Transcript A Scientific Basis for Deciding What Students Should Know

A Scientific Basis for Deciding What
Students Should Know & Be Able To Do
Bob Midden
Bowling Green State University
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“Scientific Literacy: A
Conceptual Overview
 RÜDIGER
C. LAUGKSCH
 School
of Education, University of Cape Town,
Private Bag, 7701 Rondebosch, South Africa
 Science
Education 84(1): 71-94 (2000)
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Interest Groups
 Science
educators
 Nature,
 Social
performance, and reform of education
scientists, sociologists
 Policy
issues, public support of science, public perception of
science
 Informal
& non-formal science educators
 Science
museums, science journalists
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Audiences
 Primary
school students
 Secondary
school students
 Others
 Combination
of all three of the above
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Definitions of Scientific Literacy
 Pella
et al., (1966). Based on referents in 100
carefully and systematically selected articles
published 1946-64, scientific literacy is:
 the
understanding of the
 (a)
interrelationships of science and society;
 (b)
ethics that control the scientist in his work;
 (c)
nature of science;
 (d)
difference between science and technology;
 (e)
basic concepts in science; and
 (f)
interrelationships of science and the humanities
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Definitions or Conceptions
 Showalter
(1974). The scientifically literate
person…
 I.
understands the nature of scientific knowledge.
 II.
accurately applies appropriate science concepts, principles,
laws, and theories in interacting with his universe.
 III.
uses processes of science in solving problems, making
decisions, and furthering his own understanding of the
universe.
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Schowalter (cont.)
 IV.
interacts with the various aspects of his universe in a way
that is consistent with the values that underlie science.
 V.
understands and appreciates the joint enterprises of science
and technology and the interrelationship of these with each
and with other aspects of society.
 VI.
has developed a richer, more satisfying, more exciting
view of the universe as a result of his science education and
continues to extend this education throughout his life.
 VII.
has developed numerous manipulative skills associated
with science and technology.
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Definitions or Conceptions
 Shen
(1975a) suggested three categories of
scientific literacy:
 Practical
 “possession
of the kind of scientific knowledge that can be
used to help solve practical”
 Civic
 “Aims…
to enable citizens to become sufficiently aware of
science and science-related public issues in order for the
average citizen to become involved in the decision-making
process related to such issues as, for example, health, energy,
natural resources, food, the environment, and so forth.
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Shen (cont.)
 Cultural
 “…motivated by
a desire to know something
about science as a major human achievement”
 Only
common in the intellectual community
 Preferentially reaches
opinion-leaders and decision-makers
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Definitions of Conceptions
 Branscomb
(1981). Scientific literacy, based on
the Latin roots of “science” and “literacy” means
“the ability to read, write, and understand
systematized human knowledge”
 (a)
methodological science literacy;
 (b)
professional science literacy;
 (c)
universal science literacy;
 (d)
technological science literacy;
 (e)
amateur science literacy;
 (f)
journalistic science literacy;
 (g)
science policy literacy; and
 (h)
public science policy literacy
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Definitions of Conceptions
 Miller (1983).
 (a)
an understanding of the norms and methods of
science (i.e., the nature of science);
 (b)
an understanding of key scientific terms and
concepts (i.e., science content knowledge); and
 (c)
an awareness and understanding of the impact
of science and technology on society.
 Measured
level of scientific literacy of adults in
U.S.
 Contended
levels have important implications for
science policy decisions
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Definitions or Conceptions
 Arons
(1983). 12 attributes but emphasized
congnitive abilities such as:
 (a)
to recognize that “scientific concepts are invented or
created by acts of human intelligence and imagination . . .”;
 (b)
to “comprehend the distinction between observation and
inference . . .”;
 (c)
to comprehend “. . . the deliberate strategy of forming and
testing hypotheses”; and
 (d)
to “. . . recognize when questions such as ‘How do we
know . . . ? Why do we believe . . . ? What is the evidence for .
. . ?’ have been addressed, answered, and understood, and
when something is taken on faith.”
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Arons (cont.)
 “a
portrayal of scientific literacy in which
scientifically literate individuals are able to
correctly apply scientific knowledge and
reasoning skills to solving problems and making
decisions in their personal, civic, and professional
lives”
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Definitions & Conceptions
 AAAS:
“Science for All Americans” (1989) &
“Benchmarks for Science Literacy” (1993)
 National Academies
of Science: “National Science
Education Standards” (1995)
 Science
content knowledge, nature of science, practice of
science, use of science in decision making
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AAAS & NAS (cont.)
 Intended
to promote personal self-fulfilment, that
is, to prepare individuals to lead, among other
things, personally fulfilling and responsible lives;
 Based
on the belief that America’s future depends
on the quality of science education received by
individuals; science literacy is important for
meeting national socioeconomic needs.
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AAAS & NAS (cont.)
