Johnathan Harvell

EDUC 460
Vincent Basile
Critical Reflection: Why Science Education?
In todays world, education is essential for modern progression in all aspects of human

life, particularly science education. The world focuses on the further innovation of technology

and scientific discovery; however, to allow for this to occur, intensive scientific knowledge and

processes are to be known. Alas, scientific knowledge can be seen difficult to accumulate in

todays society and can be intimidating to some. As science teachers, I believe it is very

important to teach students about the facts discovered in the fields of science, but, more

importantly, teach students how to apply their knowledge to develop new processes to obtain

even newer knowledge for themselves. Enter the scientific method, or scientific methods rather.

The scientific method has been put into place as the foundation of science education for decades

in the United States public school system; however, in the mind of this writer, not efficiently

taught or utilized.

The scientific method has been taught to have distinct, sequential steps: (1) Make an

Observation (2) Create a Hypothesis (3) Test the Hypothesis (4) Analyze Results / Repeat

Experiment (5) Make a Conclusion. As a student who has learned this same framework of the

scientific method, it has been found that this particular framework is (1) not the most effective

model (2) leaves out important steps. By having a very rigid framework, I believe that this limits

a students creativity in the field of science as well as providing a very narrow view of what

scientists actually do in real world applications. For example, why does there only have to be one

hypothesis tested at a time? In my college experience, my professors profusely states that testing

what are called alternative hypotheses during an experiment was essential to good science;
however, in my high school experience, testing more than one hypothesis at time was considered

a crime against good science. Based on my knowledge base in both science and teaching so

far, I can see a potential argument in the face that maybe public school students cannot handle

such an academic task at their educational levels. I completely disagree with this statement.

By assuming a students level of knowledge, it does not mean that the same level of a

students curiosity can be assumed as well. In using this level of curiosity, I believe that a greater

level of critical thinking can be obtained by a student if given the opportunity to by the teacher.

In my future as a public school science teacher, I plan to accomplish this by teaching a more

effective scientific method to my students by incorporating the use of alternative hypotheses and

giving examples of how this particular model of the scientific method is useful by real world

examples. If this is accomplished, I believe that students that choose to progress further in their

academics will find the model more useful than the previous one in both their studies and

applications that they choose to use their knowledge bases in.

A students knowledge base is important for how the student determines what to do with

time that they are given in this world. Whether it be in science, art, social studies, or

mathematics, a students knowledge base reflects their interests in the most direct way

imaginable. By giving students the opportunity to learn new knowledge from multiple fields of

academia, the student is given more choices in how to perceive and construct their personal goals

in life. For science education, this idea holds true as well. As a bit of a reality check, it is safe to

infer that not every student that crosses my path within a public science classroom will enjoy the

aspect of science, and this I completely understand; however, it does not mean that I must not try

to appeal to every student about science that comes in my classroom either. As a public school

teacher, I must do my very best to convince my students that science if more of a useful tool than
anything else. Sure, some students will find it boring, while the other students find it fascinating;

but, this is not the true purpose of science education. As a science teacher, I need to convey to

my students that the facts and processes of science can be utilized in many ways, even in subjects

that are not necessarily science related.

By teaching students the power of inquiry, I believe that they have one of the most

powerful, personal tools that they could ever use in life. For example, a student that has an

understanding of inquiry may find it effective in being a businessman/ businesswoman by asking

questions about how a companys stock has gone down in a particular fiscal year. As can be

seen, business is not necessarily the same field as science; however, the processes and ideals

found within science education can still be applied. My goal as a science teacher is not to have

my students be able to memorize formulas and pronounce known facts upon command, but to

invoke a sense of curiosity and inquiry to help them discover things that they may not have

known about on their own. For any career, this mode of thinking is essential, and, by having the

students having this mode of thinking, I can inexplicitly helping my students achieve their

personal goals in life without the direct pressure of choosing a science-based career.

Pressure, especially peer-pressure, is never a good indicator of any social interactions,

including teacher-student relationships. As a future public school science teacher, I plan to

describe my motives as a teacher to be one that this not intimidating and uninviting in regards to

standard conversation between teacher and student; however, I plan to also make it clear that I

encourage my students to follow their dreams despite what others may think, and that they have

my full confidence in achieving those dreams if they are willing to put in the work to do so. For

high school (the grade level that I plan to teach at), I believe that these motives are very

important to convey to students on a personal level because of the fact that some students feel
that they have no one rooting for them. In my personal high school experience, I felt at time

that I was the same way, and wished to have someone rooting for me inside of the school. I do

not want students to enter my classroom thinking that I am not on their side in whatever

endeavors that they are trying to achieve because of the fact that they do not deserve that

treatment from anybody and they are already probably getting that treatment from someone in

their lives already.

Science education is very important thing for any person around the world, and can be

utilized in a variety of ways in regards to both academic and non-academic careers; however, the

goal of science education has be somewhat skewed in the last few decades in this writers

opinion. The lack of adaptation of the scientific method to modern scientific processes as well as

the personal motives behind some current pubic school science teachers can be found to be

disturbing to say the least, but it does not mean that something cannot be done about it. As a

future public school science teacher, I plan to use the knowledge that I have obtained throughout

my college career to teacher future generations of students that there is more than one approach

to science and creativity is encouraged. I plan to show my future students that scientific thinking

can be used in more than just scientific situations throughout their life, so that they can treat

science more like a tool than just a academic subject. Finally, I plan to show my students that

their personal goals are important to me, whether they are science oriented or not, and that I will

do my best to help them reach their goals within my power as public school science teacher. In

the end, I believe adaptation, transparency, and honesty are the best policies as a public school

science teacher in todays society, and I plan to be attributed to these traits among the

educational community (teachers, administration, and students) to the best of my ability.