Scientific literacy should remain the abstract image that leads
science education reform.
Eisenhart, M. et al. (1996)
In light of the vision for scientific literacy and the need to develop scientific literacy in Canada, four foundation statements were established for this framework. Curriculum developers should note that these foundation statements delineate the four critical aspects of students' scientific literacy. They reflect the wholeness and interconnectedness of learning and should be considered as interrelated and mutually supportive. The learning outcomes in this framework are stated in relation to these foundation statements.
Students will develop an understanding of the nature of science and technology, of the relationships between science and technology, and of the social and environmental contexts of science and technology.
Students will develop the skills required for scientific and technological inquiry, for solving problems, for communicating scientific ideas and results, for working collaboratively, and for making informed decisions.
Students will construct knowledge and understandings of concepts in life science, physical science, and Earth and space science, and apply these understandings to interpret, integrate, and extend their knowledge.
Students will be encouraged to develop attitudes that support the responsible acquisition and application of scientific and technological knowledge to the mutual benefit of self, society, and the environment.
Curriculum developers should note that the following considerations about student learning and the teaching of science were taken into account during the development of the framework.
Student learning is affected by personal and cultural preconceptions and prior knowledge. Students learn most effectively when their study of science is rooted in concrete learning experiences, related to a particular context or situation, and applied to their world where appropriate. Science activities, therefore, occur within a socio-cultural context, are interpreted within that context, and are designed to extend and challenge existing views.
The ideas and understandings that students develop are progressively extended and reconstructed as students grow in their experiences and in their ability to conceptualize. Learning involves the process of linking newly constructed understandings with prior knowledge and adding new contexts and experiences to current understandings.
Learning is enhanced when students identify and solve problems. Through such learning, students develop attitudes, skills, and a knowledge base that allow them to explore increasingly complex ideas and problems, especially if these are placed in a meaningful context.
Students learn to understand the world by developing personal conceptions, constructing mental images, and sharing these with others using everyday language, in diverse situations that respect a wide variety of learners.
[I]t is important for students to learn that they can understand
and deal with the world by means of their own observations and
constructed explanations, that all such explanatory frameworks
have their limitations, and that science offers frameworks for
explanations and control which, while also limited in scope, have
been shown to possess particular explanatory power and which have
thus become accepted by the scientific community and by society
as a whole.
Science Council of Canada (1984)
"(...) Presenting a body of knowledge to students (whether it
is in telling them more or showing them better) will not suffice
in order for students to understand, memorize and internalize
that knowledge. Every student must individually and personally
construct each bit of understanding, using tools at her or his
disposal, namely her or his own ideas and thought processes."
De Vecchi, G. & Giordan, A. (1990)
Teaching of science
This framework of outcomes is designed to support the development in students of the attitudes, skills, and knowledge needed for developing problem-solving and decision-making abilities, for becoming lifelong learners, and for maintaining a sense of wonder about the world around them in short, to develop scientific literacy.
Development of scientific literacy is supported by instructional environments that engage students in active inquiry, problem solving and decision making. Diverse learning experiences involve designing activities so they are set in meaningful contexts. It is through these contexts that students discover the significance of science to their lives and come to appreciate the interrelated nature of science, technology, society, and the environment.
To facilitate instructional planning, examples of instructional contexts (called "illustrative examples") are provided in the section that presents learning outcomes by grade. The selection of particular contexts and their development will likely vary with the local situation, and reflect factors such as the prior learning of the students, the dynamics of the classroom, the nature of the local environment, and available learning resources.
Although the particular contexts may vary, the overall scope and focus will normally include the following broad areas of emphasis:
Each of these three areas of emphasis provides a potential starting point for engaging in an area of study. These studies may involve a variety of learning approaches for exploring new ideas, for developing specific investigations, and for applying the ideas that are learned. Specific ways of encouraging students to explore, develop and apply ideas are modelled in the illustrative examples.
To achieve the vision of scientific literacy, students must increasingly become engaged in the planning, development, and evaluation of their own learning activities. In the process, they should have the opportunity to work collaboratively with other students, to initiate investigations, to communicate their findings, and to complete projects that demonstrate their learning.
