's place in the universe. Or they could study how in the past, many great mathematicians learned math in Africa rather than Europe. The purpose of considering these topics is not to add yet more to an already overburdened curriculum, but to prompt students to think critically about knowledge claims made in science.
If students are to be scientifically literate, they must possess certain scientific values, attitudes, and ways of thinking. To develop these, Project 2061 urges schools to help students internalize values inherent in the scientific endeavor. These values include 1) a respect for the use of evidence, 2) an appreciation of logical reasoning in crafting scientific arguments, 3) honesty and curiosity in conducting scientific inquiry, 4) openness to ideas that challenge old ways of viewing and explaining the world, and 5) healthy skepticism about current scientific claims and arguments. Students should form balanced and well-reasoned beliefs about the social benefits of the scientific endeavor.
Students should also develop a positive attitude toward learning science, according to Project 2061. Their attitudes should affirm their capability to make sense of the world through science, highlight the importance of accurate measurement and precise instruments in producing sound scientific knowledge, and value critical thinking.
Finally, the guidelines recommend helping students develop scientific ways of thinking. This requires honing skills in observation; analyzing data; synthesizing this information by using scientific ideas; organizing data in tables, graphs, and diagrams; and communicating one's conclusions both orally and in writing."
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