First, the connotation of scientific essence
(A) the localization of the nature of science
What is the essence of science? There are many researches in this field abroad. [2] The most authoritative one is the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), which expounds the essence of science from three aspects: scientific knowledge, scientific inquiry and scientific career: the essence of scientific knowledge-the world is knowable, scientific knowledge is changeable, and science cannot solve all problems; The essence of scientific inquiry-science pays attention to evidence, science is the combination of logic and imagination, science has the function of explanation and prediction, science tries to determine and avoid prejudice, and science opposes authority; The essence of scientific cause-science is a complex social activity, which is divided into special fields and studied under different circumstances. Science must consider ethical principles, and scientists participate in public affairs as experts and citizens.
The author thinks that there are different opinions on the nature of science, but the key is to interpret the foreign theories on the nature of science in a localized and practical way, so as to make them conform to the reality of science education in China and have a practical effect on science education. This is the purpose of studying the nature of science. Combined with the reality of science education in China, we understand the nature of science from the following three aspects: (1) Science is a kind of inquiry: science is an inquiry activity that everyone (every student) can do; Scientific inquiry needs questioning, observation, questioning, hypothesis, experiment, reasoning, evaluation, communication and other activities. By exploring and discovering the limitations and fallacies of existing scientific knowledge, we can expand new knowledge. (2) Science is a value system: the social purpose of scientific research is to promote social development by transforming science into technology, thus benefiting mankind; Improper application of science may bring bad or even disastrous consequences to human beings; Scientific research needs a skeptical, realistic, realistic and innovative attitude and spirit. (3) Science is a knowledge system: scientific knowledge is people's construction of natural meaning and people's logical explanation of natural things in a certain range and under certain conditions; Scientific knowledge needs to be proved by observation or experimental evidence; Science is not an absolute truth, it may be biased or fallacious, and it will continue to develop with the development of the times.
(B) Science education and the nature of science education
From the above explanation of the nature of science, we can see that the content of the education of the nature of science is consistent with the content of the objectives of the science curriculum. The essence of science is mainly embodied in three levels: scientific knowledge, scientific inquiry and scientific values. The goal of science education is to improve students' scientific literacy and promote their development by learning the knowledge and skills, processes and methods, emotional attitudes and values of science courses. Therefore, it can be said that the achievement of the goal of science education is also a process for students to gain an understanding of the nature of science under the guidance of teachers, which includes the understanding of scientific knowledge and its nature, the study and application of scientific inquiry process and methods, and the formation and development of scientific attitudes, emotions and values.
Second, the basic ways to embody the essence of science in science education
In science education, teachers should aim at the characteristics of primary and secondary school students, and adopt diversified ways such as carrying out inquiry teaching, integrating into the history of science and infiltrating STS according to the connotation of scientific essence. Gradually carry out learning activities to let students understand the essence of "scientific knowledge", "scientific inquiry" and "scientific values".
(A) to carry out inquiry teaching: to understand and master scientific inquiry.
Science is essentially an inquiry activity, and education that embodies the essence of science should enable students to understand and master the process, method and essence of scientific inquiry. Scientific inquiry teaching undoubtedly plays a unique role in embodying the essence of science.
1. Establish the teaching concept of "everyone will explore"
Teachers should make students understand that scientific inquiry is an important content and method of science course learning. If teachers want students to participate in scientific inquiry effectively, they should get rid of the old concept that scientific inquiry is just something that scientists do and establish a new concept that science is an inquiry activity that every student can engage in. Therefore, in inquiry teaching, teachers should let students observe phenomena and ask questions, make guesses and assumptions about solving problems, make research plans and design experiments, conduct experiments and collect and process information, scientifically explain the data and results of solving problems, and evaluate, express and communicate. Teachers should promptly point out that students' observation, questioning, guessing, hypothesis, design, experiment, information collection and processing, reasoning, evaluation and communication activities, even if they are preliminary activities, are also scientific inquiry activities; Let students realize that scientific inquiry is not unattainable, but an activity that can be carried out independently, thus stimulating them to actively participate in the inquiry learning of science courses.
