On-campus courses are "optional",

Rapid regularization of off-campus courses

Since 20 17, many places have been exploring natural science education for teenagers. Most schools have set up science courses, and some training institutions have made relevant attempts, which initially solved the problem of whether science courses can be taught, but whether they can be taught well is still not optimistic.

"In the eyes of some schools, science classes can be attended or not." A science teacher in a primary school in a province said that students who are taking science classes may be called away for counseling and conversation by teachers who are not familiar with the language. In some schools, science classes are taught by math and Chinese teachers, and two science classes a week are divided into one week or even one semester. A township middle school teacher said that the school did not do experiments, and the experimental equipment was littered or sealed, and some even did not open the packaging.

Some schools do not support outdoor observation and experiments in natural science classes because of insufficient funds, insecurity and difficult management. Xu Zihan, a pupil, told reporters that many students around him are interested in science, but they don't like science classes. "I hope to carry out more scientific activities such as experiments, observation, planting and breeding, instead of always watching slides."

On-campus science classes are like chicken ribs, but off-campus science education is rapidly becoming a routine. In recent years, a large number of social funds have entered the field of natural science education, and the education system, education standards and teaching experience are insufficient.

Half a month's interview with reporters found that many off-campus training institutions are well decorated and equipped with basic experimental equipment, but their teaching ability is not good. Shu, the head of an off-campus training institution in the Yangtze River Delta region, said that teachers are mainly fresh graduates. Looking for some information science on the internet, all of them are children now, which is easy to deal with. There is also a training institution that turns outdoor scientific activities into hiking and sightseeing, which is called "Cognitive Rock and Hydrology". In fact, the teacher is not very good at it, just taking the children to the park.

Bao Mei, an astrophysicist and expert in astronomical science education, said that the common problems faced by science classes are caused by short-sighted education and quick success.

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Why is science education ineffective?

Incorporating natural science into the curriculum system of compulsory education reflects the country's concern and determination to improve young people's scientific literacy. But why do many departments and departments repeatedly make moves, and the effect is still not satisfactory?

-The textbook lacks top-level design. Many interviewed teachers believe that there are many problems in science education textbooks, such as fragmentation of knowledge, lack of systematicness and logicality, insufficient expression of scientific methods, scientific ideas and scientific spirit, and lack of normative basis for curriculum standards, educational contents, educational methods and experimental norms. Pan Junhua, an academician of China Academy of Engineering, said that science education should not simply copy the curriculum standards of subject education, but should build a comprehensive, scientific and systematic system, and open up a multidisciplinary framework such as astronomy, geography, biology, physics and chemistry.

-Science classes are generally ignored. Some interviewed teachers reported that science teachers were at a disadvantage when public schools awarded professional titles; Some private schools arrange science teachers to undertake chores such as recess inspection and nap inspection, and some schools don't even have full-time science teachers. In some areas, there is still a lack of laboratories, experimental equipment and laboratory experts to support school science education. A teacher said that there were only 1 laboratory in 20 classes in one grade in his middle school. In addition, doing experiments to buy flammable and explosive products requires the proof of the public security department, and many teachers can only use video teaching instead.

-Insufficient support from specialized social forces. At present, the class hours of science education in schools are limited, the content is single, and there is a lack of high-quality, open, professional subjects that can interact with school education. Bao Mei said that some foreign institutions carry out off-campus natural science education, mainly astronomy, to stimulate children's curiosity to explore the mysteries of the universe and the laws of nature. Such an off-campus natural science research model is still rare in China.

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Science education urgently needs to enter the scientific track.

Chen Jiansheng, an academician of China Academy of Sciences and an astrophysicist, and other experts believe that to effectively carry out science education for young people, it is necessary to establish a scientific and standardized education system, stimulate resources inside and outside the school, and mobilize social forces to make concerted efforts to prepare for training more high-quality scientific and technological talents in the future.

The first-line science teachers interviewed suggested that science should be given the same basic position as Chinese and mathematics, and science should be taken as the main course to improve the importance of science in school education; According to the characteristics of natural science, the compilation, teaching and training of teaching materials are combined with the supporting reform of schools, and scientific knowledge learning, inquiry ability training and thinking level improvement are taken into account in the arrangement of scientific teaching materials, which better reflects knowledge and science and conforms to the development law of students' cognition and psychology.

Pan Junhua believes that in addition to setting up science education majors in key normal universities and expanding the enrollment scale, science and engineering graduates can also be recruited for non-normal universities and supplemented to the teaching staff through teacher qualification certification to solve the problem of low proportion of full-time science teachers. Bao Mei suggested that existing teachers should receive regular national training, increase investment in science education equipment, and establish a strict restraint mechanism to ensure earmarking.

There are also some science teachers who believe that on the basis of strict supervision of off-campus training institutions, cooperation among science and technology museums, private science camps and schools should be strengthened to jointly develop science education courses that meet the needs of different students and meet the needs of teenagers. Chen Jiansheng suggested activating social resources, building popular science education bases and camps in suburbs, and sharing natural environment, venues, laboratories, observation and experimental equipment, databases, popular science teachers and other resources.