Engage with Science in an innovative manner

There is no doubt that the role of Science in modern society is changing. With so many technological and scientific advancements being made, it has become necessary to know and be aware of them. Hence, we need to make Science education effective and relevant to the needs of today’s world. For this, we should find ways to impart high quality science education to all students.

What makes Science interesting and  distinctive? It has the ability to enhance a student’s creativity and imagination, be tolerant towards change and learn to adapt to it. Additionally, Science also develops critical intellectual skills and team spirit. Moreover, scientific understanding is critical for good citizenship in the modern world. Therefore, having a strong science education system in the school years is a necessary prerequisite to having an economy based on knowledge and innovation.

Traditional classes

In a traditional Science class, the teacher stands at the front of the classroom, lecturing students. The students then do the assigned homework and take required examinations. Also, traditional Science instruction concentrates on teaching factual knowledge with the implicit assumption that expert-like thinking will come along naturally. However, this is not always the case. Additionally, Science education is still dominated by the need to recall a vast amount of information. However, this needs to change and start focusing on high-order thinking of synthesis, analysis and evaluation. To do so, ‘inquiry-based learning’ is the way to go. It broadly refers to learning Science by discussing Science in narrative of enquiry context.

Children are enthralled by the world around them. They have a spirit of enquiry and enthusiasm for life that should be encouraged in every possible way. All children need to have a practical knowledge at some level of how things work — not in detail, but with enough understanding. They also need to have some knowledge of how scientific processes operate and have some level of scientific literacy.

How can this be done? It can be done by building up on the opportunities that already exist in school science programmes and teaching practices. Science leaders can help build this to support 21st century skills through strong, effective teaching. Besides acquiring mastery of core content, students should engage in conceptual development and critical thinking to enhance their learning.

Practical knowledge

For this, a quality inquiry-based curricula and support materials will enhance science teaching and learning. The laboratory plays a central role in science education and can prove to be helpful to an inquiry-based learning of Science. However, the principle focus of laboratory activities should not be limited to learning specific methods or particular laboratory techniques; instead students should use the methods of science to investigate phenomena and analysis.

Through the laboratory activities, students need to be able to make connections of what they have learnt and what they already know. To do this, it needs to foster knowledge through intelligent engagement and emulating disciplinary practices and thinking.

To ensure that this sustains, Science education has to offer an opportunity to synergise the margins of the contents and skills, recognising some knowledge of how the inherent and strong connection of many present day skills with science education. It is important to note that science education is not just for those who seek their careers involving Science but is an essential component of core knowledge that each member of our society requires. Indeed, we should approach the teaching of science like science.

Our society faces both a demand for improved Science education and exciting opportunities to meet it. Science knowledge is expressed in terms of increased probability and reduced uncertainty, but never in terms of absolutes. Effective teaching facilitates creative understanding and mastering the basic concepts in a real world context. An exemplary Science education system can offer a rich context for developing many essential 21st century skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, and information literacy.