The phenomena of science education
A recent article in Science asserts the following:
"There is a growing realization that nurturing scientists for the 21st century requires engaging students in the processes of doing science. For students to be engaged in the process of doing physics, they need to learn to think like a physicist. Much of its richness is the process through which physicists acquire knowledge and those specific "habits of mind" that are necessary to practice physics."
Experimentalism has been a driving force in science for many decades. The contemporary education system is already replete with the practice of science and the theory is considered bit of a luxury and reserved for a handful of nerds. During primary education, students head out to the pond to observe nature and thus to get a firm handle on science. They set up experiments - roll balls down an incline and stand amazed at their predictions working perfectly. Newton's laws in themselves are bit of a stretch, however. Later, they will embark on more complex experiments by mixing and shaking chemicals and then dissecting live animals. It is practical science in all the glory it can muster.
Such practicality, however, comes at a cost. The effects are already clear in the US as students keep slipping in science and mathematics compared to international standards. The science article seems to call for enhancing this practicality in education – by reinforcing the habits necessary to practice physics – if not in understanding it. Practicing, after all, is more valuable for most individuals because of one unchangeable characteristic – their lifetime is limited.
"There is a growing realization that nurturing scientists for the 21st century requires engaging students in the processes of doing science. For students to be engaged in the process of doing physics, they need to learn to think like a physicist. Much of its richness is the process through which physicists acquire knowledge and those specific "habits of mind" that are necessary to practice physics."
Experimentalism has been a driving force in science for many decades. The contemporary education system is already replete with the practice of science and the theory is considered bit of a luxury and reserved for a handful of nerds. During primary education, students head out to the pond to observe nature and thus to get a firm handle on science. They set up experiments - roll balls down an incline and stand amazed at their predictions working perfectly. Newton's laws in themselves are bit of a stretch, however. Later, they will embark on more complex experiments by mixing and shaking chemicals and then dissecting live animals. It is practical science in all the glory it can muster.
Such practicality, however, comes at a cost. The effects are already clear in the US as students keep slipping in science and mathematics compared to international standards. The science article seems to call for enhancing this practicality in education – by reinforcing the habits necessary to practice physics – if not in understanding it. Practicing, after all, is more valuable for most individuals because of one unchangeable characteristic – their lifetime is limited.
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