RubyJacob_science education_termpaper

Study the POSITION PAPER for the position/s it takes – and the explanations and arguments
that it presents – on the various conceptions central to science education that you have worked
on in this course. These will surely include the following, but you could also add to it:

         Realist /Non-realist/ Relativist conception (of science or scientific explanation)

         various ways to conceptualize the purpose, history, and method of science (and
hence of science learning, teaching, and curriculum).

         Constructivist versus Empiricist conception of (scientific knowledge, and hence of

science learning, teaching, and curriculum).

         “Kinds” of constructivism: Piagetian/Vygotskian

The National focus group on “Teaching of science” in its executive summary

recommends and vouches for an ideal science curriculum, according to which “a science that is
true to the child, true to life and true to science” must be aimed. It therefore becomes imperative
that the curriculum of science is subjected to rigorous validation of its content and process,
validity pertaining to cognition, history, environment and ethics must also be ascertained. For
the curriculum to possess cognitive validity, the pedagogical practices that comprises of the
content, language and the process must align with the cognitive ability of the child that involves
the smooth transition from concrete to abstract concepts. The child must be introduced to
concrete and tangible concepts such as physical objects in the child’s immediate milieu, wherein
she can see, feel, smell and manipulate to strengthen her learning experiences, also discouraging
rote learning at the early stage. As the child matures in her cognitive abilities, abstract concepts
that are intangible and unobservable such as atoms, electrons, inertia etc. are introduced so that
the child is able to assimilate and accommodate the new knowledge to her already existing
knowledge of the natural world, enabling child to link the abstract with the concrete.

Content validity of the curriculum will ensure that after thorough research and expert
consultations, the best possible scientific knowledge available at the moment that is

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developmentally appropriate and that which conforms to the cognitive level of the child must be
intended. The process of curriculum transaction must enable the child to actively engage with her
environment through her innate curiosity and creativity, so that the skills gained enables in the
generation and validation of scientific knowledge. The historical evolution of the present day
scientific theories and phenomena must be incorporated in the curriculum so that the child gets a
broad insight of how scientific knowledge evolved. It has been realized that the curriculum must
be such that the child is able to relate to her environment and experiences in the initial stages,
gradually the child must be introduced to concepts outside the local purview to a wider and
larger context which will prepare the child for life. In addition science learning must not just
prepare the child to acquire understanding of the physical world, rather it must empower the
child with virtues of honesty, cooperation, becoming free of prejudices and fear, concern for all
forms of life and preserving the environment.

The position paper draws our attention to the dynamic nature of science that is ever
expanding and has evolved over the years through observation, examining patterns and
regularities, formulation of hypothesis, refuting theories as they were falsified based on
controlled experiments and finally to formulate theories and laws that govern the physical world.
The tentative and provisional nature of scientific knowledge is highlighted, since even the most
established and universal laws are bound to change with new technology, newer experiments and
newer knowledge at disposal. It states that science could have useful purposes or they could be
misused in other words they could be highly liberating or be oppressive. When science dispels
unscientific belief and enhances development when used in all walks of life as agriculture, health
etc. then it is emancipative, on the other hand when scientific knowledge is used to subdue others
by way of producing and harnessing harmful nuclear weapons, use of harmful pesticides and
chemicals on crops overlooking the safety of people for personal gains are all the oppressive
nature of science. Thus the very purpose of science education is the belief that science promotes
human welfare and development.

The paper strongly advocates developmentally appropriate pedagogical practices through

the use of Piaget’s constructivism and social constructivism as advocated by Vygotsky.
According to Pound (2011), Piaget’s constructivism sees the child in a constant process of
constructing and reconstructing reality, whereby the child gains understanding of the world by

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integrating simple concepts into complex ones at each stage of development. He stated that the
development of thought followed a natural sequence, guided by the so called ‘genetic
epistemology’. Piaget’s constructivism asserts that active exploration of the child’s environment
helps her to construct knowledge, which uses the process of assimilation, accommodation and
equilibration. The active use of the child’s senses enables the child to process information in the
brain by means of assimilation, however when the child encounters another new experience, a
state of disequilibrium sets in and the child strives hard to re-establish equilibrium by
accommodating the new idea. This according to Piaget strengthens the cognitive processes of the
child. The misconceptions that the young child hold about the natural world according to Piaget
is due to her egocentrism, which wanes off as the child is confronted with challenging
experiences requiring the use of cognitive processes to make sense of the world.

Vygotsky’s social constructivism on the other hand asserts that meaningful learning in
children occurs as a result of shared learning between peers or a competent adult such as a
teacher or an older sibling, who scaffolds the child regularly making the child capable of
independent critical analysis of the situation and problem solving. According to him tools for
thinking such as language, symbols, artefacts, folklore, rhymes, numbers etc. help children learn.
Vygotsky believed that development initially is interpersonal where the child interacts,
communicates and learns from her peers, parents and community at large, later it becomes
intrapersonal and is internalized. The position paper states that science must enhance the
development of good language skills, than language merely being used to acquire scientific
knowledge. The paper also asserts that during the formative years i.e., at the primary level
children should be taught in their mother tongue that is familiar to the child so that the child can
easily comprehend the concepts conveyed to her.

