Contemporary Science and Worldview-Making

This paper discusses the impact of contemporary scientific knowledge on worldviews. The first three sections provide epistemological background for the arguments that follow. Sections 2 and 3 discuss the reliable part of science, specifically the characterization, scope and limits of the present scientific canon. Section 4 deals with the mode of thinking responsible for both the canon’s credibility and its power to guide speculative activity. With these preliminaries in place, the remainder of the paper addresses the issue of tolerance to “alternative perspectives”. The analyses in this part focus on the extent to which mature scientific thought embodies open-mindedness, with pluralism and competition between perspectives as central themes. I argue for four related claims, concerning scientific literacy, the impact of the canon on rational speculation, the limits of scientific pluralism, and the popular idea that recent forms of “scientific (natural) theology” have rational merit and can help worldview-making in our age, respectively: (C1) Which theories and narratives (or parts of them) belong in the scientific canon, and whether they are worldview independent, are matters contingent upon the state of knowledge—not something one can convincingly determine on metascientific or transcendental insight. (C2) The current scientific canon and its associated methodology provide research with strong directionality, often against popular currents. (C3) Current science does marginalize some views dear to many people. (C4) Although natural theology “officially” purports to embody scientific methodology, all it presently has on offer are poorly thought out ventures embodying (at best) only relaxed versions of that methodology; if so, the relationship between current projects in natural theology and science cannot (without begging the question) be reasonably described as one of “partial overlap”, “mutual modification”, or “ongoing complementarity”.     

Integrating Western and Indigenous Knowledge Systems: The Basis for Effective Science Education in South Africa?

This article responds to a call for rethinking the science that we teach to school learners in South Africa. Much of the debate on the nature of science and science learning is reflected in a body of literature which analyses the tensions between disparate perspectives on science education. Post-colonialists, feminists, multiculturalists, sociologists of scientific knowledge and those who refer to themselves as indigenous researchers argue that science is not universal but locally and culturally produced. Universalists on the other hand, argue that modern Western science is superior to indigenous perspectives on the natural world because of the former’s advanced predictive and explanatory powers. The fact that indigenous knowledge has been included in South Africa’s recently developed National Curriculum Statements invites a fresh look at the kind of science that is taught to South African school learners. In this article the author argues for a (dis)position that moves the debate beyond the binary of Western science/indigenous knowledge. Ways in which Western science and indigenous knowledge might be integrated are explored.     

Invented Science: A Framework for Discussing a Persistent Problem of Practice

A central goal of science education reform is for students to participate in scientific sense making rather than to merely acquire science facts. However, even in classrooms utilizing reform-based pedagogies, students are typically allowed to construct knowledge only insofar as they construct expected knowledge. In this report and reflection, we use activity theory to demonstrate how this pervasive tension between learning correct ideas and constructing one’s own ideas often results in unacknowledged slippage between competing activity systems within reform efforts. We use an analogy to the domain of spelling to introduce invented science—a framework for describing the activity of science learning that reduces this slippage by giving knowledge construction true priority over the canon. We describe the origins and purposes of invented spelling to theorize the nature of learning in invented science. We conclude by articulating the theoretical and practical implications of this analogy for science teaching and learning.     

文学经典的重构与文学价值取向的转变

文学经典的建构与文学价值的取向密切相关。1950-1970年代,中国文学经典在高度集中的政治权力、文化权力下确立,赋予文学经典较多的政治内涵。1990年代以来,文学经典的确立在多元化语境中进行,这一方面使文学经典有了自主性,另一方面使文学经典泛化。当下文学经典的规范和重构在此情形之下显示出了必要性,文学经典的确立既要尊重文学发展的客观规律,又要对其进行适当的规范。     

池田大作科技思想研究

池田大作从科学社会学角度对科学文化作了深入的研究和评论,他指出科学是用理性方法获得的知识体系;科学技术是一把“双刃剑”：一方面它可以用来为人类的幸福服务,另一方面它又会给人类带来各种各样的危机;科学与人文之间具有互补性;现代社会不能离开科学,但是宗教应该有领导科学技术的地位和作用;在解决当代社会的问题中,科学文化有其应有的作用,但根本还在“依正不二”的理念;他对现代东方社会如何更好地发展科学文化提出了许多发人深省的观点。池田大作的科技思想是东方思想界对西方科学技术和科技文化的一种重要的观点和态度。     

