Derek Hodson

In search of a meaningful relationship: an exploration of some issues relating to integration in science and science education

The long‐running debate about the desirability of separate courses in biology, chemistry and physics versus the merits of integrated science, co‐ordinated science or combined science, the case for ‘balanced’ science within a Science for All programme, and the unresolved question of ‘process’ versus ‘product’ orientation in science curriculum design each relates to fundamental philosophical problems concerning the nature of science and scientific practice and to issues concerning the goals and practice of science education. This article examines the philosophical validity of claims for the conceptual and methodological integration of the sciences and explores the possibilities for constructing coherent science courses based on alternative integrating elements rooted in educational theory.

Laboratory work as scientific method: three decades of confusion and distortion

The justification advanced by teachers and curriculum developers for investing so much time, energy and resources in laboratory work in school science courses almost invariably includes the claim that it provides students with insight into, and experience and practice of, the methods of science. This paper traces the changing nature of laboratory work from the 1960s to the present, from discovery learning to process‐led science to contemporary constructivist approaches, and argues that each of these styles of laboratory work has seriously misrepresented and distorted the nature of scientific inquiry. Some suggestions are made for the re‐orientation of laboratory work to ensure that it projects an image of science that more faithfully reflects actual scientific practice.

Changing practice by changing practice: Toward more authentic science and science curriculum development

Recent policy documents from the Ontario Ministry of Education called for teachers to present a more authentic view of the nature of scientific practice at all levels of education. Sadly, this call for substantial curriculum change coincided with severe cuts in the education budget. The authors describe how two teachers collaborated with a university-based researcher/teacher educator to design and implement more authentic science in a Grade 7 classroom. The ways in which the teachers changed their views about science and science teaching, the anxieties they experienced, and the institutional constraints that impacted on their practice are discussed, and some more general features of the action research experience are described.

Going beyond cultural pluralism: Science education for sociopolitical action

Some guiding principles of antiracist education are combined with Vygotskian notions of education as enculturation in order to produce a set of proposals for a radical form of multicultural science education for sociopolitical action. Major educational goals include: raising participation and attainment levels in science for students from ethnic minority groups; and sensitizing all students to racism, and other forms of discrimination and oppression, in science and technology, science education, and contemporary society. This article outlines a radical form of curriculum development, involving the politicization of teachers, as the only effective way of implementing such a curriculum.

Practical work in school science: exploring some directions for change

In discussing some of the contemporary challenges for science education, science education research and science education journals, Gilbert (1994) outlined some strategies for a way forward. Included among them was the commissioning of a series of journal articles addressing a common theme. I am delighted to have been given the opportunity to coordinate such an initiative on the topic of practical work/laboratory work in school science.

Science fiction: the continuing misrepresentation of science in the school curriculum

Abstract Despite the recent outpouring of writing on the history, philosophy and sociology of science, and its significance for science education, the school science curriculum continues to promote some grossly distorted views of science and scientists. Ten common myths are identified, seven of which are discussed in detail. The article concludes with a plea for teachers to present a more authentic view of science and a more appealing image of scientists as one step towards attracting a wider range of students to science.

More from the Horse’s Mouth: What scientists say about science as a social practice

This research study sought to identify prominent features of the nature of science (NOS) embedded in authentic scientific inquiry. Fourteen well‐established scientists from different parts of the world, working in experimental or theoretical research, in both traditional fields such as astrophysics and rapidly growing research fields such as molecular biology, participated as the informants of the study. The descriptions of their practices revealed eight prominent categories of NOS features. In an earlier paper of ours, we have reported four categories under the two themes: (1) the methods of scientific investigation and (2) the role and status of scientific knowledge. In this paper, we focus on the remaining four categories under the theme: social dimensions of science. Scientists’ descriptions of their practices have ‘put some flesh on the bones’ of the assertion that science is socially and culturally embedded. These descriptions also have considerable potential for development into interesting case studies as teaching resources to enhance and enrich students’ understanding of NOS.

Becoming Critical about Practical Work: Changing Views and Changing Practice through Action Research.

In recent years, a great deal of attention has been directed towards the purpose and organization of practical work in school science, with several writers urging a radical reappraisal and reorientation of laboratory‐based and field‐based learning. However, for all kinds of reasons, changes of this magnitude are not readily accomplished by traditional means of curriculum development. This article describes how a group of teachers sought to overcome the difficulties of major innovation by working with a change agent to critique their current practice, devise a more ‘authentic science’ for the secondary school curriculum, and translate their ideas into feasible classroom activities.

Seeking Directions for Change: the personalisation and politicisation of science education

ABSTRACT This article concerns the ways in which science education can and should respond to a variety of contemporary concerns and crises: economic, educational, socio‐political and environmental. In acknowledging the need to develop a curriculum that pays much more attention to technology and environmental education, a case is made for reorganising and reorienting science education in such a way that attention is directed towards questions of personalisation and politicisation. Some implications for curriculum development strategies and teacher education are discussed.

Science Education as a Call to Action

This article takes the view that both science, technology, society, environment (STSE) education and conventional forms of socio-scientific issues (SSI)-oriented science education are inadequate to meet the needs and interests of students faced with the demands, issues, and problems of contemporary life. A much more politicized approach is advocated, with major emphasis on social critique, values clarification, and sociopolitical action.RésuméLe point de vue de cet article est que ni l’enseignement des sciences, technologies et société, ni les formes traditionnelles d’enseignement des sciences orientées sur les questions socioscientifiques, ne sont en mesure de satisfaire aux besoins et intérêts d’étudiants qui sont aux prises avec les exigences et les problèmes de la vie contemporaine. Une approche beaucoup plus politisée est préconisée, mettant l’accent sur la critique sociale, la clarification des valeurs et l’action sociopolitique.