module specification

This module will examine science education in the light of the increasing importance attached to the public understanding of science. The module will begin by asking what is science, and how does it work, exploring various different conceptions of scientific knowledge and method. The module will then critically investigate different theories of science education in the light of these different models of scientific knowledge and method. Particular attention will be focused on the question of the purpose of science education. On the one hand, how are scientists made? And what kind of scientist do we want to make? On the other hand, what do those of us who are not going to become scientists need to know about and of science? How as citizens are we supposed to judge on matters of which we cannot possibly have adequate knowledge?  Does science education help, if it cannot make us expert in every field which might conceivably impact on our lives?

Science Education and Public Understanding aims:
• To investigate the nature of scientific knowledge and the means by which it is obtained through the examination of various contrasting models of scientific method
• To enable students to think critically about the purposes of science education and evaluate theories of teaching and learning science on the basis of the understanding of science they have acquired
• To introduce students to current debates about the public understanding of science and equip them to adopt reasoned positions within these debates
• To encourage students to reflect on the role of science in modern societies and their own role as citizens in deciding complicated issues of public policy requiring scientific knowledge
• To give students the confidence and understanding necessary to teach science at key stages 1 and 2

The module will begin by asking the question: What is science? Consideration will be given to the special characteristics, if any, of scientific knowledge as opposed to ordinary, everyday knowledge, and to the ways in which science may or may not be legitimately differentiated from other academic disciplines, such as the humanities, or belief systems, such as religion. The module will then examine various models, both normative and descriptive, that have been proposed of scientific inquiry and the specific rationality of scientific knowledge. This examination will provide a basis for a critical investigation of the pedagogy of science teaching. In the course of this investigation the question will raised of the purpose of science education – in particular whether it is simply restricted to the production of scientists, or is meant to serve some wider public goal. If science education has diverse purposes are they compatible, and can they be served by the same pedagogy? The question of the purpose of science education leads naturally on to the question of the public understanding of science. This question will be pursued by way of a number of case studies both in the realm of public policy and public education, such as, for example, the controversies over MMR, global warming, and the teaching of Darwinian evolution in schools.

The module will be taught in weekly sessions that combine lectures, seminar discussion and small group activities, plus additional scheduled online or face-to-face tutorials. Lecture summaries will be available on WebLearn along with other electronic resources that support the course. Students will have weekly set reading that will include theoretical texts and case studies. Students will be expected to enhance their learning in scheduled classes through guided research, including the further investigation of the case studies presented in the 2nd half of the module in preparation for their final essay.
The developing assessment strategy provides opportunities for personal development as students are able to reflect on and develop their learning and research in conjunction with tutor feedback in preparation for their final essays.

On successful completion of this module students will be able to:
• Articulate an understanding of various models of scientific inquiry
• Critically assess the effectiveness of specific pedagogies of teaching science with regard to explicitly articulated goals and purposes
• Produce independent and critical analyses of controversies over science either in the public arena or education itself
• Understand and contribute to contemporary debates about the public understanding of science 
• Teach science to primary school kids with confidence and enthusiasm

The module’s strategy of assessment both promotes developmental learning and research and enables students to demonstrate key skills and engagement with module content.
The first assignment provides the opportunity for students to demonstrate the understanding they have acquired of the various models of scientific inquiry covered on the module. Formal feedback will be provided on this assignment.
Through the final essay, students will have the opportunity to build on this theoretical basis and feedback from their earlier assignment so as either to critically analyse pedagogies of science teaching or to investigate further the case studies at the end of the module.

Bowler, Peter J.          –– Evolution: The History of an Idea (University of California Press, 1989)
Chalmers, A.F.            –– What Is This Thing Called Science? (Open University Press, 1978, 3rd ed. 1999)
Darwin, Charles          –– On the Origin of the Species (Harvard University Press, 1964)
Dawkins, Richard       –– The Blind Watchmaker (Penguin, 2006)
Dennett, Daniel C.     –– Darwin’s Dangerous Idea: Evolution and the Meanings of Life (Penguin, 1996)
Driver, R. (ed.)            –– Children’s Ideas in Science (OUP, 1985)
Feyerabend, Paul       –– Against Method (NLB, 1975)
Foucault, Michel        –– The Birth of the Clinic: An Archaeology of Medical Perception (Vintage, 1994)
Fuller, Steve                 –– Dissent Over Descent: Intelligent Designs Challenge to Darwinism (Icon Books, 2008)
Gilland, Tony               –– Science: Can We Trust the Experts? (Hodder Arnold, 2002)
Goldacre, Ben             –– Bad Pharma: How Drug Companies Mislead Doctors and Harm Patients (Fourth Estate, 2012)
Gregory, J. & Miller, S.  –– Public Science: Communication, Culture and Credibility (Basic Books, 1998)
Harlen, Wynne & Qualter, Anne   –– The Teaching of Science in Primary Schools (David Fulton Publishers, 2009)
Heidegger, Martin     –– The Question Concerning Technology and Other Essays, trans. by W. Lovitt (Harper, 1977)
Hempel, Carl G.          –– Philosophy of Natural Science (Prentice-Hall, 1966)
Horton, Richard   –– MMR: Science and Fiction: Exploring a Vaccine Crisis (Granta Books, 2004)
Hunt, Andrew & Millar, Robin (eds)  ––  AS Science for Public Understanding (Heinemann, 2000)
Jones, Steve                –– Almost Like a Whale: The Origin of Species Updated (Black Swan, 2000)
Kuhn, Thomas            –– The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (University of Chcago Press, 1962, 2nd ed. 1970)
Maslin, Mark               –– Global Warming: A Very Short Introduction (OUP, 2008)
Osborne, R. & Freyberg, P.   –– Learning in Science (Heinemann, 1985)
Popper, Karl                –– Conjectures and Refutations: The Growth of Scientific Knowledge (Routledge, 2002)
Ross, K., Lakin, L. & McKechnie, J.   –– Teaching Secondary Science: Constructing Meaning and Developing Understanding (David Fulton Books, 2010)
Shaw, George Bernard   –– “Too True to be Good” in Plays Extravagant (Penguin Classics, 1991)
Snow, C.P.                   –– The Two Cultures (CUP, 1961)
Ward, H.,  Roden, J., Hewlett, C. & Foreman, J.   –– Teaching Science in the Primary Classroom: A Practical Guide (Sage Publications Ltd, 2005)
Wenham, M.               –– Understanding Primary Science: Ideas, Concepts and Explanations (Paul Chapman, 1995)