NCB Science advice paper comment Pt 2

II. [p7] "There is a consistent criticism that many of the problems and issues in science education arise from the structure of science curricula which tend to be knowledge-heavy and alienating to a significant number of students. ... The challenge is to identify the science concepts that are important and can be realistically understood by students in the learning time available."

A. It is my experience that the structure of science curricula is not too “knowledge-heavy”. It is not the content to be learnt which is “alienating to students”. Rather, the body of knowledge to be taught is organised in a manner that does not reflect either the experience of the students, nor their capacities and drive to learn. In my experience, young children (primary age) are inquisitive about the world around them and want answers. They do not want more questions, or to be told to work it out on their own. Children of this age want to know what things are like and how they work. This is mentioned in the paper [p10-11] however the paper does not acknowledge that at this age children’s curiosity extends beyond their own experience and it is easy for a teacher to nurture their interest beyond themselves and their local natural world. With liberal access to good books (particularly those which impart information within a storyline, addressing young children’s need to have concepts fit within a context) and judicious access to multimedia, a primary teacher is easily able to inspire children’s interest in a broad range of scientific concepts beyond their immediate experience. With careful planning a teacher can incorporate the wide range of tactile experiences and clear explanations required to help students to understand abstract concepts which otherwise would be beyond their understanding. At this age, students find learning reasons and rules fascinating and fun, and as a consequence are able to absorb more scientific concepts than they are presented with under the present system. At this age, memorisation is not difficult, but fun and rewarding. If this window of opportunity were used fully, students who at later ages are bored, frustrated or “alienated” with learning what appears to them to be dry facts would instead be able to extend and apply their previously built foundation of scientific knowledge in ways that are of interest at this age.

B. Towards this end I would suggest a greater emphasis upon the teaching of scientific concepts in the primary years when children have a thirst for knowledge but do not yet have the intellectual capacity for formal analytical reasoning as required by the structure of the scientific method. At present, primary teachers often leave science out of their curricula completely, or just give it minimal attention because they feel underprepared to teach it. It would be short-sighted to decide not to teach a sizeable amount of scientific content merely because the present system crowds the learning of virtually all scientific concepts into the junior secondary years. It is my belief that a focus on building knowledge of simple concepts, rather than the experience of elaborate experiments to “investigate questions scientifically”, would enable primary teachers to use a few intelligent and inspiring resources in ways which will satisfy their students’ desire to know as well as fueling their interest in science as a discipline. It would also ensure students enter secondary level education with a reasonable level of knowledge to draw upon as they enjoy applying the scientific method.

[edit: this section was added 3 Nov]
C. I am extremely disappointed with the attitude displayed by the developers of this paper. This section shows that they have not esteemed and valued the vast wealth of understanding that scientific endeavour has made available to people, and sought to find a way to share this wealth with Australia's students. Instead, the paper's developers seem to have given this effort up as a lost cause because it is "alienating to a significant number of students". If scientific endeavour is at all valuable to our society, as of course it is, it is worthwhile pressing onward and searching for ways to prevent this "alienation", rather than submitting to it. Nothing is gained without effort, and hard work and diligent effort reaps large rewards, in my experience. This is true for all levels of the education system. Students must apply themselves to thinking if they are to learn anything of worth. Teachers must seek ways to make the knowledge content of their discipline interesting and engaging to the students. Principals must employ teachers who display a high level of knowledge and regard for their subject matter. Curriculum designers must not seek to water down the curriculum to meet the standards of the lowest common denominator academically, but rather to set high goals and standards. These efforts will be met with the rewards of students' success and knowledge gained. The rewards of knowledge must not be given up meekly without regard for their high value.