2. Master the methods and processes of scientific inquiry.
Teachers should let students master the methods and processes of scientific inquiry. Generally speaking, scientific inquiry includes questioning, observation, questioning, hypothesis, planning, design, experiment, reasoning, evaluation and communication. Teachers should let students experience some or all elements of scientific inquiry step by step according to the reality of students and teaching, and ask students to understand the meaning, methods and process of these elements. Teachers should create problem situations in inquiry teaching, which should not only make students discover and ask questions through observation, but also make students understand that scientific questioning is the basic attitude of scientific inquiry and the significance of asking questions to scientific development. Teachers should not only guide students to make conjectures and form hypotheses to solve problems, but also let students know the difference between scientific conjectures and hypotheses and unfounded hypotheses, as well as the role of scientific hypotheses in scientific inquiry; Teachers should guide students to make inquiry plans and experimental designs for problems, so that students can understand the significance of making plans and designs to improve the quality of scientific inquiry and ensure the completion of inquiry tasks; Teachers should not only let students cultivate their ability of observation and experiment through personal observation and experiment, but also let students know the importance of observation and experiment in scientific research, and make it clear that science is not an empty imagination, but needs empirical support of observation and experiment; Teachers should not only cultivate students' ability to collect and process information, but also let students understand the significance of information collection and processing technology to scientific inquiry; Teachers should guide students to acquire the ability of scientific explanation and evaluation through reasoning, understand the production process of scientific theory, and understand that scientific explanation needs the test of experiment or practice; Teachers should guide students' expression and communication activities in inquiry, realize that the expression and communication of different viewpoints is a necessary link to form scientific knowledge, and understand the significance of expression and communication to scientific development. In short, in the teaching of scientific inquiry, teachers should let students experience the process of scientific inquiry, master the methods of scientific inquiry, and understand the essence of scientific inquiry methods and processes in combination with reality.
3. Understanding the essence of scientific knowledge in "innovative knowledge"
Students' "innovative knowledge" generally means that students acquire their previously unknown knowledge through relatively independent inquiry. In inquiry teaching, teachers should consciously infiltrate some activities of "using inquiry to discover the limitations and fallacies of existing knowledge and expand new knowledge" For example, in the teaching of "Exploring the Impact of Environmental Pollution on Biology", teachers should let students identify incorrect knowledge about the impact of environmental pollution on biology and obtain correct knowledge about the impact of acid rain and environmental pollution on biology. Teachers should properly point out that scientific knowledge can be innovated and developed only through everyone's inquiry activities. By means of "innovative knowledge" to carry out the teaching of "exploring the influence of environmental pollution on biology", teachers should also let students learn and master the general process and methods of exploration, form environmental awareness and enhance their feelings of caring for and caring for the biosphere. This "innovative knowledge" learning method helps students to understand the nature of "constructiveness", "relative truth" and "development" of scientific knowledge.
(b) Integration of the history of science: understanding the essence of scientific development
In science education, teachers can provide some important scientific facts, concepts, principles, methods and the historical background, realistic sources and applications of technological inventions, or teach by introducing some important discoveries and inventions in the history of science and some simple and famous cases. These contents will help students understand the relationship between science, technology and society. Students can feel that science is an open and developing system and an endless process. It can stimulate students' interest in science and cultivate their exploration spirit and scientific attitude. Previous studies have shown that "learning some history of science can make students better understand the nature of science and science itself" [4]. The basic ways to integrate the history of science into science education include: using the history of science as background material to introduce new knowledge, as related material, as extended reading material, as examples and exercises, as material for scientific and technological activities, etc.
1. Taking the history of science as the teaching background material
In science education, teachers can take the history of science as the background material when teaching the presentation, solution and development of scientific research problems, the presentation and development of scientific concepts, the discovery of important scientific facts, the establishment, application and development of important scientific laws, principles and methods, the establishment of scientific theoretical system and the birth of new branches. Let students understand the nature of science. For example, in the teaching of "genetic material DNA", teachers can take the historical process of DNA double helix structure discovery as the background material to let students know about "genetic material DNA" and introduce scientists who have made corresponding contributions, such as Watson and Crick, so that students can feel that scientific knowledge depends on observation, experiment and rational questioning and hypothesis, and understand that scientific inquiry is not an overnight process, but a continuous inquiry process.
2. Pay attention to the historical teaching of scientific theory development.
There are many controversial issues in the history of science, and it is also full of the process from imperfect scientific concepts and theories to gradual perfection. Teachers should let students learn these contents in a way similar to scientific inquiry, so as to understand the essence of scientific knowledge, scientific inquiry and scientific values. For example, from Wei Gena's continental drift theory to plate theory; From Starr and Priest's phlogiston theory to lomonosov's conclusion that "the mass of all reactants before reaction is equal to the mass of products after reaction" according to experiments, and finally to lavoisier's experimental verification and the viewpoint of the law of conservation of mass; From Ptolemy's sacred geocentric theory to Heliocentrism proposed by Copernicus, to Bruno's defending Heliocentrism and giving his precious life for it, etc., all of them are full of inquiry activities to analyze, judge and evaluate the objectivity, rationality, fallacy, one-sidedness and limitations of scientific theory explanation. By experiencing the development of scientific concepts and theories, students can understand the essence of scientific theories, such as pluralism, constructiveness, relativity and development.
3. Expand the study of the history of science.
There are many fascinating historical materials in the history of science, which play a unique role in cultivating students' scientific emotional attitude and scientific values so as to understand the nature of science. In teaching, teachers can use books and magazines on the history and philosophy of science, or related movies and live video clips as extended reading materials, so that students can learn selectively. Through these selective studies, students can have a deeper understanding of the relationship between different disciplines, scientists' different attitudes towards scientific phenomena, the spirit of dedication to scientific undertakings, and the interaction between science and society.
