Teaching Science to Every Child:
Using Culture as a Starting Point
Chapter 2
The Nature of Science
©Routledge/Taylor & Francis 2012
©Routledge/Taylor & Francis 2012
Chapter 2 Topics
Explaining the Nature of Science
Developing Scientific Knowledge
Science as Social and Tentative
Scientific Theories: Source of Power in Science
Science as a Way of Knowing
Nature of Science and Diverse Classrooms
©Routledge/Taylor & Francis 2012
Explaining the Nature of Science
The complexity of science can be appreciated by
viewing science as if it is a culture
Science culture: Underlying tendencies and unspoken
assumptions that guide the actions of scientists
In addition to the “stuff” of science, students should
also learn the hows and whys of the science culture
The knowledge created by science is shaped by the
culture of science that produced it
©Routledge/Taylor & Francis 2012
Developing Scientific Knowledge
Empirical: Knowledge comes from Observational Data
Evidence (Data) is used to Produce Explanations
Science Processes and Interpretations Benefit from Creativity
Subjectivity: Our Perspectives Shape what we Perceive
New Evidence is Used to Test the Explanation
Evidence
Explanations
©Routledge/Taylor & Francis 2012
Science as Social and Tentative
The “steps of the scientific method” is a myth
Teaching children that science as a recipe is misleading
Scientists work with others and knowledge is deliberated
Allowances made for new explanations of the evidence
Tentativeness of science knowledge is a cultural norm
©Routledge/Taylor & Francis 2012
Making Explanations from Evidence
Evidence of Continental
Drift eventually led to
the Explanation of
Plate Tectonics
©Routledge/Taylor & Francis 2012
Scientific Theories
Theories Explain Phenomena, Laws
Describe Patterns
Theories have the Power to Predict
Theories are Not as Simple as
Hypotheses
©Routledge/Taylor & Francis 2012
Science as a Way of Knowing
Science is One Perspective
Characteristics of THIS Way of Knowing: Empirical,
Creative, Social, and Tentative
Science is Insufficient for Understanding Some
Experiences
Science and Technology are Not One and the Same
©Routledge/Taylor & Francis 2012
Limits of Science
The scientific study of a work of art, say a picture, may
give an exhaustive account of the chemical constitution
of the pigments, the wavelengths of the light they
reflect, their reflection factors, masses and physical
distributions. But such a scientific account has hardly
begun to say much of interest to the viewer or to the
artist. … It is not that pictures cannot be described in
terms of chemicals, or mental activities in terms of
brain functions—they can. What is wrong to assert … is
that these scientific accounts are the only valid ones
there are.
~ Michael Poole
©Routledge/Taylor & Francis 2012
Nature of Science and Diversity
Since science is one way of knowing, it should not be
used to demean or displace other perspectives
Treating science as a special culture suggests that a
teacher can help to demystify the world of science
The capacity to learn science is unrelated to gender,
language, ethnicity, or physical abilities
Learning to function and be comfortable within the
science culture requires participating in it
©Routledge/Taylor & Francis 2012
Chapter 2 Summary
The Nature of Science Explains its Culture
Scientific Knowledge: Process of Evidence  Explanation
Socially Derived and Tentatively Applied: No Single Method
Theories Serve as Tools for Explaining, Not Speculating
Science Offers One Way for Understanding
Treating the Nature of Science as Cross-Cultural
©Routledge/Taylor & Francis 2012