Towards Scientific Literacy : A Teachers' Guide to the History, Philosophy and Sociology of Science

Forlagets beskrivelse: This book is a guide for teachers, student teachers, teacher educators, science education researchers and curriculum developers who wish to get to grips with the vast and complex literature encompassing the history of science, philosophy of science and sociology of science (HPS). A number of books cover essentially the same ground, but what makes this book unique is that it is written from the perspective of science education. The author's purpose is twofold. First, to identify, clarify and critique elements in the HPS literature that are of key importance in developing students' scientific and technological literacy, as defined in the opening chapter of the book. Second, to enhance teachers' capacity to build and present curricula that afford a much higher profile to HPS than has been traditional. The significance of the book can be judged from the prominence given to nature of science understanding in much recent international debate and writing in science education and in the plethora of influential reports on science and technology education published around the world that identify HPS knowledge and understanding as central components of 21st century science education Towards Scientific Literacy: A Teachers’ Guide to the History, Philosophy and Sociology of Science 3 Dedication 5 CONTENTS 7 Preface 9 Acknowledgements 11 Chapter 1: In Pursuit of Scientific Literacy: The Case for History, Philosophy and Sociology of Science 13 Chapter 2: Exploring Nature of Science Issues: Students’ Views and Curriculum Images 35 Chapter 3: The Traditional View of Science: Recognizing the Myths 53 Chapter 4: Exploring Alternative Views of Science: The Ideas of Popper, Lakatos and Kuhn 79 Chapter 5: Scientific Inquiry, Experiment and Theory: What Should We Tell Our Students? 97 Chapter 6: Realism or Instrumentalism: What Position for School Science? 115 Chapter 7: Insight from the Sociology of Science: Science is What Scientists Do 135 Chapter 8: Making a case for History of Science: Going Beyond Dates and Anecdotes 161 Chapter 9: Looking for Balance in the Curriculum: Essential Elements in a Curriculum for Critical Scientific Literacy 185 Chapter 10: Further Thoughts on Social Construction and Scientific Rationality: A View for School Science 211 References 223 Index 251