School science needs to help students become independent thinkers. In Project 2061: Science for All Americans, the authors pointed out that science teaching related to scientific literacy needs to be consistent with the spirit and character of scientific inquiry and with scientific values. Students must be engaged actively "in the use of hypotheses, the collection and use of evidence, and the design of investigations and processes, and placing a premium on the students' curiosity and creativity." The authors of the report refer to this kind of thinking as the "scientific habit of mind," and view its implementation as an important goal. They put it this way:
"Scientific habits of mind can help people in every walk of life to deal sensibly with problems that often involve evidence, quantitative considerations, logical arguments, and uncertainty; without the ability to think critically and independently, citizens are easy prey to dogmatists, flimflam artists, and purveyors of simple solutions to complex problems."
The habit of mind that is being suggested here is problem solving, and as Stanley L. Helgeson points out, "problem solving has been a concern of science education for at least three quarters of a century." Helgeson goes on to point out whether we use terms such as scientific method, scientific thinking, critical thinking, inquiry skills, and science processes, these are in essence expressions of a more general concept: problem solving.
Thus, in this section, we will explore problem solving, and pay particular attention to strategies that secondary science teachers can use to emphasize problem solving in their curriculum. We will first begin with the notion of problem solving, and then show the value of emphasizing the "processes of science" in secondary science lessons. Finally, we will conclude this section by relating problem solving and science processes to school science fair projects and research investigations.