ScienceTeacher1

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[][|Alienation from science has sometimes been linked to the dominant discourse practices of secondary science classrooms] - [|Add comment]Tags: [|no_tag] | shared by [|graham hughes] 2009-05-13 01:49:00 **- Quotes & Comments -**
 * in secondary science education - tendency towards elitism
 * need to make science accessible and relevant to the needs of a greater proportion of students,
 * "science for all" (or "scientific literacy" for all) has become an explicit goal of science curricula
 * low retention rates in science in the post-compulsory senior secondary years
 * majority of students are being alienated from science during their secondary school years
 * for curriculum change ..... been stymied by academic scientists, with the support of some science teachers
 * Teachers cannot be expected to single-handedly escape the "coercive influence of technical accountability
 * science and science education are seen to be entirely abstract and disinteresting,
 * any marginalisation is unintended by most if not all science teachers who presumably set out with the intention of teaching science to all their students and are consequently disappointed when, from their point of view, most students seem unable to engage deeply with the curriculum
 * The majority of students are not gifted (intellectually endowed) enough to understand scientific concepts which are, of their nature, inherently difficult
 * Most students simply do not apply themselves as they should, and would do better if only they made more effort
 * As well as assuming that science is generally too difficult for all but a minority of "bright" students, they accept without question the myths that school science has to be abstract and impersonal, and to appear absolutely objective, authoritative, and non-negotiable
 * Any attempt to make it more relevant and attractive is seen as an attack on its status b y those academics and teachers who act as its "guardians"
 * schooling being designed for students who operate using an elaborated code which has been provided by their middle or upper class home backgrounds
 * textual features in science texts that could make it difficult for the lay person to read
 * school science was inadvertently elitist and likely to marginalise many students
 * all good science teachers break these rules regularly and the success they have in engaging students is related to the extent to which they break the rules
 * science tends "to contrast science with human experience, to set the sciences in opposition to the humanities, to exempt science from social processes and real human activity, to oppose its language to the colloquial language of common sense"
 * science as being about "Solid Foundations, Correct Explanation, Science Skill Development
 * Seeing themselves as `guardians of the disciplines', such academics wanted to keep each discipline of science (physics, chemistry, biology, etc.) strictly `demarcated' from commonsense and from other disciplines, as well as from social issues and concerns
 * resultant restricted curricula h ad little appeal and little to offer in the way of personal or social relevance for most students,
 * science has much greater appeal to a wider range of students when it is related to lifeworld issues, is treated in an integrated way and taught in relation to the larger picture, and takes place in a ethos of community learning.
 * school science is seen as a "special truth that only the superintelligent few c an understand"
 * minimal integration between different units (physics, chemistry, biology) or of science with other subjects or social issues
 * little time for "frills" in a curriculum where one had to cover a great deal of content if one wanted-and it was assumed that one did want-to prepare students to be able to take senior science subjects.
 * must cover all the so-called "basic" terminology, principles, rules, genres, and theoretical and practical procedures
 * Anything less would be to cheat students of their right to a satisfactory standard of education, and could only be tolerated where groups of students were known to be intellectually disabled
 * many exceptions to the rule, examples of science teaching that //does// engage students despite pressures for technical accountability, but they are too few to prevent the general alienation f rom science and scientific careers during the years of secondary schooling that has been reported in the literature
 * it is proper to use the years of secondary school science to select out those most qualified to study science
 * to give as many students as possible an "equal" chance to be selected, they see no reason to change anything, beyond trying harder to do what they are already doing, including covering as much content as they can possibly cover, and exhorting apparently "lazy" students to be more disciplined.
 * curriculum reform should change its explicit focus from **//content// to //style//** i  f one wants to cater for the needs of the majority of students
 * greater emphasis on the uncertain nature of science, its modest role in explaining and participating in social issues,
 * an exploration of the values and needs of the average citizen and society in relation to science
 * stronger and more explicit challenge to prevailing, disempowering myths about science, and the importance of the personal style of the teacher in according active learning roles to student,
 * communication skills also depend on both teachers' scientific knowledge and their pedagogical content knowledge

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