Science+for+all+Americans

“By all accounts, America has no more urgent priority than the reform of education in science, mathematics, and technology. “ (Science For All Americans, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1990, p.3).
 * Scientific Literacy for All Students**

The scientific enterprise in our society is vast, complex, constantly developing, and powerful. Scientific knowledge enables us to describe and explain the natural world with a level of precision and insight that previous generations could hardly imagine. Science also contributes to our technological and economic development, giving us a capacity to change the world around us. Because science is so complex, no individual can hope to understand it all. Some knowledge of science is essential, however, for full participation in the economic, political, and cultural functions of our society. The primary purpose of K-12 science education, therefore, must be **scientific literacy**--an understanding of those aspects of science that are essential for full participation in a democratic society--for **all students**.

A commitment to the goal of scientific literacy for all students means that “covering content” is not the most important goal of science education. More important, Michigan students should come to understand science as a living, vibrant, important way of looking at the world and to use scientific knowledge successfully in their work, in their leisure time, and in fulfilling their duties as citizens. These objectives are designed to help teachers work toward this goal by describing a level of scientific literacy that should be attained by Michigan students.

When children attempt to learn science with understanding, they are engaged in a profoundly challenging task. Scientific knowledge is often counterintuitive. Students must learn, for example, that plant food is not really food for plants, that objects set in motion do not naturally come to a stop, and that when we look out of a window, we are actually detecting light coming into the window. Scientific language is often unfamiliar, precise and technical, and sometimes abstract and mathematical. Scientifically literate students must master complex, and sometimes difficult, problem-solving strategies.

Schools are entrusted with the task of helping students acquire the complex, interconnected knowledge that will enable them to participate in the community of scientifically literate people, to speak their language, and to engage in the activities that scientific knowledge makes possible. To fulfill this role, and to help their students master the objectives in this document, many Michigan schools will need a thorough reexamination of their science programs. Some of the key goals that will need to consider are the following:

**1. Emphasizing understanding over content coverage.** Science teachers and curriculum developers have responded to the increasing size of the scientific knowledge base by trying to cover more and more science content in the same amount of class time.

Recent research on science teaching and learning provides clear evidence that this strategy is failing; most students are memorizing facts rather than becoming scientifically literate.

The objectives have been written in a way that attempts to reduce content coverage and emphasize depth of understanding. This document contains 212 objectives, or fewer than one for every two weeks of science teaching throughout the K-12 school program. Further, many facts and terms found in middle and high school science textbooks are left out. For example, terms such as //ribosome, villi, voltage, acceleration, bromine, basalt,// and //Coriolis force// are not in this document. At the same time, detail has been provided about what it means to understand the terms and ideas included in the objectives, as well as understand some of the qualities that make those ideas challenging for students. As they reexamine their science curricula, teachers and curriculum committees should consider whether they may be sacrificing depth of understanding for breadth of content coverage.

**2. Emphasizing learning that is useful and relevant outside of school.** Vocabulary-based approaches to science teaching are sometimes rationalized with the claim that "basic facts" must be learned before students can engage in the "higher order thinking" required by in-depth activities. There is now a large body of research-based knowledge that supports the belief that the "facts-first" approach to science teaching is practically and developmentally inappropriate. Even young students ask many questions about the world and have developed many strategies for finding answers to their questions. Thus, most students engage in activities requiring "higher order thinking" **before** they learn "basic scientific facts."

The objectives promote science learning that makes connections with the world outside of school by emphasizing **activities** learners engage in and **contexts** they will encounter outside of school. As they reexamine their science curricula, teachers and curriculum committees will need to consider how, and how well, they are connecting the knowledge and experience that students acquire outside of school with the classroom activities that occur in school.

**3. Emphasizing scientific literacy for all students.** The lives of all students are influenced by knowledge from the sciences and its application, and all students need to understand science if they are to fulfill their duties as citizens and their potential as individuals. The widespread evidence of scientific illiteracy among students and adults, as well as the alarming under representation of minority and female students in science, indicate that many students are not well served by existing science programs.

The objectives support the development of programs that serve all students by emphasizing knowledge that is useful to all, and by providing information about how people of all races and cultures have contributed to science (see Appendix A). As they reexamine their science curricula, teachers and curriculum committees will need to promote strategies that serve all students.