Practical reasoning and science education: Implications for theory and practice

Practical reasoning is a fundamental competence required for everyday decision-making as well as for the production of scientific knowledge. However, very little attention is given to developing this competence in school science classrooms or in educational research programs. In this paper we explain the tradition of practical reasoning and its relevance to science and science education. We then suggest ways in which practical reasoning may be developed in students such that they are enabled to better understand how scientific knowledge is produced and how they may be better able to contribute to improving scientific practices.     

High school students’ scientific epistemological beliefs,motivation in learning science,and their relationships: A comparative study within the Chinese culture

This study explored the differences in high school students’ scientific epistemological beliefs (SEBs), motivation in learning science (MLS), and the different relationships between them in Taiwan and China. 310 Taiwanese and 302 Chinese high school students’ SEBs and MLS were assessed quantitatively. Taiwanese students generally were more prone to believe that scientific reality is invented, the development of scientific knowledge is culture-dependent, and scientific knowledge is always changing and its status is tentative than the Chinese students were. Yet, the Taiwanese students perceived higher test anxiety in science than the Chinese students did. Moreover, Chinese students who have a stronger belief that science knowledge is changing and tentative are more likely to perceive themselves as having higher test anxiety in science. The results suggest that the role of culture might have an impact on students’ SEBs and their MLS.     

Applying scientific openmindedness to religion and science education

Mahner's and Bunge's two main theses are nearly correct as social reports but the extent to which they are wrong is philosophically very important. I draw attention to a philosophically superior way of viewing the essential relation between science and religion which can have a humane or benign influence upon how both science and religion are taught. On the one hand, science does not need to fight religion nor try to suppress it. A generous openness of mind, which distinguishes the critical rationality implicit in the advance of science, deserves to be applied without acrimony to any systems of thought that purport to explain the universe. On the other hand, religions have no need to fear the growth of scientific knowledge, provided science is not confused, as Mahner and Bunge confuse it, with its materialistic interpretation.     

A Reflection on Some Meanings of ‘Interdisciplinarity’ and ‘Integration Among the Sciences’

Summaries

English

‘Integrated science’ as an aspect of curriculum development is now well established world‐wide and has become the subject of international meetings. This article tries to put forward for discussion some ideas about the meaning of integration among the sciences.

Integration is first discussed in its relation to common culture and disciplinary knowledge. Disciplinarity, recognized as the way in which scientific knowledge has been organized, is seen as the only real possibility for the growth of knowledge. To understand the meanings and the importance of different disciplinary fields, is a didactical objective to be reached through an articulated educational process starting in the primary school. However, another objective of the same importance is the development of the capacity to recognize and utilize disciplinary knowledge for the solution of ‘real’ problems.

In this perspective, an important problem for educational research is the definition of a ‘scientific knowledge for all’ which should enable people to confront real problems with a knowledge of the meanings of science, and of where to find and how to use scientific information.     

Impact of a Scientist–Teacher Collaborative Model on Students,Teachers, and Scientists

Collaborations between the K-12 teachers and higher education or professional scientists have become a widespread approach to science education reform. Educational funding and efforts have been invested to establish these cross-institutional collaborations in many countries. Since 2006, Taiwan initiated the High Scope Program, a high school science curriculum reform to promote scientific innovation and inquiry through an integration of advanced science and technology in high school science curricula through partnership between high school teachers and higher education scientists and science educators. This study, as part of this governmental effort, a scientist–teacher collaborative model (STCM) was constructed by 8 scientists and 4 teachers to drive an 18-week high school science curriculum reform on environmental education in a public high school. Partnerships between scientists and teachers offer opportunities to strengthen the elements of effective science teaching identified by Shulman and ultimately affect students’ learning. Mixed methods research was used for this study. Qualitative methods of interviews were used to understand the impact on the teachers’ and scientists’ science teaching. A quasi-experimental design was used to understand the impact on students’ scientific competency and scientific interest. The findings in this study suggest that the use of the STCM had a medium effect on students’ scientific competency and a large effect on students’ scientific individual and situational interests. In the interviews, the teachers indicated how the STCM allowed them to improve their content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), and the scientists indicated an increased knowledge of learners, knowledge of curriculum, and PCK.     

