New Vision for Science Learning

In the early stages of the current reform movement, Paul De Hart Hurd wrote a Council for Basic Education monograph titled "Reforming Science Education: The Search for a New Vision" (1984). After noting the great national concern over the state of science education, he prepared the following chart to illustrate needed changes:

The Prevailing Framework           The Emerging Vision







1.  The rationale and goals        The rationale and goals



    are derived from the           are derived by considering



    knowledge structure of         science and technology in



    the disciplines.               social, cultural, and



                                   individual contexts.











2.  The content of science is      The content of science is



    chosen from information        chosen from science and



    that characterizes the         technology in terms of its



    best theories, concepts,       importance to understand



    and methodologies of           the role of science and



    selected science               technology for improving



    disciplines.                   the quality of life.











3.  The cognitive processes        The cognitive processes



    considered to be most          involved in teaching and



    important are analytical,      learning technology



    quantitative, deductive,       and science are holistic,



    theoretical, and value-free.   ecological, qualitative,



    Teaching is linear.            inductive, complex, and



                                   value-laden. Teaching leads



                                   students to develop skills



                                   for information processing



                                   and use of knowledge.











4.  Value and ethical              Questions of values and



    considerations reflect         ethics have their origin in



    the conduct of scientific      society and personal



    researchers, intellectual      experience, as well as in the



    honesty, respect for the       achievement of science and



    accuracy, pertinence,          technology.



    validity, and adequacy of



    quantitative data.











5.  Textbooks serve as a source    Textbooks serve as one



    of both the achievements of    source of information on



    science and the information    current science/technology



    desirable for careers in       problems that are rooted



    science and technical fields.  in social, cultural, and



                                   personal affairs.











6.  Science is taught in a         Science and technology



    way that will develop          are taught in a way that



    understanding of the           will enhance understanding



    processes used to discover     of the natural world and



    and interpret the properties   understand the



    of the natural world. Each     interrelations among natural,



    field of science represented   technological, and social



    in the curriculum is taught    systems, including links



    in a way that will             with the humanities and



    preserve its integrity         behavioral sciences.



    as a discrete discipline.

Almost a decade later, the writers for Project 2061 picked up on some of the same themes. In the Benchmarks for Science Literacy (AAAS, 1993), it is very clear that the vision described by Hurd has been clarified, extended, and amplified. The emphasis is clearly on developing a more holistic view of science that relates science to human experience. The nature of science is presented in its historical, social, cultural, and economic context. While knowledge and skills are the tools from which understanding is forged, they do not limit the curriculum.