You will discover that the science education community is increasingly interested in correlating the results of research with the practice of science teaching. For example, the National Science Teachers Association has published a series of monographs entitled What Research Says to the Science Teacher. One of the reasons for this series is the difficulty that has existed in trying to connect research to practice. It is fitting that the last volume of the 1980s published in this series was entitled "Problem Solving." The monograph contained a series of papers designed to help the science teacher focus on the important goal of helping students solve problems in the disciplines of biology, chemistry, Earth science and physics.
Why should problem solving be considered an important goal of science teaching as we enter the 21st Century? As the researchers point out, problem solving enables teachers to give students the opportunity to integrate thinking skills to solve a variety of problems. For example the Earth science teacher can rely on the concreteness of Earth science phenomena, and the fact that students can connect directly to issues and problems dealing with the land, sky, water and air. Interesting problems, having global consequences, yet local actions can help students explore problems that affect them directly. This approach to problem solving ties in directly to the goal that science should be of value to people as individuals, workers and citizens.
The National Association for Research in Science Teaching has published a series of documents entitled Resarch Matters....To the Science Teacher on a range of topics. These two-to-three page papers are like consumer reports in which researchers translate the results of studies into practical-consumer-like reports. Some of these such as "Pupil Behavior and Motivation in Eighth Grade Science," and "Encouraging Girls in Science Courses and Careers," are found in a column of the Science Teacher Gazette.
Based on their research, researchers in the cognitive science tradition have also suggested some directions for the future science curriculum. Here are several directions that cognitive researchers feel are direct implications of their research.
1. The goals of the science curriculum should be redefined and broadened to reflect technological advances and societal needs. Their position is that science education should focus its attention on creating environments that foster science for all citizens, rather than science for future careers in science.2. The goals of the middle grades curriculum (grades 4-8) should focus its attention on students' concerns about the impact of science on society. For example, science programs at this level that involve students in environmental education activities, where they explore on the local level connections between science and society would capitalize on students interest in these topics. Having students investigate pollution, recycling, causes of disease, waste disposal, and the impact of power plants on the environment are examples of promising topics. The middle years are significant and influential to students. It is the time when students loose interest in science, and it is imperative that science programs be designed to capitalize on their interests and motivations.
3. Less is better. Researchers think science courses should cover less topics, and to go into the topics that are included in more depth. By going into depth on selected topics, teachers would be able to plan indepth problem solving activities. Currently teachers must skip quickly from one topic to another, giving very little attention to real understanding of science concepts and problem solving.
4. The content of the science disciplines should be integrated. Project 2061 and the New Designs reports cited earlier recommended an interdisciplinary approach to the science curriculum. Students should be helped to make connections among the fields of science by being engaged in activities that require them to link one discipline to another. Except for elementary science, the science curriculum in the United States is organized in such a way that students study only one science discipline each year, reinforcing the separateness of science fields. As we will see in the next chapter, students in a number of other countries are introduced to physics, biology and chemistry early in their secondary education, and continue to study each of these subjects for as many as five years.
There are many other implications for science teaching based on the work of science education researchers. I have identified a number of implications that have direct bearing on the goals and nature of the curriculum In Chapter 2, a number of implications were identified related to cognitive development, student learning styles, and metacognitive strategies. As you continue your study of science teaching, its important to make connections between research and science teaching practice.