Description of the foundation statements
The descriptions on the following pages provide an overview of the depth and breadth of each foundation statement.
Students will develop an understanding of the nature of science
and technology, of the relationships between science and technology,
and of the social and environmental contexts of science and technology.
This foundation statement is the driving force of the framework.
Many learning outcomes presented in this document flow directly
or indirectly from the STSE domain.
This foundation focusses on three major dimensions:
Nature of science and technology
Science is a human and social activity with unique characteristics and a long history that has involved many men and women from many societies. Science is also a way of learning about the universe based on curiosity, creativity, imagination, intuition, exploration, observation, replication of experiments, interpretation of evidence, and debate over the evidence and its interpretations. Scientific activity provides a conceptual and theoretical base that is used in predicting, interpreting, and explaining natural and human-made phenomena. Many historians, sociologists, and philosophers of science argue that there is no set procedure for conducting a scientific investigation. Rather, they see science as driven by a combination of theories, knowledge, experimentation, and processes anchored in the physical world. Theories of science are continually being tested, modified, and improved as new knowledge and theories supersede existing ones. Scientific debate on new observations and hypotheses that challenge accepted knowledge involves many participants with diverse backgrounds. This highly complex interplay, which has occurred throughout history, is fuelled by theoretical discussions, experimentation, social, cultural, economic, and political influences, personal biases, and the need for peer recognition and acceptance.
While it is true that some of our understanding of the world is the result of revolutionary scientific developments, much of our understanding of the world results from a steady and gradual accumulation of knowledge.
Technology, like science, is a creative human activity with a long history in all cultures of the world. Technology is concerned mainly with proposing solutions to problems arising from human adaptation to the environment. Since there are many possible solutions, there are inevitably many requirements, objectives, and constraints. Hence, the chief concern of technologists is to develop optimal solutions that represent a balance of costs and benefits to society, the economy, and the environment.
Producing science knowledge is an intrinsically collective endeavour.
There is no such thing as stand alone science. Scientists submit
models and solutions to the assessment of their peers who judge
their logical and experimental soundness by reference to the body
of existing knowledge.
Larochelle, M. & Désautels, J. (1992)
At all grade levels, relationships between science, technology,
and society should be emphasized, especially for all the students
in the terminal grades of schooling who have concern for major
science related social issues.
Keeves, J. & Aikenhead, G.S., in Fraser, B.J. & Walberg, H.J.
(1995)
Relationships between science and technology
While there are important relationships between science and technology, there are also important differences. Science and technology differ in purpose and in process. Technology is more than applied science. It draws from many disciplines when solving problems. Throughout history, science and technology have drawn from one another. They are inextricably linked.
By understanding the relationships between science and technology, students learn to appreciate how science and technology interact, how they develop in a social context, how they are used to improve people's lives, and how they have implications for the students themselves, for others, for the economy, and for the environment.
Social and environmental contexts of science and technology
The history of science highlights the nature of the scientific enterprise. Above all, the historical context serves as a reminder of the ways in which cultural and intellectual traditions have influenced the questions and methodologies of science, and how science in turn has influenced the wider world of ideas.
Today, a majority of scientists work in industry, where research is more often driven by societal and environmental needs than by the pursuit of fundamentals. As technological solutions have emerged, many of them have given rise to complex social and environmental issues. These issues are increasingly becoming part of the political agenda. The potential of science to inform and empower decision making by individuals, communities, and society as a whole is central to achieving scientific literacy in a democratic society.
Scientific knowledge is necessary but is not in itself sufficient for understanding the relationships among science, technology, society, and the environment. To understand these relationships, it is also essential to understand the values inherent to science, technology, a particular society, and its environment.
As students advance from grade to grade, the understandings about STSE interrelationships are developed and applied in increasingly demanding contexts. In the early years, considerable attention is given to students acquiring an operational understanding of these interrelationships. In the later years, these understandings are more conceptual in nature. Growth in STSE understandings may involve each of the following elements:
For individual students, the development of STSE understandings may be earlier or later than the times identified in the framework, depending in large part on their stage of cognitive and social development.
Students will develop the skills required for scientific and technological inquiry, for solving problems, for communicating scientific ideas and results, for working collaboratively, and for making informed decisions.