According to relativism, scientific explanations are not absolute. Relativism defies all
kinds of authority or any kind of enquiry. According to the relativist all scientific knowledge
generated is only tentative and that scientific investigations can never be fully relied upon.
Popper states that if a theory is irrefutable, then it is a weak theory which cannot be relied upon.
According to Relativism ‘points of view’ have no validity as they cannot be ascertained as true,
since they are born out of differences in perception by individuals. According to the relativist,
truth is not absolute but will always be affiliated to factors such as language or a culture. This is

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true also of scientific explanations according to relativist, wherein the scientific explanations are
affected by the prevailing dominant culture/race who refuse to acknowledge the knowledge of
the lesser known race. For example the Aborigines’ indigenous system of medicine refused to be
accepted by the dominant white race, labeling the knowledge as being ‘inferior’. Similarly the
tribal communities of India have devised their own way of sustaining in the jungle under harsh
conditions. These skills however are not acknowledged by the literate dominant class of the
society. This aspect of science education is reflected in the position paper by quoting the
example of Janabai a tribal girl, who is scorned by the teacher of her school. The rich knowledge
that she has of the forest trees, plants, the terrain and her skills at preparation of medicines are
overlooked.

Scientific rationality according to realism is that scientific explanations or knowledge

endeavors to explore the truth about the natural world. Scientific realism advocates that believing
in the existence of unobservable entities in a theory such as atoms, radiation, viruses etc. is
equally rational, as the rational acceptance of a scientific theory. According to the anti-realist
even the most tested and established theories have been refuted or modified. Historically we can
see that the scientists claimed the presence of phlogiston in the environment which was an
invisible substance, by giving sound logical explanations and was accepted unanimously by the
scientific community of the time. This however is ridiculous to the present day scientific
community. The anti-realists are of the view that scientific truths are there because the truths are
justified by observable phenomena. This aspect is strongly advocated in the curriculum whereby
learning experiences should progress from the child being able to manipulate concrete real
objects in the child’s environment and systematically introducing the child to abstract concepts
progressing from simple to complex. The school system in India which is plagued by the
examination system, assesses only the observable scholastic achievement of the child. The
child’s qualities such as motivation, perseverance, honesty, diligence, cooperation, offering help
to fellow student etc. are not being assessed as they go unobserved, rendering the science
education to a mere knowledge gaining process and not the wholistic development of the
student. Hence our perception of a good student is someone who scores well in the exam, rather
than someone who is able to deal with life’s situation competently.

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Empiricism demands that experiences and experiments forms the basis for scientific
knowledge rather than depending on mere intuition. The basic tenet of scientific explanations
and knowledge is the testing of hypothesis, through observations and experiments under
controlled conditions. The empiricist asserts that scientific knowledge is not innate rather it is
sought by the individual exploiting his senses to gain an understanding of the natural world.
However constructivism maintains that scientists construct the scientific knowledge and not by
the observations and explanations of phenomena in the natural world using the scientific method.
In the position paper there is great emphasis on empiricism, whereby the student must engage in
projects, have hands-on experience in workshop, conduct experiments in the laboratory etc. to
gain authentic scientific knowledge that is tested and verified. Empirical knowledge is also
gained via rigorous scientific research involving true experiments under controlled conditions.
The position paper advocates and emphasizes that students are taught simple low-cost
experiments for effective science learning. It recommends that annual science fair/melas and
exhibition be held in the school or among a group of schools t not just as a ritual, but rather to
create interest in science, promote creativity and inventiveness among children. Empiricism
thereby aspires to promote logical reasoning than mere rote learning or blind acceptance of facts.

Conclusion

Effective science teaching is a skill, wherein the teacher requires adequate educational
preparation spanning 4 to 5 years as recommended by the position paper. However in reality this
is not possible hence capacity building and empowerment of teachers become imperative so that
they can cater to different student community with varying needs and also keep in with the
changing times. Assessment should be continuous and must not instill fear or inferiority, rather
promote an increased interest in science learning. Learning by exploring the natural world and
by experiments will be more effective than mere memorization of concepts from text book.
Science education is a social endeavor and hence must promote equity in terms of caste, gender
and development.

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Your write up aspires to be comprehensive – but you seem to have taken each suggested theme I a
more or less atomistic ways – and in the process seem to have lost the coherent connections: think

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about your realist-antirealist positions vis-à-vis empiricists-constructivist positions, and how it s

represented in the report. Please see the comments above.

…………….. ‘B’ (tending towards ‘A’)………………………..

References

 Constructivism: retrieved from http://www.philosophybasics.com.

 Kuhn (1962), historical structure of scientific discovery, Science vol:136, pp.760-64
 National focus group on the teaching of science position paper, NCERT 2006.
 Pound, Linda (2011). Influencing early childhood education. McGraw-Hill Education,
Open University Press, Berkshire, England.