社区老年科普大学的文化养老价值及发展机制

[摘要]在我国人口老龄化日趋严重的形势下,社区老年科普大学在很大程度上积极发挥了其强大的文化养老功能,实现老年人“老有所学”、“老有所乐”、“老有所为”,这就为解决人口老龄化问题提供了思路与探索。社区老年科普大学也存在诸多问题,还需通过科学规划、多元化投资、科普志愿者队伍建设、管理体系科学化、教学方式多样化等路径进一步发展和改进。     

我国高中阶段不宜实行文理分科

我国高中阶段不宜实行文理分科,从理论上讲是由学科知识的整体性、学科知识在人的整体素质提升中的作用以及教育权的法理所决定的;从实践上讲,是由实行文理分科后使高中生和大学生知识片面、素质欠缺,乃至学生之间形成新的不平等,从而加剧应试教育的延续,不利于素质教育的推行等弊端所造成的;同时也是赞成高中文理分科理由之不足,以及我国高中文理分科出台的背景及当前的形势发展所要求的。     

Science education and worldview

Is there a place for Indigenous Knowledge in the science curriculum for a Zulu community in rural Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa? This article argues “yes,” based on a participative research and development project that discovered relevant science learning in a Zulu community. Among community concerns for relevant factual and performative knowledge, we found that culture and worldview are critical to community identity, to visioning educational outcomes, and to learning in school science. Cultural practices may contribute to pedagogy and curriculum; curriculum, in turn, may affirm cultural practices. Further, worldview needs to be understood as an aspect of knowledge creation. By understanding key aspects of an African worldview, science educators can contribute to both meaningful science education and community well-being. By fostering culture and worldview, a rural community can make a unique contribution to science education.     

苏南发达地区初中教师文化科学知识现状调查研究

在分析地区宏观社会经济背景的基础上，采用面上资料和和问卷调查结构对苏南地区初中教师文化科学知识现状进行了分析，对面上资料的分析表明，从总体上看苏南地区初中教师学历和职称总体水平比全国和全省高，但区域内在城市之间和各市之间存在较大差异，通过对问卷结果的分析则得出了五个方面的结论：一是初中教师的文化科学知识与其职称高低有比较显著的相关性；二是优秀教师比一般教师的文化素质高；三是初中女教师文化科学素质略高于男教师；四是初中教师的学历进修与学历不合格现状不相适应；五是初中教师文化科学知识在总体素质的构成中是一个薄弱环节，最后有针对性地提出了七点建议。     

How Relevant Is R.S. Peters’ Conception of Education to Science Education?

This paper discusses R.S. Peters’ concept of education, particularly his notion of cognitive perspective and its relevance to school science education. In light of the problems inherent in any attempt to define the notion of scientific literacy, it is argued that the development of cognitive perspective can be considered an important, if not the ultimate, goal of school science education. Such a goal not only provides an alternative way to view the development of scientific literacy, but it also points to a conception of scientific literacy that is neither too narrow nor too broad. In view of recent reform efforts that promote a utilitarian and instrumentalist conception of school science education, Peters’ notion of cognitive perspective can provide food for thought for all those interested in a science education that educates students in science by helping them understand the personal and the wider significance of scientific knowledge. Such a conception of school science education is in line with the view that education and learning should make students change their outlook on the world. In addition, such a conception can enrich the ongoing dialogue on scientific literacy as the primary goal of school science education.     