Students use a variety of skills in the process of answering questions, solving problems, and making decisions. While these skills are not unique to science, they play an important role in the development of scientific understandings and in the application of science and technology to new situations. The listing of the skills is not intended to imply a linear sequence or to identify a single set of skills required in each science investigation. Every investigation and application of science has unique features that determine the particular mix and sequence of skills involved. Skills are identified for each grade grouping and at each grade level. Most of the basic skills are given considerable attention in the early years, while specific skills are developed and refined in the senior years.
Four broad areas of skills are outlined in the framework. Each group of skills is developed from kindergarten to grade 12, with increasing scope and complexity of application.
Initiating and planning
These are the skills of questioning, identifying problems, and developing preliminary ideas and plans.
Performing and recording
These are the skills of carrying out a plan of action, which involves gathering evidence by observation and, in most cases, manipulating materials and equipment.
Analysing and interpreting
These are the skills of examining information and evidence, of processing and presenting data so that it can be interpreted, and of interpreting, evaluating, and applying the results.
Communication and teamwork
In science, as in other areas, communication skills are essential at every stage where ideas are being developed, tested, interpreted, debated, and agreed upon. Teamwork skills are also important, since the development and application of science ideas is a collaborative process both in society and in the classroom.
There can be no greater contribution or more essential element
to long-term environmental strategies leading to sustainable development
that respects the environment... than the education of future
generations in matters relating to the environment.
UNESCO (1988)
Science is a creative process which attempts to discover and understand,
thereby generating knowledge.... Science is often viewed as both
a product and a process.
Hart, E.P. (1987)
Scientific knowledge is necessary but is not in itself sufficient for understanding the relationships among science, technology, society, and the environment. To understand these relationships, it is also essential to understand the values inherent to science, technology, a particular society, and its environment.
As students advance from grade to grade, the understandings about STSE interrelationships are developed and applied in increasingly demanding contexts. In the early years, considerable attention is given to students acquiring an operational understanding of these interrelationships. In the later years, these understandings are more conceptual in nature. Growth in STSE understandings may involve each of the following elements:
For individual students, the development of STSE understandings may be earlier or later than the times identified in the framework, depending in large part on their stage of cognitive and social development.
Students will construct knowledge and understandings of concepts in life science, physical science, and Earth and space science, and apply these understandings to interpret, integrate, and extend their knowledge.
This foundation focusses on the subject matter of science, including the theories, models, concepts, and principles that are essential to an understanding of each science area. For organizational purposes, this foundation is framed using widely accepted science disciplines.
Life science
Life science deals with the growth and interactions of life forms within their environments, in ways that reflect their uniqueness, diversity, genetic continuity, and changing nature. Life science includes fields of study such as ecosystems, biodiversity, the study of organisms, the study of the cell, biochemistry, genetic engineering, and biotechnology.
Physical science
Physical science, which encompasses chemistry and physics, deals with matter, energy, and forces. Matter has structure and there are interactions among its components. Energy links matter to gravitational, electromagnetic, and nuclear forces in the universe. The conservation laws of mass and energy, momentum, and charge are addressed by physical science.
Earth and space science
Earth and space science brings global and universal perspectives to students' knowledge. Earth, our home planet, exhibits form, structure, and patterns of change, as does our surrounding solar system and the physical universe beyond it. Earth and space science includes fields of study such as geology, meteorology, and astronomy.
Creating linkages among science disciplines
A useful way to create linkages among science disciplines is to use unifying concepts, key ideas that underlie and integrate different scientific disciplines in ways that assist both teachers and students. Unifying concepts are meant to integrate big ideas as a way to provide a context for explaining, organizing, and connecting knowledge. Unifying concepts link the theoretical structures of the various scientific disciplines and show how they are logically parallel and cohesive. They are also instructional tools that cut across disciplines and may apply as well in mathematics, technology, business, and politics.
Four unifying concepts were used in the development of this document. These unifying concepts were useful in integrating various elements of knowledge from the three disciplines of science and are described on the next page. Curriculum developers are encouraged to consult some of the illustrative examples that highlight the use of these unifying concepts.
