SCIENCE AS A SOCIAL ENDEAVOR
Science is the greatest collective endeavor. Science as a social endeavor has a broad sense, it means the application of science to figure out how the world works, exists and originated. As a social endeavor it solve various problems, satisfy various needs and sustainable development of society with the help of scientific knowledge.
It contributes to ensuring a longer and healthier life, monitors our health, provides medicine to cure our diseases, alleviates aches and pains, helps us to provide water for our basic needs – including our food, provides energy and makes life more fun, including sports, music, entertainment and the latest communication technology. It nourishes our spirit.
Science generates solutions for everyday life and helps us to answer the great mysteries of the universe. Science is one of the most important channels of knowledge. It has a specific role, as well as a variety of functions for the benefit of our society: creating new knowledge, improving education, and increasing the quality of our lives.
Science must respond to societal needs and global challenges. To face sustainable development challenges, governments and citizens alike must understand the language of science and must become scientifically literate.
As a social endeavor prime objective of science is to make the citizens scientifically literate.
Science and Technology
Science concerns itself with the fundamental knowledge of the universe, the physical and the natural world and its environment. ie knowledge about the natural world to observations and experimentation.Science for meeting personal needs.Science for addressing societal issues and problems.Science for assisting with career choices
Technology is both a form of knowledge and skills. Technology deals with a number of ways and means of science in the service of mankind.The application of knowledge to solve problems and make new inventions.
Meaning of Technology is “ it is the body of skills, knowledge and procedures for making and doing useful things” Technology involves the design or products, systems, and processes that affect the quality of life, using the knowledge of science when necessary. An applied enterprise concerned with producing appliances, tools, machines, and techniques
Techno ----- craft or art
logy ----- study of something
Interplay of Science and Technology
Science and Technology has its own significance and relevance in modern society.The importance can be seen in different areas such as industry, agriculture, health etc.Applications of basic science resulted in new innovations or technology. In other words every technology is based on science.Science can be verified through different technologies in modern society.
Science and technology complement each other for the progress of humanity. Science has revolutionized our lifestyle and also brought about tremendous changes in our way of thinking attitudes outlook etc.
Science has brought tremendous changes in the field of health, communication, education, transportation, power etc. In short science brought new changes in technology and technology is continuously changing day by day based on science and research.
SCIENTIFIC LITERACY
Scientific literacy is the knowledge and understanding of scientific concepts and processes required for personal decision making, participation in civic and cultural affairs, and economic productivity .
Scientific literacy means that a person can ask, find, or determine answers to questions derived from curiosity about everyday experiences. It means that a person has the ability to describe, explain, and predict natural phenomena.
Scientific literacy also implies the capacity to pose and evaluate arguments based on evidence and to apply conclusions from such arguments appropriately.
The goal of science education should be to prepare scientifically literate students who can use science to improve their own lives, cope with an increasingly complex technological world, and make science-related decisions as responsible citizens.
According to PISA, Scientific literacy is defined as the capacity to use scientific knowledge , to identify questions and to draw evidence based conclusions in order to understand and help make decisions about the natural world and changes made to it through human activity.
A scientifically literate citizen
- Ask and find answers to the questions about the world
- Understand the basic scientific concepts and processes behind a phenomena
- Explain and predict natural phenomena
- Read and understand science articles
- Integrate science in everyday life.
- Identify scientific issues underlying national and local decisions.
- Evaluate the quality of scientific information on the basis of authenticity.
MISCONCEPTIONS IN SCIENCE
Misconceptions can be defined as ideas that provide an incorrect understanding of ideas, object or events that are not in agreement with our current understanding.
Misconception arises when the learner fails to grasp the underlying concepts fully. The process of replacing a misconception with scientifically accepted concept is called conceptual change. A misconception happens when a person believes in a concept that is objectively false.
Certain strategies (ABL), inquiry oriented investigations, discussions of scientific ideas in a collaborative group etc. helps to overcome the misconception of learners.
PRE-CONCEPTION
By seeing and hearing we get superficial and apparent ideas about many things. With this knowledge students form mental representation. This is called pre-conception.
Eg; Stars are like small jewels with shape.
The personal experiences in the world, informal learning influence of pre-concepts may directs to misconceptions.
Eg; A honey bee’s movement around a rose flower- as an analogy to the orbit of an electron around nucleus. But if the learner starts thinking of nucleus as a rose flower, then he is building a misconcept.
