The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) is a crucial body for teachers in the United States developed to provide national and international leadership in science education by identifying the qualities and standards for good science education (Bruner, 1977). It is guided by the development of position statements, among which is the “Beyond 2000—Science Teachers Speak Out” which sets forth goals and recommendations for science education in the United States (Bruner, 1977). The association has attempted to inspire the advancement of science education in the United States for the last couple of years. A research paper prepared by Bransford et al. (1999) indicates that the association holds the position that the teaching of science should include wholesome teaching of the learner. It therefore puts forward the position that “science standards are for all students” and essential for achieving a scientifically literate populace (Bruner, 1977).
For the teaching of science to be effective, it has been proposed (Loucks-Horsley, et. al., 1998) that students should be capable of learning how to apply the theoretical knowledge in the curriculum to real life scenarios. Research work by Needham (1971) suggests that all students from kindergarten to grade 12 or even 16 are eligible to pass through the science curriculum of field trips. In this informal setting, students would benefit by actually observing the principles applied in real field work (Loucks-Horsley, et. al., 1998). It is strongly believed that students of science should be capable of incorporating theoretical knowledge with that from field trips in the learning process. Needham (1971) suggests that small groups of about fifteen students learn more effectively from field trips. During these informal settings, students are encouraged to take pictures to be analyzed during reflective sessions later in the classroom (Needham, 1971).
Education views explain that learners benefit most from hands-on experiences supplemented by observations and knowledge gained from books. Documentary evidence indicates that long before the advent of modern theories of learning, the teaching-learning process was simply through drill and practice (Bruner, 1977). Similarly, according to Bransford et al. (1999), meaningful education requires more than mere facts to result into learners who can internalize the knowledge gained and retain it for long periods of time, as cited by Schwier (1995). Current educational trend is shifting from the purely teacher-centered approach to the self discovery approach where the learner is allowed to learn through discovery. A stronger view of education is that retention of knowledge gained during the learning process is strongly dependent on the learner’s pre-existing knowledge (Bransford et al., 1999). Finally, views of education underscore the significance of applying both formative and Summative assessments aimed at making the teaching and learning of science more attainable, as explained by Schwier (1995).
Last but not the least, views of science have significantly underscored the importance of advocating science literacy for all students in the world. Societal changes experienced in modern day science demand that all students be scientifically literate by embracing new knowledge whose scope is ever dynamic. Schwier (1995) strongly recommends that a change of the science content in the curriculum will be essential to produce students who can apply scientific skills most efficiently. In view of this, it is also suggested that those teachers of science must keep themselves abreast with this changing knowledge so as to be able to teach their students most effectively (Loucks-Horsley, et. al., 1998). It should be noted that the knowledge of how students learn science is significantly changing (Loucks-Horsley, et. al., 1998) and as such, issues concerning professional development of teachers of science should be over-emphasized.
References
Bransford, et al. (1999). How People Learn: Bridging Research and Practice. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Bruner, J. (1977). The Process of Education, Revised Edition. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Loucks-Horsley, S., Hewson, P., Love, N., and Stiles, K. (1998). Designing Professional Development for Teachers of Science and Mathematics. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Needham, Joseph (1971). “Marx’s Theory on the Historical Process”, Science At The Crossroads. London, Frank Cass & Co. Ltd.
Schwier, R. A. (1995). Issues in emerging interactive technologies. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, Inc.