Consensus projects: teaching science for citizenship

In the first part of this article it is argued that knowledge of social aspects of science are of importance and relevance for science education for citizenship. The focus is on the importance of debate, criticism and evaluation of knowledge claims, within the scientific community. Knowledge of the nature and the limits of science are necessary as tools to interpret and debate statements with a science dimension occurring in debates over socio-scientific issues. The second part of this article presents a teaching model for engaging students in thoughtful decision-making on controversial socio-scientific issues. The main features of the teaching model are the evaluation and criticism of knowledge and opinions and the establishing of a consensual conclusion that includes a recommended action. Using the consensus project model implies an introduction to important social aspects of science concerning evaluation and validation of knowledge claims.     

Reflections on a Too Extreme Idea

The principal goal of science, stated in practical terms, is the mobilization of evidence in support of claims about the world. Evidence are data related to a claim. If there are no claims there can be no evidence; hence, without claims science cannot exist. In this essay, we illustrate and illuminate this syllogism with examples chosen from among the greatest scientific breakthroughs of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.     

Evidence and Warrants for Belief in a College Astronomy Course

Science educators have argued that it is insufficient to be able to recite thetheories of science and not know how knowledge claims in science are justified, what counts as evidence, or how theory and evidence interact. We wonder, however, how much students' understandings of the nature of science vary with content. This paper draws on data collected in a university astronomy course. Data include three interviews and written work from twenty students, as well as written work from the 340 students in the class. This study provides us with evidence on how students' talk and writing about the nature of science differs depending on the particular scientific topic which is under discussion. The relationship between theory and evidence, warrants for belief, and nature of observation are described in various ways in the different disciplines discussed in the course.     

Foreword: a century of vocationalism

Several writers have argued that educational research should be educative; in the sense of being geared directly to improving educational practice. This is proposed on a variety of grounds--from appeals to the meaning of the word 'educational', through claims about the very nature of all social inquiry, to arguments that there is a need for a practical form of educational research that is distinct from social scientific work. This article suggests that while these arguments point to important distinctions among types of research, they do not formulate those distinctions soundly; and a more effective formu lation will be attempted. Moreover, in conclusion, it will be argued that research cannot be educative, only informative.     

‘Grasp of Practice’ as a Reasoning Resource for Inquiry and Nature of Science Understanding

This article articulates how a ‘grasp of practice’ serves as a reasoning resource for inquiry and citizenship abilities associated with nature of science (NOS) understanding. Theoretically, this resource is elaborated through an overlapping concern with ‘practice’ in two literatures, science studies and psychology of learning, bringing attention to two key roles in scientific practice, Critiquers and Constructors of claims. Empirically, this resource is made plausible by the results of an expert-novice study and a classroom study. In the expert-novice study, reactions of scientists and laypeople to science-related claims in the popular media were contrasted, underlining the appropriate ways scientists tend to Critique such claims. In the classroom study, sixth-grade students engaged in a 2-week ramp experiment, experiencing first hand the roles of Critiquers and Constructors of claims, and were subsequently assessed with a novel experimental task. Performances suggest that students had attained a grasp of practice, going well beyond mere execution of methods or procedures. These results challenge a common assumption that declarative knowledge best characterizes learning targets for supporting inquiry and NOS understanding.     

An examination of some difficulties in integrating Western science into societies with an indigenous scientific tradition

Few would argue that science and technology have had an impact throughout the world. When we speak about such impacts we are implicitly talking about Western science. Historians of science (especially in science textbooks) tend to place the beginnings of modern science at the time of Bacon, with a slight nod to Greek influences. There is little or no recognition of the scientific traditions of Eastern societies (such as China, India, and the Islamic world) and other indigenous cultures. Although there is no argument that science did not develop in the same manner in these societies, it is argued that they have a scientific tradition that should be considered when incorporating modern science into those societies. The difficulties in doing that are discussed, as is the question of the universality of science. The universality of science as a systematized set of processes for learning about the world is supported, but the culture that has arisen around it, resulting in a certain arrogance, is not. It is argued that the benefits of science and technology can be incorporated without the loss of cultural integrity if the society takes over its own research agenda and paradigms and maintains pride in its own traditons. The role of science education in this process is discussed.     

Women and science careers: leaky pipeline or gender filter?

Women are under‐represented in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) majors and careers in most industrialized countries around the world. This paper explores the broad array of explanations for the absence of women in STEM put forth in the literature of the last 30 years. It is argued that some proposed explanations are without merit and are in fact dangerous, while others do play a part in a complex interaction of factors. It is suggested that the very nature of science may contribute to the removal of women from the ‘pipeline’. Recommendations for reform in science education to address this problem are also provided.     