Infiltrating STS: Cultivating Scientific Values
One of the effective ways to embody the essence of science in science education is to infiltrate the content of STS, so that students can understand the essence of science and improve their scientific literacy by discussing the relationship between science, technology and society. The characteristics of contemporary society are the socialization of science and the scientization of society. Teachers should "let students know that science, technology and society are closely related, and science is a social undertaking that everyone should pay attention to".
1.STS project learning
In science education, study some STS topics, so that students can establish a correct sense of science and technology and social responsibility. The material of STS topic can be found in a series of problems brought about by the development of science and technology, such as ecological imbalance, environmental pollution, greenhouse effect, new viruses, computer crime, nuclear war, cloning panic and so on. Through STS special learning activities, on the one hand, students can realize that science and technology are closely related to social life, and realize the "double-edged sword" nature of science, which will bring negative effects to society while benefiting society; On the other hand, let students expand their knowledge of modern science and technology and cultivate their basic consciousness of correctly handling the relationship between science and technology and the harmonious development of society.
2. classroom infiltration STS
Infiltrating science and technology into the knowledge learning of science textbooks and its influence on society. For example, in the teaching of musical instruments and noise, teachers can ask students to discuss the sources of noise and noise control methods from the perspective of environmental protection and physical knowledge. When teaching the knowledge of "friction" and "inertia", teachers can expose students to traffic accidents and discuss the causes of traffic accidents and avoidance skills. This STS-integrated classroom enables students to learn scientific knowledge, understand the new problems brought by the application of science and technology, and cultivate their overall decision-making ability in the application of science and technology.
3. Extracurricular STS activities
Carry out scientific and technological activities that infiltrate STS after class to cultivate students' ability to apply scientific knowledge, scientific attitude, emotion and values. For example, activities such as "small experiment", "small production" and "small invention" using simple or waste materials are carried out to stimulate students' interest in learning science and awareness of using waste materials, encourage students to put forward new ideas and new ideas, and cultivate students' innovative ability. You can also carry out some social practice activities related to STS, cultivate students' ability to solve practical problems comprehensively with knowledge, and improve students' awareness of STS and environmental literacy. You can also carry out discussion or debate activities on STS, cultivate students' ability of scientific questioning, communication and cooperation, and improve students' scientific quality of seeking truth from facts.
Three, thinking about several problems in the education of the nature of science
(1) Correcting teachers' scientific outlook is a necessary prerequisite for effectively carrying out education on the nature of science.
Research shows that science teachers' belief in the nature of science deeply affects their teaching in the classroom, and teachers even adjust the established curriculum to meet their belief in the nature of science. If teachers think that science is essentially an objective statement and objective truth, their teaching behavior will make students form a traditional view of the nature of science. Their teaching often pays attention to the inheritance of knowledge and lacks the process of knowledge generation, which will easily lead students to learn science by rote, regard scientific knowledge as absolute truth and fail to understand the constructiveness and differences of scientific knowledge. Therefore, as the organizer and guide of science education, teachers should first deeply reflect on the traditional view of scientific essence and establish a modern view of scientific essence. When teachers understand the essence of science, they will turn this understanding into their own teaching beliefs and pursuits, and finally materialize into practical actions of science essence education.
(b) Understanding the nature of scientific activities should exist in the study of science courses.
There are different views on how to educate the nature of science. Some people think that special courses or lectures on the nature of science can be offered; Some people think that the education of the nature of science should be naturally integrated into the study of science courses; Others think that the two can be combined. Some researchers suggest that teachers should consider the harmony between the essence of science and the essence of children's learning, so as to transform scientific knowledge into a form acceptable to students and then present it to students for learning. The author also believes that the education of the nature of science should conform to the students' cognitive level. The learners of science courses in China are generally primary and secondary school students. It is not appropriate to find another way to educate the essence of science. We should not turn the education of scientific essence into an empty sermon divorced from the content of scientific curriculum, but naturally integrate the education of scientific essence into the teaching process of scientific knowledge itself.
(C) to guide students to understand the nature of science should pay attention to gradualism
The educational category of the nature of science is a controversial issue in the science curriculum of primary and secondary schools, which is due to people's different views on the nature of science. The author believes that in primary and secondary schools, students should be allowed to know and understand some common understandings of the nature of science. For example, science is a kind of inquiry that everyone can do; Scientific knowledge needs observation, experiment and reasoning, and needs empirical support; Scientific knowledge is not eternal, but temporary; Scientific research needs a skeptical, realistic, realistic and innovative attitude and spirit. According to students' cognitive ability and degree of contact with science, teachers should properly screen the classroom teaching content that embodies the essence of science, and pay attention to guiding students to understand these characteristics of science step by step. After students have a basic understanding of the nature of science, teachers can infiltrate some controversial issues in teaching, so that students can truly understand the pluralistic nature of science in their independent thinking on these issues.