Role of science teacher in eradicating misconceptions
The role of science teacher is to educate, inspire and guide students to become responsible, scientifically literate citizens. By learning science pupils develops a logical way of thinking. Science provides evidence to support its claim through research and experiments. Science teachers should concentrate in eradicating misconceptions and superstitions in the society.
SUPERSTITION is refered as any belief which is unexplained, which is in contradiction to modern science and that cannot be proved.
Eg; Dog barking in late night is considered as a sign of bad things to come.
Undergoing witch practices for good things to happen.
Belief in omens. ( Seeing dead body, cow & calf are good symbols of omen )
Science teacher should motivate students to understand, analyze and think scientifically against such beliefs. Science should be served as a tool for fighting against superstitions and it helps to foster logical thinking, critical consciousness and instill scientific outlook in life. (Refer Scientific attitude characteristics)
To scientifically literate from misconceptions
- Teacher should check previous knowledge to understand preconception.
- Teacher should diagnose misconception if any after instruction.
- Teacher should use more learning aids like model, chart, specimen, AV aids, ICT etc. avoid misconception.
- Teacher should create an interactive learning environment.
- Teacher should provide the learners with most suitable resources so as to overcome impediments during learning.
- Teacher should promote inquiry oriented investigation and foster logical and rational thinking.
GIFTED CHILDREN
Giftedness refers to a student’s ability or potential in one or more specific areas such as of intellectual, creative, socio-affective and sensory-motor domains.
Any child who is naturally endowed with a high degree of general mental ability or extraordinary ability in a specific sphere of activity or knowledge is termed as gifted child. Children are gifted when their ability is significantly above the norm for their age. Giftedness may manifest in one or more domains such as; intellectual, creative, artistic, leadership, or in a specific academic field such as language arts, mathematics or science.
IDENTIFYING GIFTED STUDENTS
One way to identify the gifted is the grades and test scores.
Interviews with students is another way to identify giftedness
Portfolios of student work is an important measure to identify giftedness
Information of various activities of students gathered from their parents
Teacher observations are often the best source for identifying high-ability students.
Healthy teacher-student relationship is a significant way to identify giftedness.
Students who are gifted in one subject may not be so in other subjects.
The indicators of ‘giftedness’
- Good problem solving / reasoning skills
- Capacity to learn rapidly
- Rich in vocabulary
- Very good memory power
- Attention span of long duration
- Preference for companions older than them
- Wide range of interests
- Personal sensitivity
- Good sense of humor
- Extensive reading habit
- Unusual curiosity
- Highly energetic
- Highly creative
- Very good observation power
- Fast in visual puzzles
- Perfectionist
- Compassion for others
- Moral sensitivity
- Highly imaginative
- Good at judgment
- Concerned with fair justice
- Tends to question authority
- Strong sense of curiosity about nature, objects, and phenomena
- Showing high interest in investigations
- Tendency to make critical observation
- Asking questions related to scientific phenomena
- Establish connection between scientific concepts and observation
- Extensive scientific creativity
- Eager to develop valid scientific explanations
- Shows interest in collection, arrangement, and classification of objects.
STRATEGIES FOR NURTURING SCIENTIFICALLY GIFTED CHILDREN.
- Open-ended tasks for problem solving or scientific inquiry should be provided
- Homogenous groups can be formed for review of tasks on already learned material and for skill development.
- Expose learners to diverse experiences.
- Encourage your child to take intellectual risks and use failures as learning opportunities.
- Praise your child's effort, rather than ability, so he or she develops a "growth mindset."
- Self evaluation of products and processes.
- Provide the gifted a conducive co-operative learning environment.
- Providing acceleration to gifted by providing early admission to a particular course and permitting to complete course before stipulated time period.
- Skipping or Double promotion
- Enrichment programs.
CREATIVITY AND CRITICAL THINKING IN SCIENCE
Creativity is the act of turning new and imaginative ideas into reality. Creativity is the mental process involved in the production of a novel thing, idea or object.
The common feature is divergent thinking- “Uncommon thought on common things “
Ability to think out of the box.
According to Torrance creativity constitutes the components
- Fluency : The ability to think of many diverse ideas quickly.
- Flexibility : the ability to move easily beyond the traditional barriers and come up with awesome ideas/products.
- Originality: the uniqueness in creativity.
- Elaboration: stretching the divergent ideas fruitful product.
