Becoming explorers of our world: The purpose of science Education (original) (raw)

Debra's story When I was young, all I ever wanted to do was to become a teacher. At first, this was about becoming a primary school teacher but over time, as my love of science grew, my focus changed. Suddenly I could think of nothing more exciting than being able to teach others the subject that ruled my life-science. While I could have pursued a career in science and continued with a PhD, I just wanted to teach. Within a few months of teaching, it dawned on me that not all of my Year 8 and 9 students were as enthusiastic about science as I was. How could they not think like I did? How could they possibly find it boring? So there was the challenge-to focus on teaching in such a way that students enjoyed what they were learning. Developing my own way of teaching science actually took many years of experience and much reflection about what worked, what I was comfortable doing, and what the students actually learnt. But underpinning all this was identifying my philosophical stance about what science education was all about and marrying this with my views about teaching and learning. For me it was about students developing a conceptual understanding of their science-not learning things off by heart. I wanted to ask questions and for them to enjoy thinking and be prepared to take a risk even though they might not have the 'correct' answer. Understanding this about myself was fundamental because it impacted the relationships I established with my students, the culture established in my classroom, how I engaged with my students, and my expectations of students. Underpinning my story is the idea of focusing upon knowing (as a verb) in contrast to attaining knowledge (a thing). Knowing involves building relationships and connections by concentrating on the process of understanding. It is not about merely reaching an end point. Appreciating this distinction as teachers is fundamental because it is easy to think about our students as being immersed in learning, but it is equally critical to recognise that as teachers we too must be learners for life. This is especially the case in science, where it is impossible to 'know' every fact and scientific detail but where an understanding of the underlying concepts improves and enhances our quality of life. This story exemplifies the importance of knowing your own values and views about teaching and learning because it is these aspects that impact you as a teacher of science. Importantly, it is not about knowing the subject discipline knowledge or pedagogy but about knowing how to teach science so that students develop an understanding and appreciation of the nature of science. A key component of schooling is to provide individuals with a breadth and depth of knowledge, a range of skills and values, interests and motivation to pursue lifelong learning, which may also be useful in the pursuit of careers. This breadth is necessary because, as alluded to in Debra's story, education is not about preparing our students for one career but to