Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
on personal values that the individual has characterised and organised into a
coherent system.
2.4
Intellectual Challenges in Learning Science
Notions that science unproblematically uncovers how the world is, leading to
scientific truths that can be considered absolute knowledge, are now generally
seen as na¨ve. Kuhn
'
s(
1996
) highly influential model of how science has
progressed highlights the role of such extralogical factors as culture, advocacy,
tradition and social organisation—and for some opened up the question of to what
extent science is itself just a culturally relative form of knowledge—an issue that
has become a major focus of attention in the philosophy of science (Laudan,
1990
;
Rorty,
1991
). Kuhn himself did not consider science to be culturally relative in an
extreme sense (that the true nature of the natural world depends upon where and
when you want to know), but rather acknowledged the genuine issue of whether
humans could make truly objective judgements that rose above their culture (Kuhn,
1973
/1977). Arguably, even if human intellect allows us to recognise the nature of
our own conceptual frameworks, and the possibility of entertaining alternative ways
of thinking (Popper,
1994
), the essence of being human is such that we can never
completely step outside the culture in which we have been socialised (Geertz,
1973
/
2000), so as to make fully objective judgements.
Such issues are not just of academic interest to educators, when the question of
how scientists come to know is a core part of science education (Hodson,
2009
;
Matthews,
1994
). A post-positivist view of science (Taber,
2009b
) sees it as a
complex activity where judgements made cannot be based purely on logical
application of formal operational thought.
The first of Perry
s three general stages will be familiar to many chemistry
teachers. Students accept what they are taught in science as absolute truth, i.e. this is
what scientists have found out—what they have
'
by doing experiments.
Perhaps that does not matter as long as what they are learning is that sodium is a
metal, that the formula of sulphuric acid is H
2
SO
4
and that in solution chlorine will
displace iodine from its compounds.
However, the science that gets attention in society—and increasingly in science
classes (Sadler,
2011
)—is often not the material that has long become part of
canonical scientific knowledge but rather the more controversial topics where either
(1) scientific debate continues or (2) sociocultural considerations have to be con-
sidered when deciding
how (or whether) to apply
the science. The science behind
nuclear power stations is generally non-contentious, but how to weigh up the risks
and benefits is less clear-cut. There is a widespread consensus that the climate is
changing—but scientists do not all seem to agree on how quickly, how much is due
to human activity and how serious the consequences will be. Evolution by natural
selection is the foundation of modern biology—yet there are many aspects of
evolutionary theory where vigorous debate continues (something seized upon by
proved
'
'
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