A Reconstruction of Structure of the Atom and Its Implications for General Physics Textbooks: A History and Philosophy of Science Perspective

Recent research in science education has recognized the importance of history and philosophy of science. The objective of this study is to evaluate the presentation of the Thomson, Rutherford, and Bohr models of the atom in general physics textbooks based on criteria derived from history and philosophy of science. Forty-one general physics textbooks (all published in the United States) were evaluated on two criteria based on Thomson's work, three on Rutherford's work, and three on Bohr's work. Results obtained show that general physics textbooks do not systematically include a history and philosophy of science perspective. Most textbooks present an inductivist perspective in which experimental details are considered to be paramount. On the contrary, a historical reconstruction of the experimental details inevitably includes: the context in which an experiment is conducted, the theoretical framework that guides the scientist, and alternative interpretations of data that lead to conflicts and controversies. Examples are provided to show how historical reconstructions of atomic models can provide students an opportunity to appreciate how scientists work and science progresses. It is plausible to suggest that textbook presentations based on a history and philosophy of science perspective can perhaps arouse students' interest in the subject and hence lead to greater conceptual understanding.     

Philosophy of Chemistry: An Emerging Field with Implications for Chemistry Education

Traditional applications of history and philosophy of science in chemistry education have concentrated on the teaching and learning of history of chemistry. In this paper, the recent emergence of philosophy of chemistry as a distinct field is reported. The implications of this new domain for chemistry education are explored in the context of chemical models. Trends in the treatment of models in chemistry education highlights the need for reconceptualizing the teaching and learning of chemistry to embrace chemical epistemology, a potential contribution by philosophy of chemistry.     

History,philosophy, and science teaching: The present rapprochement

This paper traces the use of, and arguments for, the history and philosophy of science in school science courses. Specific attention is paid to the British National Curriculum proposals and to the recommendations of the US Project 2061 curriculum guidelines. Some objections to the inclusion of historical material in science courses are outlined and answered. Mention is made of the Piagetian thesis that individual psychological development mirrors the development of concepts in the history of science. This introduces the topic of idealisation in science. Some significant instances are itemised where science education has, at its considerable cost, ignored work in philosophy of science. Arguments for the inclusion of the history and philosophy of science in science teacher education programmes are given. The paper finishes with a list of topical issues in present science education where collaboration between science teachers, historians, philosophers, and sociologists would be of considerable benefit.     

Definition of historical models of gene function and their relation to students’ understanding of genetics

Models are often used when teaching science. In this paper historical models and students’ ideas about genetics are compared. The historical development of the scientific idea of the gene and its function is described and categorized into five historical models of gene function. Differences and similarities between these historical models are made explicit. Internal and external consistency problems between the models are identified and discussed. From the consistency analysis seven epistemological features are identified. The features vary in such ways between the historical models that it is claimed that learning difficulties might be the consequence if these features are not explicitly addressed when teaching genetics. Students’ understanding of genetics, as described in science education literature, is then examined. The comparison shows extensive parallelism between students’ alternative understanding of genetics and the epistemological features, i.e., the claim is strengthened. It is also argued that, when teaching gene function, the outlined historical models could be useful in a combined nature of science and history of science approach. Our findings also raise the question what to teach in relation to preferred learning outcomes in genetics.     

Romanticism and Romantic Science: Their Contribution to Science Education

The unique contributions of romanticism and romantic science have been generally ignored or undervalued in history and philosophy of science studies and science education. Although more recent research in history of science has come to delineate the value of both topics for the development of modern science, their merit for the educational field has not been explored. Romanticism was not only an obvious historical period, but a particular state of mind with its own extraordinary emotional sensitivity towards nature. It is especially the latter which we hope to revisit and reclaim for science education. After discussing several key historical contributions, we describe nine characteristics of ‘Romantic Science’ in order to focus on six ideas/possibilities that we believe hold much value for transforming current science education: (1) the emotional sensitivity toward nature, (2) the centrality of sense experience, (3) the importance of “holistic experience”, (4) the importance of the notions of mystery and wonder, (5) the power of science to transform people’s outlook on the natural world, and (6) the importance of the relationship between science and philosophy. It is argued that in view of a pragmatist/utilitarian conception of school science prevalent today the aforementioned ideas (especially the notion of wonder and the poetic/non-analytical mode of knowledge), can provide food for thought for both science teachers and researchers seeking to work out an aesthetic conception, one that complements current approaches such as inquiry science and conceptual change.     