**4. Promoting interdisciplinary learning.** Teaching that involves students in complex activities in real-world situations is necessarily interdisciplinary in nature. Scientifically literate people must also be literate in the traditional sense. For instance, they must read expository text with comprehension and speak and write coherently. Some science objectives require the use of mathematical knowledge in measurement or problem solving. Others require understanding relationships among science, technology, and society. To achieve these objectives, students will have to use scientific knowledge in combination with other kinds of knowledge about the world; their success will depend on science teaching that emphasizes connections.

The objectives support interdisciplinary learning by emphasizing activities that connect science and technology with learning of other subjects, and by emphasizing conceptual and thematic connections among the objectives (see Appendix B). As they reexamine their science curricula, teachers and curriculum committees will need to consider how they will help their students see connections among the sciences and between science and other school subjects.

**5. Developing support systems for teachers.** Improving science education in Michigan transcends changing policies or developing new objectives. At a more fundamental level, teachers can become more effective only if they have access to a more extensive knowledge base about science teaching and learning, and to the tools, materials, and working conditions that will make it possible for them to use that knowledge. These objectives can play a role in giving teachers access to new knowledge, tools, and materials. In part, this has been done by incorporating research-based knowledge, including new conceptions of scientific literacy and research on the development of children’s scientific ideas, into the objectives themselves.

A far more extensive and effective support system is needed, however. The objectives can contribute to improved science learning only if they stimulate teachers and administrators to think about the changes in teachers’ knowledge, teaching tools and materials, and working conditions that will be necessary to support teaching for scientific understanding. Some examples include regularly scheduled inservice days, with possible support from business and industry, manageable class sizes, and resources for hands-on, minds-on learning.

= **Use of the Objectives to Promote Scientific Literacy** = Scientifically literate students have knowledge that is **connected** and **useful**. They see connections among scientific ideas, as well as connections between what they study in science classes and their personal ideas about the world. Scientifically literate students can also use their knowledge to describe and explain the world with precision and insight, to make accurate predictions about the future, and to design strategies and systems that make our lives longer and more comfortable. The objectives describe a body of connected and useful scientific knowledge.

**Dimensions of Scientific Literacy**
The objectives are organized around three dimensions of scientific literacy: **knowledge, activities,** and **contexts**. All three dimensions--the activities people engage in, the knowledge they use, and the contexts in which they use their knowledge--are essential components of a description of scientific literacy.

**Knowledge: Describing Ideas, Strategies, and the Connections Among Them** Nothing is understood in isolation. To **understand** an idea (as opposed to, for example, memorizing a definition) is to see how it is related to and supported by many other ideas; its meaning is bound up in those relationships. The American Association for the Advancement of Science Project 2061--//Science for All Americans// report specifies six basic characteristics of scientific literacy, each associated with a different type of knowledge:


 * Being familiar with the natural world and recognizing both its diversity and its unity.
 * Understanding key concepts and principles of science.
 * Being aware of some of the important ways in which science, mathematics, and technology depend on one another.
 * Knowing that science, mathematics, and technology are human enterprises and what that implies about their strengths and limitations.
 * Having a capacity for scientific ways of thinking.
 * Using scientific knowledge and ways of thinking for individual and social purposes.

//Science for All Americans// has been used to define the knowledge dimension of scientific literacy for the new Michigan science objectives. As a representation of the knowledge needed by scientifically literate high school graduates, //Science for All Americans// has many virtues. It was carefully constructed with the participation of many scientists, engineers, and educators. The report emphasizes understanding rather than content coverage, consciously eliminating much of the vocabulary and specific facts currently included in science courses. It also conveys through its language and organization the dynamic, complex, interconnected nature of scientific literacy.

In developing these objectives, however, it was necessary to go beyond //Science for All Americans// in two critical respects. First, these objectives describe appropriate goals for younger students in elementary and middle schools as well as knowledge needed by scientifically literate high school graduates. Second, the objectives describe the activities and contexts in which Michigan students should be able to use their knowledge as well as the knowledge that they will need.

**Activity: The Social Nature of Understanding** Scientifically literate people do not just **have** scientific knowledge; they **do** things with their knowledge. Usually, they do things in cooperation with other people. In spite of the popular image of “the scientist toiling alone in the laboratory,” few of the ways that people use their scientific knowledge are truly individual in nature. Almost all involve communicating in speech or writing, or working collaboratively with others to solve problems. To become scientifically literate is to become a member of a **community** of scientifically literate people, and to share in the language and activities of that community.

