Rodger W. Bybee

Science for Life & Living: An Elementary School Science Program from Biological Sciences Curriculum Study

Children should learn about science, technology and health as they need to understand and use them in their daily lives and as future citizens. Education in the elementary years should sustain childrens natural curiosity, allow children to explore their environments, improve the childrens explanations of their world, help the children to develop an understanding and use of technology, and contribute to the informed choices they must make in their personal and social lives.

Scientific Literacy in Environmental and Health Education

Grand challenges for this age set the stage for this chapter. Because many challenges are directly related to the environment and health, one must ask a question that introduces the theme of scientific literacy—“What is important for citizens to know, value, and be able to do relative to the environment, health, and science-related issues?” The chapter continues with a review of results from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2006 science survey. The discussion includes a definition of scientific literacy, presentation of results for students’ attitudes toward selected environmental issues, and students’ interests in selected health issues. The chapter concludes with implications for enhancing scientific literacy using environmental and health contexts.

Human Ecology: Curriculum Review.

Rodger W. Bybee Rodger W. Bybee (who also served as guest editor for this special focus issue) is Associate Professor of Education and Chairman of the Education Department at Carleton College, Northfield, MN 55057. He holds a Ph.D. in science education from New York University and B.A. and M.A. degrees from the University of Northern Colorado. Bybee has taught at the elementary, high school, and college levels and has written three books on science teaching, including, most recently, Violence Values and Justice in the Schools, (Allyn and Bacon, 1982) and Piaget for Educators (Charles E. Merrill, 1982). He was a coauthor of New Directions in Biology Teaching (NABT, 1982).