Science
education
Science education is the field interested in sharing
science content and
process
with individuals not traditionally considered part of the science community. The
target individuals may be children, college students, or general public adults.
The field of science education contains some science content, some
sociology,
and some teaching pedagogy.
Science
education standards
In many US states,
K-12
educators must adhere to rigid standards or frameworks of what content is to be
taught to which age groups. Unfortunately, this often means teachers rush to "cover"
the material, without truly "teaching" it. In addition, the process of science
is often overlooked, such as the
scientific
method, and
critical
thinking, producing students whom can pass multiple choice tests (such as
the
New York and
California
Regents exams and the
Massachusetts
MCAS), but cannot solve complex problems. Although at the college level American
science education tends to be less regulated, it is by chance more rigorous, with
teachers and professors putting even more content into the same time period.
Scientists
vs. educators
On the one hand, the elitism of professional scientists and
academia has prompted numbers of education specialists to take interest in science
education and making it more accessible to individuals. These science educators
take the point of view that many groups (such as
women,
non-
Asian and non-
Jewish
ethnic minorities, and the
disabled)
have been traditionally marginalized and excluded from science, to the detriment
of the field. Opposing the science educators, traditional scientists feel it is
important to not dilute respectable science. Only by running the gauntlet of
higher
education,
graduate
school, and so on, does one prove their reliability. Allowing those less qualified
to perform science will only result in the propagation of errors and less accurate
science. Both groups wish to train future scientists, they differ on how to do
so, and whom is qualified.
See also