A Model of Historical Thinking

Abstract

‘Historical thinking’ has a central role in the theory and practice of history education. At a minimum, history educators must work with a model of historical thinking if they are to formulate potential progression in students’ advance through a school history curriculum, test that progression empirically, and shape instructional experiences in order to maximize that progression. Where do they look, and where should they look, in order to construct such models? Over the past several decades, three major strands have developed, one based in the empirically minded and instruction-oriented British Schools Council History Project, a second through the more philosophically oriented German field of history didactics and historical consciousness, and a third in the US. All three had roots in the historiography and philosophy of their own national traditions. Canadian history educators have been working with a pragmatic hybrid defined around six ‘historical thinking concepts.’ While this model has both been highly influential in the reform of Canadian history curricula and prompted adaptations elsewhere, there has been only minimal theoretical discussion exploring the relationship of these concepts to each other or to the three traditions which helped to shape them. This article is a contribution towards filling that gap.     

HPS and school science education: remediation or reconstruction?

Concern to incorporate historical and philosophical insights within school science curricula is an international phenomenon. Whatever the intrinsic merits of these insights, it is suggested that any willingness on the part of science educators to enter into a rapprochement with scholars in the history, philosophy and sociology (HPS) of science stems mainly from the perceived shortcomings of contemporary school science curricula. Some of the difficulties of incorporating HPS within school science are reviewed and it is argued that, together with broader questions about the role of science in society, historical, philosophical and sociological insights point towards a radical reappraisal of school science education. The article suggests three ways in which such education might respond to some recent work in the history, philosophy and sociology of science.     

Exploring the Role of Ideology in Interdisciplinary Science Education Policy

Despite its popularity in education studies literature, interdisciplinary science education is mostly considered outside the multitude of social forces that drive education reform. This has contributed to a mythologizing of interdisciplinary science education and lead to assumptions about the necessity of its intervention into science education practice. This research constructs a critical analysis of interdisciplinary science education by exploring a philosophical understanding of the relations between scientific disciplines, investigating discourse about interdisciplinarity in science education policy literature, and provides socioeconomic context for this reform movement. In particular, Louis Althusser's theory of ideology as material force, his conception of the spontaneous philosophy of scientists, and his theses on the ideological nature of interdisciplinary science are foundational to this critique. Althusser's contributions allow for critical reflection on interdisciplinarity and the effects of promoting it throughout scientific enterprise. Viewing interdisciplinary science education through this critical lens allows for demarcating the ideological narratives of reformist discourse from the intended outcomes of reform. This investigation elucidates the intervention of interdisciplinarity as an ideological force governing the reproduction of scientific labor, with intended downstream socioeconomic effects, such as shifting science labor from the public sector to private industry to accommodate for austerity. The conclusions of this analysis advocate for historical materialist methodologies in science education research and critical education studies, while emphasizing the role of ideology in socioeconomic reproduction.     