 Content
knowledge includes not only chemistry,
physics, biology, and other natural sciences, but
also social science, mathematics, and technology.
 e.g.,
what persons should know about “human society in terms
of individual and group behavior, social organizations and the
processes of social change”
 Includes
values, attitudes, and skills scientifically
literate individuals should possess and exhibit
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Definitions & Conceptions
 Hazen
and Trefil (1991). Distinguish between
doing and using science.
 Scientists do
 The
science
lay public doesn’t know how to do science to be able to
use it profitably
 Science
literacy only requires being able to use
science, not do it.
 Science
literacy is “the knowledge you need to
understand public issues. It is a mix of facts,
vocabulary, concepts, history, and philosophy”
 Shared
vocabulary that enables communication
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Hazen & Trefil (cont.)
 Scientifically literate should
be able to place
science news into a meaningful context.
 Some
cite general principles of science that should
be understood
 Others
cite terms (e.g., Brennan’s [1992] list of
definitions of about 650 science terms and topics)
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Definitions or Conceptions
 Shamos
(1995).
 “Cultural scientific literacy”
 Recognizes and
understands science
 “Functional scientific literacy”
 Is
able to convey understanding to others
 “True
scientific literacy”
 aware
of some of the major conceptual schemes (the theories)
that form the foundations of science, how they were arrived at,
and why they are widely accepted, how science achieves order
out of a random universe, and the role of experimentation in
science. (unattainable by the majority of the population)
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Three Primary
Categories of Purpose
 Learned: appreciating the
beauty of scientific
knowledge for its own sake
 Exploiting: using
science ability to solve practical
problems to gain personal benefit
 Contributing: understanding science
and using
that knowledge is social decision making
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Should BGSU students be
scientifically literate?
 If
so, how and why?
 How
should we define scientific literacy?
 What
are the goals in terms of what students
should know and be able to do?
 What
will this accomplish? What benefits will it
provide and to whom?
 How
can we estimate scientific literacy?
 How
can we estimate the benefits?
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Goals?
 Ability
to learn new science concepts when
needed in particular personal situations that
involve scientific information
 Understanding
the nature of science, its limits and
capabilities, what is required for acquiring new
knowledge, the uncertainty of science
 Knowing
how to accommodate uncertainty in
using scientific knowledge in decision making
 How
to evaluate the quality of scientific
information
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Goals?
 Understanding
certain, specific scientific concepts
 Appreciating the
intellectual beauty of scientific
knowledge for its own sake
 Being
able to practice science in the lay world
(e.g., gathring information for consumer
decisions)
 Being
able to practice science in the professional
scientific realm
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Goals?
 Should
students develop a strong disposition to
use the practice of science as the primary method
of acquiring new personal knowledge and in
personal decision making
 Basing
all decisions in a scientifically-based analysis of
available evidence, probabilities, and logical reasoning
 Others?
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How to set goals
 What
learning goals will truly enhance personal
and/or social gain
 Scientifically testing achievement of
specific
learning goals against the perceived personal or
social gain
 Designing
curriculum and instruction based on
impact on personal and social gain rather than
solely on personal belief of what works.
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Methods for
Estimating Achievement
 Individual interviews
 Observing
behavior, performance, products
 Written or
oral tests
 Surveys
of perceptions, self-reported practice, or
beliefs
 Surveying
public behavior, popular press and
other communications
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Proposal
 Overall
goal: graduates have those skills that will
best benefit them in their lives and enable them to
contribute best to democratic decision making on
issues that involve science and technology
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Essential Skills
 Able
to evaluate the validity, accuracy, and
relevance of information from a variety of sources
regarding public, social, and political issues that
involve scientific and technological information
using criteria that scientists consider appropriate
 Able
to reasonably and appropriately utilize
scientific information and to accommodate
uncertainty in scientific information in decision
making
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Essential Skills
 Fully
understand the process of acquiring new
knowledge in science, what’s required, and the
benefits and limitations of the values of science
for acquiring new knowledge
 The
ability to learn those scientific concepts
needed to make sound, reasonable decisions based
on scientific information deemed relevant to
personal and social challenges
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Methods
 Survey
popular press, public opinion, and
commonly encountered situations to identify those
activities that involve scientific information and
an understanding of science
 Interview
scientists to determine their opinions
regarding scientifically appropriate responses
 Evaluate those
situations to identify the skills and
knowledge that appear to be most essential to
success based on scientific criteria
 Develop
curricula and instructional methods
designed to develop these skills and knowledge
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Methods (cont.)
 Develop
assessment to judge the acquisition of the
targeted skills and knowledge in isolated, discrete
applications
 Revise
instructional methods until they are
successful based on this assessment
 Observe
success in responding to “real-world”
challenges that represent those identified as
involving scientific information and skills
 Revise
the list of essential skills and knowledge
and the appropriate curriculum to develop those,
based on these results
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