Evolution and Education: Lessons from Thomas Huxley

Thomas Huxley more than anyone else was responsible for disseminating Darwin’s theory in the western world and maintained that investigating the history of life should be regarded as a purely scientific question free of theological speculation. The content and rhetorical strategy of Huxley’s defense of evolution is analyzed. Huxley argued that the classification of humans should be determined independent of any theories of origination of species. Besides providing evidence that demonstrated the close relationship between apes and humans, he also argued that a pithecoid ancestry in no way degraded humankind. In his broader defense of evolution he drew on his agnosticism to define what science could and could not explain. Theology made empirical claims and needed to be subject to the same standards of evidence as scientific claims. He maintained that even most scientific objections to evolution were religiously based. The objections to the theory fundamentally remain the same as in the nineteenth century and much can be learned from Huxley to develop effective strategies for educating the public about evolution. Huxley’s own scientific articles as well as his popular writings provide numerous examples that could be harnessed not only for the teaching of evolution, but also for understanding science as a process.     

Evidence for confounding in computer-based instruction studies: Analyzing the meta-analyses

A thirty percent sample of the computer-based instruction (CBI) studies meta-analyzed by Kulik et al was examined for evidence of confounding. The purpose of the analysis was to explore the validity of competing claims about the contribution of the computer to measured achievement gains found in CBI studies. Some of these claims propose that CBI effects are overestimated and others argue that CBI effects are underestimated. The result of the analysis strongly suggests that achievement gains found in these CBI studies are overestimated and are actually due to the uncontrolled but robust instructional methods embedded in CBI treatments. It is argued that these methods may be delivered by other media with achievement gains comparable to those reported for computers. Construct validity cautions are offered for those who wish to use meta-analytic results as evidence for implementing CBI in schools and for the design of future CBI research.     

Can Science Test Supernatural Worldviews?

Several prominent scientists, philosophers, and scientific institutions have argued that science cannot test supernatural worldviews on the grounds that (1) science presupposes a naturalistic worldview (Naturalism) or that (2) claims involving supernatural phenomena are inherently beyond the scope of scientific investigation. The present paper argues that these assumptions are questionable and that indeed science can test supernatural claims. While scientific evidence may ultimately support a naturalistic worldview, science does not presuppose Naturalism as an a priori commitment, and supernatural claims are amenable to scientific evaluation. This conclusion challenges the rationale behind a recent judicial ruling in the United States concerning the teaching of “Intelligent Design” in public schools as an alternative to evolution and the official statements of two major scientific institutions that exert a substantial influence on science educational policies in the United States. Given that science does have implications concerning the probable truth of supernatural worldviews, claims should not be excluded a priori from science education simply because they might be characterized as supernatural, paranormal, or religious. Rather, claims should be excluded from science education when the evidence does not support them, regardless of whether they are designated as ‘natural’ or ‘supernatural’.     

Habits of Mind, Scholarship and Decision Making in Science and Religion

Recent papers have drawn a contrast between habits of mind in science and religion and it has been argued that, because of the different nature of these habits of mind, science education and religious education are necessarily in conflict with each other. The present paper draws on research into habits of mind in science and their relationship with wider scholarly activity and decision making and presents a case that habits of mind in science and religion are much more alike than has been presumed. In contrast to the dogmatic materialism which others have claimed lies behind the practice of modern science a more tentative form of naturalism is advocated in this paper for those who carry out scientific research. Some aspects of the nature of exemplary religious education are pointed out and implications for science education are discussed.     

Lucky Belief in Science Education

The conceptualisation of knowledge as justified true belief has been shown to be, at the very least, an incomplete account. One challenge to the justified true belief model arises from the proposition of situations in which a person possesses a belief that is both justified and true which some philosophers intuit should not be classified as knowledge. Though situations of this type have been imagined by a number of writers, they have come to be labelled Gettier cases. Gettier cases arise when a fallible justification happens to lead to a true belief in one context, a case of ‘lucky belief’. In this article, it is argued that students studying science may make claims that resemble Gettier cases. In some contexts, a student may make a claim that is both justified and true but which arises from an alternative conception of a scientific concept. A number of instances of lucky belief in topics in science education are considered leading to an examination of the criteria teachers use to assess students’ claims in different contexts. The possibility of lucky belief leads to the proposal that, in addition to the acquisition of justified true beliefs, the development of reliable belief-forming processes is a significant goal of science education. The pedagogic value of various kinds of claims is considered and, it is argued, the criteria used to judge claims may be adjusted to suit the context of assessment. It is suggested that teachers should be alert to instances of lucky belief that mask alternative conceptions.     

The application of the microgenetic method to studies of learning in science education: characteristics of published studies,methodological issues and recommendations for future research

This paper examines the role of the microgenetic method in science education. The microgenetic method is a technique for exploring the progression of learning in detail through repeated, high-frequency observations of a learner’s ‘performance’ in some activity. Existing microgenetic studies in science education are analysed. This leads to an examination of five significant methodological issues in microgenetic research. Firstly, qualitative and/or quantitative approaches to data collection and analysis within the microgenetic approach are considered and a case is made for the appropriateness of qualitative microgenetic research. Secondly, it is argued that researchers may define static intervals, periods within which (for methodological purposes) change is assumed not to occur, when reporting microgenetic studies. Thirdly, researchers should consider providing justifications for their choice of sampling rate with reference to the rate of change of the phenomenon they are studying. Fourthly, the difficulty of distinguishing conceptual change from the existence of multiple understandings is highlighted. Finally, the nature of sequences of repeated measures in microgenetic studies is considered. It is argued that different methodological approaches are suitable for microgenetic studies of different phenomena and a list of guidelines for the use of the microgenetic method in small-scale, qualitatively analysed studies in science education is proposed.     