关于重写中国教育史的断想——从理科教育史缺位谈起

已经出版的教育史著作大都没有对数理教育的历史给予与历史全貌相一致的表述,其中对一些重大历史事件和人物的忽视令人震惊。产生这一问题的表面原因是:一方面从事理科教育的人不注重历史叙述;另一方面.教育史研究者大都缺乏理科知识,对理科教育的变化与进步没有感知,难以写史。更深层的原因是缺少充分的社会条件和文理兼修不为稻粱谋的学者;从学科建设方面分析,教育史学界所使用的“教育”概念是不完整不深刻的。教育史中的“教育”应该是聚焦于人的成长发展的活动,教育史也应当从人的成长发展过程出发,贯彻以人为本的理念,明确将成长发展中的人作为教育史的服务对象,把写出能反映全貌的教育史作为教育史学界努力实现的一个重要目标。这需要文理组合的团队,以开放的方式整体评估各类教育史实在教育发展中的地位和作用,确定综合性教育史著作和教科书的篇章节构,编写出文理平衡、以人为本的完整教育史。     

Teaching the Philosophical and Worldview Components of Science

A common feature of contemporary science education curricula is the expectation that as well as learning science content, students will learn something about science—its nature, its history, how it differs from non-scientific endeavours, and its interactions with culture and society. These curricular pronouncements provide an ‘open cheque’ for the inclusion of history and philosophy of science in science teacher education programmes, and for their utilisation in classrooms. Unfortunately this open cheque is too often not cashed. This paper will discuss an important aspect of the contribution of science to culture, namely its role in the development of worldviews in society. A case study of the adjustments to a central Roman Catholic doctrine occasioned by the metaphysics of Atomism which was embraced at the Scientific Revolution will be presented. Options for the reconciliation of seemingly conflicting scientific and religious worldviews are laid out, and it is claimed that as far as liberal education is concerned, the important thing is to have students first recognise what are the options, and then carefully examine them to come to their own conclusions about reconciliation or otherwise.     

Some Antecedents of Educational Philosophy in Britain with Particular Reference to Social Science

It would be convenient to pretend that the histories of educational philosophy in Britain and, by extension, the USA and Australia, were responses to a common social and intellectual history but convenience in this case could only be accomplished at the expense of explanatory power. The history of educational philosophy in these three places is parallel but not in common. Philosophy of education in Britain is more closely related to philosophy than is philosophy of education in the USA. Philosophy of education in the USA appropriated the lead of the American Social Science Association and initially retained closer connections with social science than did its English counterpart. Nevertheless, it is argued here that educational philosophy's reference to social science—Victorian and modern—is the missing explanatory element in modem histories of the discipline. The appropriation of education by social science—a common feature of the intellectual history of education in Britain, Australasia, and the USA—leavened the research agenda of educational philosophy in Britain. Peters’ educational work can be best understood as an attempt to reunite education with moral philosophy such that the study of education would resume a profile similar to its nineteenth‐century counterpart, when it was moral philosophy that provided the most interesting discussions of human nature, primitive customs, and social institutions—education among them.     

The pupil as philosopher

Discussion of the need for an understanding of the philosophy of science to inform classroom practice is mostly directed at clarifying the nature of science, the history of science, the nature of scientific evidence, and the nature of scientific method for curriculum developers and teachers. The discussion assumes no input from pupils. The constructivist perspective, however, assumes that pupils do not come to lessons with blank minds. What insights and questions do students bring to lessons about issues relevant to the philosophy and history of science? Can these be used to develop understanding? Classroom discussions about the energy concept imply that students have valuable ideas and questions related to the exploration of philosophical issues. Rather than developing curricula to tell students about the philosophy and history of science, this paper argues for exploration of student’s ideas and questions when abstract concepts are being discussed in the classroom.     

History and Philosophy of Science through Models: The Case of Chemical Kinetics

The case for a greater role for the history and philosophy of science in science education is reviewed. It is argued that such a role can only be realised if it is based on both a credible analytical approach to the history and philosophy of science and if the evolution of a sufficient number of major themes in science is known in suitable detail. Adopting Lakatos' Theory of Scientific Research Programmes as the analytical approach, it is proposed that the development, use, and replacement, of specific models forms the core of such programmes.Chemical kinetics was selected as an exemplar major topic in chemistry. Eight models which have played a central role in the evolution of the study of chemical kinetics were identified by an analysis of the literature. The implications that these models have for the teaching and learning of chemistry today are discussed.     

