New Science Standards

As the age of technology changes so many aspects of our daily lives, teachers are also being asked to change the way they prepare our children to use science and technology successfully. One major group involved in this challenge, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), has led the way with its Project 2061, named in 1985 during the last sighting of Haley's Comet. The AAAS considered all the scientific and technological changes that a child entering school in 1985 would experience by the time that Haley's Comet returned (in the year 2061).

Project 2061 produced two publications that have been used in the creation of the 1995 "National Science Education Standards: Science for All Americans" which defines science literacy; and "Benchmarks for Science Literacy," which creates specific learning goals for grades 2, 5, 8, and 12.

What is different about the new approach to science education, according to these publications and standards? To begin, attitudes about who to teach have changed to a belief that all -- not just college-bound students -- need to be competent with science knowledge and applications for the U.S. to stay competitive in the world market. Science reform also demands that the study of science begin at an early age, right from the preschool years when children are naturally curious about their world. Not with the traditional study using textbooks and science terminology, of course, but by encouraging children to ask questions, experiment, invent, and explore their surroundings, creating an early love of science.

The new science standards call for this type of learning to continue throughout the school years. The goal is to enable students to go beyond the basics of memorizing concepts to achieve "science literacy" the ability to understand, apply, and communicate the concepts. Students need to learn by doing, not just hearing and reading. They need active, "hands-on" learning. Such learning changes the shape of the classroom, too, by creating the need for more group projects and experimentation. And because this type of learning takes more time than lecture and memorization, the new standards call for teaching less quantity, but more depth and quality that produce understanding.

Reforms in science education call for teaching the subjects in an integrated way, so that students can see the connections between science and other subjects, such as the arts and humanities. Methods of experimentation and invention also allow students to "construct" their own knowledge -- and their base of knowledge will grow as they continue to do more with science.

Finally, a set of national standards is not meant to imply that all students will learn the same, uniform set of information. If anything, the challenge to present science in an active learning situation will create more diversity in state and regional requirements, teacher preferences, and student backgrounds.

Special thanks to the Triangle Coalition for Science and Technology Education for providing information used in this article.

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