The Fallacies of Flatness: Thomas Friedman's The World Is Flat

Thomas Friedman's best-selling The World is Flat has exerted much influence in the west by providing both an accessible analysis of globalisation and its economic and social effects, and a powerful cultural metaphor for globalisation. In this review, we more closely examine Friedman's notion of the social contract, the moral centre of his hopeful vision of a globalised world. While Friedman's social contract holds a more generous view of social and state obligation than his neoliberal economic analysis might otherwise allow, his fallacious assumptions about education rest on poorly argued claims about the nature of human beings, the proper aims of schooling, and meanings of justice in a globalised world.     

Paradoxical inscriptions of global subjects: critical discourse analysis of international schools' websites in the Asia–Pacific Region

This paper presents an analysis of Asia–Pacific international school web pages, and explores the expressed purposes of schooling, with regard to the kinds of students/subjects that the schools purport to produce. Using the concept of globalization as a ‘master’ analytical frame, it is argued that despite claims to offering students unique experiences, international school web pages reproduce similar discourses in the construction of the student as an individual, member of a community and world‐changing global citizen. Importantly, it is argued that while such discourses are often contradictory, this is nowhere more exemplified than in the claims to produce global citizens.     

SOCIETAL ISSUES AND THEIR IMPORTANCE FOR CONTEMPORARY SCIENCE EDUCATION��A PEDAGOGICAL JUSTIFICATION AND THE STATE-OF-THE-ART IN ISRAEL, GERMANY, AND THE USA

One common theme underlying recent reports on science education is that the content of school science and its related pedagogical approaches are not aligned with the interests and needs of both society and the majority of the students. Most students do not find their science classes interesting and motivating. These claims are especially valid regarding those students who, in the future, will probably not embark on a career in science or engineering but will need science and technology personally and functionally as literate citizens. One key problem seems to be that few science programs around the world teach how science is linked to those issues that are relevant to students’ life, environment, and role as a citizen. As a result, many students are unable to participate in societal discussions about science and its related technological applications. This paper discusses the need to incorporate socioscientific ideas into the science curricula more thoroughly. This recommendation is supported by a theoretical rationale from various sources leading to a reflection about common practices in science education in three countries: Israel, Germany, and the USA. The state-of-the-art, potentials, and barriers of effective implementation are discussed.     

Producing the evidence: Science teachers' initiations into practical work

The quantity, quality and fitness for purpose of much school practical work has come in for some criticism. This paper reports on questionnaire and interview studies with trainee science teachers. The study examined the reasons and justifications that teachers give for the way in which they conduct practical work. The particular focus is on counter-normative behaviour and what the behaviour indicates about the status of empirical work and the purpose of evidence in science classrooms. The questionnaire was completed by 40 trainee teachers. The analysis of the questionnaire determined the number of teachers who had produced results fraudulently either on their own initiative or had been initiated into it by experienced teachers and/or laboratory technicians. From the questionnaire we were able to select a small sample who we interviewed in order to unpack further the questionnaire responses. In discussing our data, a case for the re-evaluation of practical work in science education will be made and it will be argued that science teacher behaviour is best understood anthropologically. Possible implications for mentoring and school based training are mentioned briefly.     

Idealisation and Galileo’s Pendulum Discoveries: Historical, Philosophical and Pedagogical Considerations

Galileo’s discovery of the properties of pendulum motion depended on his adoption of the novel methodology of idealisation. Galileo’s laws of pendulum motion could not be accepted until the empiricist methodological constraints placed on science by Aristotle, and by common sense, were overturned. As long as scientific claims were judged by how the world was immediately seen to behave, and as long as mathematics and physics were kept separate, then Galileo’s pendulum claims could not be substantiated; the evidence was against them. Proof of the laws required not just a new science, but a new way of doing science, a new way of handling evidence, a new methodology of science. This was Galileo’s method of idealisatioin. It was the foundation of the Galilean–Newtonian Paradigm which characterised the Scientific Revolution of the 17th century, and the subsequent centuries of modern science. As the pendulum was central to Galileo’s and Newton’s physics, appreciating the role of idealisation in their work is an instructive way to learn about the nature of science.     

A philosophical analysis of David Orr��s theory of ecological literacy: biophilia, ecojustice and moral education in school learning communities

In his writings, David Orr claims that the US is in an “ecological crisis” and that this stems from a crisis of education. He outlines a theory of ecological literacy, a mode by which we better learn the ecology of the Earth and live in a sustainable manner. While emphasizing a shock doctrine, the diagnosis of “crisis” may be correct, but it is short-lived for children and adults of the world. In this philosophical analysis of Orr’s theory, it is argued that we move beyond the perspective of crisis. By extending Orr’s ecological literacy with biophilia and ecojustice and by recognizing the importance of experience-in-learning, science education is envisioned to incorporate values and morals within a longer term ideology of educational reform.