论科学精神的养育策略

科学精神需要传承和弘扬,更需要建构和养育。鉴于科学精神具有习得性和难获性的特点以及科学不"精神"的现实状况,科学精神的养育必须从学生时代开始,它需要教师正确引导中小学生神圣的好奇心,真正重视情感、态度、价值观维度的教学目标,借助动态课程克服知识断层化问题,加强实验教学彰显科学教育特色,实施过程性科学学习行为评价。唯有如此,才能走出传统上科学教育只重科学知识教学的窠臼,进而向着科教兴国和科教强国的理想迈进。     

Students' Meaning‐making of Socio‐scientific Issues in Computer Mediated Settings: Exploring learning through interaction trajectories

This article reports on a study concerning secondary school students’ meaning‐making of socio‐scientific issues in Information and Communication Technology‐mediated settings. Our theoretical argument has as its point of departure the analytical distinction between ‘doing science’ and ‘doing school,’ as two different forms of classroom activity. In the study we conducted an analysis of students working with web‐based groupware systems concerned with genetics. The analysis identified how the students oriented their accounts of scientific concepts and how they attempted to understand the socio‐scientific task in different ways. Their orientations were directed towards finding scientific explanations, towards exploring the ethical and social consequences, and towards ‘fact‐finding.’ The students’ different orientations seemed to contribute to an ambivalent tension, which, on the one hand, was productive because it urged them into ongoing discussions and explicit meaning‐making. On the other hand, however, the tension elucidated how complex and challenging collaborative learning situations can be. Our findings suggest that in order to obtain a deeper understanding of students’ meaning‐making of socio‐scientific issues in Information and Communication Technology‐mediated settings, it is important not only to address how students perform the activity of ‘doing science.’ It is equally important to be sensitive with respect to how students orient their talk and activity towards more or less explicit values, demands, and expectations embedded in the educational setting. In other words, how students perform the activity of ‘doing school.’     

Scientific epistemic beliefs, conceptions of learning science and self-efficacy of learning science among high school students

This study examined the relationships among Taiwanese high school students’ scientific epistemic beliefs, conceptions of learning science, and self-efficacy of learning science. The questionnaire responses gathered from 377 high school students in Taiwan were utilized to elicit such relationships. The analysis of the structural equation model revealed that students’ absolutist scientific epistemic beliefs led to lower-level conceptions of learning science (i.e. learning science as memorizing, preparing for tests, calculating, and practicing) while sophisticated scientific epistemic beliefs might trigger higher-level conceptions of learning science (i.e. learning science as increase of knowledge, applying, and attaining understanding). The students’ lower-level conceptions of learning science were also found to negatively associate with their self-efficacy of learning science, while the higher-level conceptions of learning science fostered students’ self-efficacy. However, this study found that students who viewed scientific knowledge as uncertain (advanced epistemic belief) tended to possess lower self-efficacy toward learning science.     

The Pendulum as Presented in School Science Textbooks of Greece and Cyprus

When we refer to scientific knowledge, we, implicitly or explicitly, refer to its three components, namely its conceptual framework, its methodological principles and its cultural aspects. The pendulum is a topic of science teaching and learning where all three of these aspects can be examined with the aim of gaining a holistic appreciation of the transformation of a natural phenomenon into a phenomenon of the physical sciences and how this can then be recontextualized into a topic of school science learning. The main objective of this study is to examine whether this richness of the pendulum as a topic of teaching is revealed in the school science textbooks in Greece and Cyprus, for both primary and secondary education. We will use an analytical mapping instrument in order to determine, whether the pendulum is introduced at some grade level and, if so, in what context. We will then use an interpretive instrument, which relies on taxonomy of science curricula into traditional, innovative and constructivist programs, in order to attach meaning to the analysis. Finally, we will formulate a series of proposals in relation to the educational value of the simple pendulum at the Greek and Cypriot gymnasium level.     

钱学森科学分类与科技体系思想述评

钱学森将现代科学技术划分为十大部门。其中自然科学是迄今为止发展得最为成熟的一个门类,其层次结构包括工程科学、技术科学、基础科学、这三个层次通过辩证自然观 自然辩证迈向人类知识的最高概括－－马克思主义哲学。从思想方法上来说,钱学森科学分类和体系建构中有两个特点,一是始终坚持马克思主义哲学的观点和方法。二是始终坚持现代系统腐化的观点和方法,其科学意义 客观世界描绘了同幅科学的图景,为辩证唯物主义关于