The Michigan objectives describe three broad categories of activities that are common in scientifically literate communities: **using** scientific knowledge; **constructing** new scientific knowledge, and **reflecting** on scientific knowledge. The activities in each category are discussed below.

**Using Scientific Knowledge.** Scientifically literate students and adults can use their knowledge to understand the world around them and to guide their actions. Important types of activities that use scientific knowledge include **description** and **explanation** of real-world objects, systems, or events; **prediction** of future events or observations; and the **design** of systems or courses of action that enable people to adapt to and modify the world around them.

**Constructing New Scientific Knowledge.** Scientifically literate students are learners as well as users of knowledge. With scientific literacy comes the ability to **ask questions** about the world that can be answered by using scientific knowledge and techniques. Scientifically literate students can also **develop solutions** to problems that they encounter or questions they ask. In developing solutions, scientifically literate students may use their own knowledge and reasoning abilities, seek out additional knowledge from other sources, and engage in empirical investigations of the real world. They can learn by **interpreting** text, graphs, tables, pictures, or other representations of scientific knowledge.

Finally, scientifically literate students can remember key points and use sources of information to **reconstruct** previously learned knowledge, rather than try to remember every detail of what they study.

**Reflecting on Scientific Knowledge.** Scientifically literate students can also "step back" and analyze or reflect on their own knowledge. One important type of analysis is the **justification** of personal knowledge or beliefs using either theoretically or empirically based arguments. Scientifically literate students can also **show an appreciation** for scientific knowledge and the patterns that it reveals in the world; this often involves seeing **connections** among different areas of knowledge. They may be able to take a **historical and cultural perspective** on concepts and theories or to discuss institutional relationships among **science**, **technology**, and **society**. Finally, scientifically literate students can **describe the limitations** of their own knowledge and scientific knowledge in general.

**Contexts: Knowing the Real World** Science is about the real world. Scientifically literate students can use their knowledge in many different real world **contexts**. In the physical sciences, the specification of contexts often focuses on **phenomena**, such as motion, electromagnetic interactions, or physical, chemical, and nuclear changes in matter. In the life sciences, earth sciences, and technology, contexts are often described in terms of **systems** and **subsystems**, such as cells, organisms, ecosystems, atmospheric systems, or technological devices. There are other contexts, such as those associated with art, history, or ethics, in which use of scientific knowledge is quite limited.

Scientific knowledge is used in both natural and human contexts. It is used to understand and influence the natural world and technological systems. Sometimes the contexts in which scientific knowledge is used are primarily social and symbolic rather than physical. Most of us have never seen a quasar, an atom, or a volcano. Yet we know something about those systems through representations of them--descriptions or diagrams or pictures. Thus, the contexts in which we use scientific knowledge are symbolic as well as natural and technological.

That someone can use a scientific idea, such as conservation of energy, appropriately in one context (e. g., a light bulb warming a room) does not necessarily mean that the concept will be used appropriately in another context (e. g., cells using food). Ideas that seem simple in one context may be more difficult to understand in another. Since understanding is often context specific, it is important to consider the contexts in which learners will be expected to use their knowledge.

**Important Characteristics of the Objectives** The Michigan K-12 Science Objectives are designed to provide support for teachers and curriculum developers as they plan their science curricula. They provide suggestions about what to teach, but **not** how to teach or how to assess student learning. The Michigan Department of Education will seek to support school districts as they address these problems through professional development programs, the science component of the Michigan Educational Assessment Program, and the development of Instructional Support Materials will provide models of teaching and learning strategies to help students achieve these objectives.

The knowledge, activities, and contexts described in these objectives are important for Michigan students to understand, but the lists below are **not** exhaustive. A great deal of important science content has been left out. The decision to leave out important content was considered necessary if science teaching is to emphasize scientific literacy for all.

Nevertheless, teachers and school districts whose students are successfully mastering the objectives listed below are encouraged to extend the curriculum to include other objectives. The three dimensions of scientific literacy--knowledge, activity, context—are described for three different educational levels: elementary (grades K-4), middle (grades 5-7) and high school (grades 8-12). At each level, descriptions are given of how students should be able to:


 * use **knowledge** (simpler, prerequisite knowledge)
 * engage in **activities** (constructing, reflecting on, or using scientific knowledge)
 * apply concepts in real-world **contexts** (types of systems or events that one encounters in the world).