Constancy and change
The concepts of constancy and change underlie most understandings of the natural and technological world. Through observations, students learn that some characteristics of materials and systems remain constant over time (e.g., the speed of light or the charge on an electron), whereas other characteristics change. Through formal and informal studies, students develop an understanding of the nature of things, and of the processes and conditions in which change takes place.
Energy
The concept of energy provides a conceptual tool that brings together many understandings about natural phenomena, materials, and the process of change. Energy, whether transmitted or transformed, is the driving force of both movement and change. Students learn to describe energy in terms of its effects and, over time, develop a concept of energy as something inherent within materials and in the interactions between them.
Similarity and diversity
The concepts of similarity and diversity provide tools for organizing our experiences with the world. Beginning with our informal experiences, students learn to recognize attributes of materials that help to make useful distinctions between one type of material and another, and between one event and another. Over time, students adopt accepted procedures and protocols for describing and classifying objects they encounter, thus enabling them to share ideas with others and to reflect on their own experiences.
Systems and interactions
An important part of understanding and interpreting the world is the ability to think about the whole in terms of its parts and alternately about parts in terms of how they relate to one another and to the whole. A system is a collection of components that interact with one another so that the overall effect is much greater than that of the individual parts, even when these are considered together.
Students will be encouraged to develop attitudes that support the responsible acquisition and application of scientific and technological knowledge to the mutual benefit of self, society, and the environment.
Attitudes refer to generalized aspects of behaviour that are modelled for students by example and reinforced by selective approval. Attitudes are not acquired in the same way as skills and knowledge. They cannot be observed at any particular moment, but are evidenced by regular, unprompted manifestations over time. Attitude development is a lifelong process that involves the home, the school, the community, and society at large. The development of positive attitudes plays an important role in students' growth by interacting with their intellectual development and by creating a readiness for responsible application of what they learn.
The attitudes foundation focuses on six ways in which science education can contribute to attitudinal growth. These have been articulated as statements or attitude indicators and have guided the development of general learning outcomes. They have also provided links to the STSE and skills foundations.
Appreciation of science
Students will be encouraged to appreciate the role and contributions of science in their lives, and to be aware of its limits and impacts. science education can contribute to attitudinal growth when students are encouraged to examine how science has an impact daily and over the long term on themselves and on the lives of others. In this way, students can increasingly appreciate science's potential significance for their own lives.
Interest in science
Students will be encouraged to develop enthusiasm and continuing interest in the study of science. science education can contribute to attitudinal growth when students are involved in science investigations and activities that stimulate their interest and curiosity, thus increasing their motivation for learning and encouraging them to become interested in preparing for potential science-related careers or furthering other science-related interests.
If a community is generally literate... then its citizens are
in a position to develop personally satisfying philosophies of
life, to plan their lives effectively, to contribute democratically
to the determination of policies at all levels, to apply their
education to daily living, and to contribute to satisfying personal
growth and to sustainable economic, human and social development.
Meyer, G.R. (1995)
Scientific inquiry
Students will be encouraged to develop attitudes that support active inquiry, problem solving, and decision making. science education can contribute to attitudinal growth when students are provided with opportunities for development, reinforcement, and extension of attitudes that support scientific inquiry, such as open-mindedness and flexibility, critical-mindedness and respect for evidence, initiative and perseverance, and creativity and inventiveness.
Collaboration
Students will be encouraged to develop attitudes that support collaborative activity. science education can contribute to attitudinal growth when students are provided with opportunities to work in group situations and on real-life problems, thus developing a sense of interpersonal responsibilities, an openness to diversity, respect for multiple perspectives, and an appreciation of the efforts and contributions of others.
Stewardship
Students will be encouraged to develop responsibility in the application of science and technology in relation to society and the natural environment. science education can contribute to attitudinal growth when students are involved in activities that encourage responsible action toward living things and the environment, and when students are encouraged to consider issues related to sustainability from a variety of perspectives.
Safety
Students will be encouraged to demonstrate a concern for safety in science and technology contexts. science education can contribute to attitudinal growth when students are encouraged to assess and manage potential dangers and apply safety procedures, thus developing a positive attitude toward safety.