农村教师拥有怎样的文化知识--关于农村教师文化知识的调查

农村教师文化知识的掌握情况整体偏低,而在审美艺术知识、自然科学知识方面最为薄弱。他们在学习哲学知识、艺术知识、历史知识时最感困惑。其文化知识主要的三个来源是：阅读各类专业书刊、网络平台、自身生活经验。他们平时最喜欢阅读的书刊是文学、历史、哲学书籍,娱乐休闲类的报刊杂志,时事类的报刊书籍,并且在阅读偏好上表现出明显的性别差异。此外,大多数农村教师认为文化知识在教育教学中的作用比较大,但运用程度不高,对文化知识的发展积极性也不太高。     

The most difficult career: Women's history in science

A short review of current feminist philosophy on the relationship between women and science is followed by a survey of recent work in the history of women's involvement in the sciences. The reasons for the late development of this sub‐field are explained, and the most recent work in it summarized. It is emphasized that women's history in science challenges received wisdom in both the history of science as ‘professionalization’ and current feminist philosophy, which, it is argued, proceeds from an insufficient concern with the historical diversity and complexity of women's relations with science.     

The science curriculum and education for democracy in the risk society

How can the science curriculum make a contribution to education for democracy in 'the risk society'? The characteristics of a 'risk society' are identified and the problematic role of scientific knowledge in such a society briefly reviewed. Kuhn's notion of science as a community of practice is suggested as the most appropriate model if the aim is to teach a view of science which is compatible with the provisional, 'risky' and collaborative nature of all knowledge in the contemporary context. Those features of the model which are particularly relevant to life in present-day society are clarified and the educational implications of this particular model are discussed under three headings: science as a way of knowing; science as cultural communication; and science as an expression of interests.     

Whose nature of science?

Science education literature explicitly and implicitly advocates basic tenets (criteria) for “the nature of science.” The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the science education tenets are also held by philosophers of science (those who study purported tenets of science), and furthermore, to reveal possible related philosophical positions underpinning differences in responses among the philosophers. The philosophers of science expressed significant disagreements with the tenets, and different philosophers of science varied on their views about the tenets. In addition, relationships were found among the philosophers' views of the nature of science, their views of philosophy of space, and with their philosophy of science in general. Therefore, the tenets that are advocated as basic criteria for science education's “the nature of science” must be reconsidered so that more accurate criteria may be developed for future nature of science research. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 34 : 39–55, 1997.     

浅析“李约瑟难题”及对科学教育的启示——兼论科学史教育功效

学术界围绕“李约瑟难题”从哲学、社会学、政治学、教育学等方面的解读,揭示了近代科学没有诞生在中国的一些原因．这些研究成果启发我们,科学教育的改革要重视科学史在科学教育中的重要性．科学史教育的内容能够十富学生哲学思想,发展其自然观、培养其科学思维与创新思想,并改变传统科学教育方式,提高科学教育水平,促使我国早日重归世界科技的前沿．     

关于李大钊论历史学性质问题的探析

历史学的学科性质,是艺术,还是科学?在20世纪初期,中国史学家就这一问题展开讨论,李大钊很早就开始关注与思考这一史学理论中最基本而且很重要的理论问题。在近代中国,李大钊是对于历史学的学科性质问题论述较早,也较为成熟的史学家。李大钊关于历史学特有性质的论述,是他史学思想中的一个重要内容。否认历史学不具有科学性的一些人,往往是从否认历史发展无规律可循立论的。李大钊关于历史学性质的论述也是对这一不正确的认识的积极回应。李大钊坚定地指出:"史学之当为一种科学,在今日已无疑义。"李大钊在坚持历史学的学科性质是科学的同时,也承认在具体的历史研究过程中存在艺术性的工作。历史学研究含有艺术性的工作和历史学是艺术是两回事。历史研究中所体现的这种艺术性是工作层面的事情,并不等同于学科层面。