Stages involved in the process of Creativity
Preparation : Analyzing the problem or situation as a whole objectively and defining the problem within the feasible limits.
Incubation : A creative thinker contemplates on an idea to find out a solution to the problem that is disturbing him.
Illumination : The light glow experience. Getting a spark, an insight into the problem.
Verification : Critical evaluation and polishing of ideas into a novel product.
How to foster creativity among learners ?
- Brainstorming
- Provide a nurturing flexible environment
- Exposure to wide range of experiences to think out of the box
- Tapping multiple intelligences
- Encourage curiosity.
- Provide rooms to challenge assumptions instead of accepting things "as is."
- Teach them that mistakes are not evil, and should not be feared.
- Encourage autonomy
- Give students direct feedback on their creativity.
- Support learners intrinsic motivation.
CRITICAL THINKING
- Critical thinking is the ability to think clearly, rationally & wisely.
- It includes the ability to engage in reflective and independent thinking
- It is thinking and judgment based on criteria.
- It is about analyzing and evaluating thinking with a view to improve it.
- Critical thinking involves suspending the beliefs to explore and question topics from a blank page point of view.
- It involves asking questions, defining problem, examining evidence, considering other interpretations, dealing and tolerating ambiguity.
- Raise vital questions.
- Understand the logical connection between ideas.
- Gather, assess and interpret data insight fully.
- Come to inferences, testing them against relevant criteria and standards.
- Do not readily find solution for students.
- Always seek opportunities for Brainstorming.
- Compare and contrast anything & everything.
- Encourage creativity
- Encourage open ended questions.
NTSE(National Talent Search Examination by NCERT)
NTSE conducted by NCERT to identify and nurture the talented students. Formerly it is intended for science students in name of National Science Talent Search Scheme (NSTSS ). Later extended for more streams. The scheme is opened to class X students.
The examination is conducted every year at two levels
· Stage I : State Level
· Stage II :National Level
The selection procedure comprises of two objective type written test namely Mental Ability Test (MAT) & Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT)
About One thousand scholarships are awarded for different stages of education as follows
· Scholarship of 1250 Rs per month for XI-XII
· Scholarship of 2000 Rs per month for UG & PG
· Scholarship amount for Ph.D as per UGC norms.
Olympiad programme in Science by Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (HBCSE)
The international Olympiad movement is aimed at bringing the most gifted secondary and higher secondary students of the world together in a friendly competition of the highest level.
The Olympiads do not lead directly to any career benefits; rather, they provide a stimulus to begin a career in science or mathematics, to undertake a lifelong journey into the realms of exciting intellectual challenges. The Olympiads are not merely competitions, they are the meeting places of the brightest young minds of the world, and many friendships forged at the Olympiads form the seeds of scientific collaboration later in life. Much like the Olympics in sports, the Olympiads are a celebration of the very best in school level science and mathematics.
A major national Olympiad programme in basic sciences and mathematics which connects to the international Olympiads is in operation in India. The Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education is the nodal centre of the country for this programme. The programme aims at promoting excellence in science and mathematics among pre-university students.
Among the sciences, the Olympiad programme in Astronomy (junior and senior level), Biology, Chemistry, Junior Science and Physics is a five stage process for each subject separately. The first stage for each subject is organized by the Indian Association of Physics Teachers (IAPT) in collaboration with teacher associations in other subjects. All the remaining stages are organized by Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (HBCSE).
The Mathematics Olympiad is conducted under the aegis of the National Board for Higher Mathematics (NBHM).
KVPY scholarships by the Department of Science and Technology.
The Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana (KVPY) is an on-going National Program of Fellowship in Basic Sciences, initiated and funded by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, to attract exceptionally highly motivated students for pursuing basic science courses and research career in science.
The objective of the program is to identify students with talent and aptitude for research; help them realize their academic potential; encourage them to take up research careers in Science, and ensure the growth of the best scientific minds for research and development in the country.
Selection of the students is made from those studying in XI standard to 1st year of any undergraduate Program in Basic Sciences namely B.Sc./B.S./B.Stat./B.Math./Int. M.Sc./M.S. in Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Biology having aptitude for scientific research.
Based on the performance in the aptitude test, short-listed students are called for an interview which is the final stage of the selection procedure. For receiving a fellowship, both aptitude test and interview marks are considered.
Generous fellowships are provided up to the pre-Ph.D. level to the selected KVPY Fellows.
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