Rather than writing separate sections on topics such as “science processes,” “scientific values and attitudes,” “the nature of science,” and “science, technology, and society,” these have been integrated into the other sections. Every objective has both an **activity dimension** (process) and a **knowledge dimension** (content). Every section also includes technology-related objectives as well as traditional scientific objectives. Scientific values, the nature of science, and science, technology, and society are discussed in the Reflecting on Scientific Knowledge section and, to a lesser extent, in other sections.

The Constructing and Reflecting on Scientific Knowledge sections are written generically (without reference to specific science content), while the Using Scientific Knowledge objectives are divided into topic-specific sections. This decision was made for editorial rather than conceptual reasons. All of the types of activities (constructing, reflecting on, and using scientific knowledge) require both general and topic-specific knowledge. For example, students can develop valuable general knowledge about the nature of scientific explanations that will help them whenever they are trying to explain something, even though objectives calling for explanation are listed separately in each topical section of the Using Scientific Knowledge objectives. Conversely, “interpreting scientific text” always requires topic-specific knowledge, even though it is listed only once as a general objective in the Constructing Scientific Knowledge section.

The organization of these objectives, including the traditional division into Life Science, Physical Science, and Earth Science, is intentionally conventional and designed for ease of access by readers. This organization is **not** a recommendation for the organization of a school curriculum. Schools are encouraged to experiment with courses that are organized in non-traditional ways, such as interdisciplinary courses or those organized around general themes or important problems. Experimenting with alternative ways of helping students to see connections between and within scientific disciplines is encouraged.

= **Organization of the Objectives** = The Michigan K-12 Science Objectives are listed twice in the following pages. The first listing, the Science Education Curriculum Framework, provides a general overview of all of the objectives in a compact form that includes only the “activity” dimensions of each objective. The second listing, the Essential Goals and Objectives for Science Education, provides detailed discussions of all three dimensions of each objective. Each of these sections is discussed below.

**Science Education Curriculum Framework** This section provides a brief overview of the content and organization of the objectives. At the most general level, the objectives are organized according to the categories of scientific **activities**. Objectives describing Constructing Scientific Knowledge are presented first; then Reflecting on Scientific Knowledge; then Using Scientific Knowledge.

The section on Using Scientific Knowledge is further divided into subsections on Life Science, Physical Science, and Earth Science. Each of these subsections is divided into four or five topical sections.

**Essential Goals and Objectives for Science Education** The objectives are arranged in the same order in this section as in the Science Education Framework. Each topical section is organized into three parts: (1) central questions, (2) an essay on development of students’ understanding, and (3) a table listing specific objectives.

**1. Central Questions** Each topical section begins with two to five **central questions**. These questions are the kind that children and adults encounter and ask in out-of-school contexts--in work and everyday life. These questions are used to organize the essays on development of student understanding.

**2. Essays on Development of Student Understanding** Each topical section also includes an essay describing (a) how learners encounter each of the central questions in real-world contexts, (b) key characteristics of scientifically literate answers to the question, and (c) how, with successful teaching, learners’ responses to the questions should become more sophisticated over time. Thus, each essay describes a progression of development from young students’ nonscientific patterns of language and behavior to patterns characteristic of scientifically literate high school students. When knowledge about common student misconceptions or learning difficulties is available from research or from the review process, it is described briefly in these essays.

**3. Tables of Objectives** Each topical section also contains a table listing all objectives from grades K-12 for that topic. Each table has three columns that correspond to the three dimensions of scientific literacy:

**A. Objectives**. The objectives listed in this column describe **activities** that students should be able to perform successfully in in-school or out-of-school settings. All of the activities described fall into the general categories listed above.

**B. Relevant concepts, terms, and tools**. This column corresponds to the **knowledge** dimension of scientific literacy (many aspects of scientific knowledge are not included). This column lists (1) **important concepts,** (2) technical **terms**, and (3) **tools** that students might be expected to use while performing activities, such as meter sticks, stopwatches, or microscopes. Students should be able to use these tools and terms proficiently, since reciting definitions is not enough.

**C. Real-world contexts**. This column lists examples of “pieces of the real world”--systems or events that students will encounter in out-of-school contexts to which they should be able to apply their scientific knowledge. When the actual systems or events cannot reasonably be observed by students, as is the case with DNA, atoms, or quasars, then the contexts may include pictures, diagrams, descriptions,