History Of Science

The research base on children’s understanding of how scientific knowledge is constructed is limited. Most studies have been conducted in laboratory settings and do not take into account instructional history and children’s opportunity to learn about this aspect of science.

Most children do not develop a sophisticated understanding of how scientific knowledge is constructed.

Methods of science dominate the school science curriculum, with little emphasis on the role of theory, explanation, or models.

Children’s understanding of science appears to be amenable to instruction. However, more research is needed that provides insight into the experiences and conditions that facilitate their understanding of science as a way of knowing.

Science is not only a body of knowledge, but also a way of knowing. One important underpinning for learning science is students’ understanding of the nature and structure of scientific knowledge and the process by which it is developed. Our vision of K-8 science features this understanding as one of the four strands. We have elevated this focus to the status of a strand for several reasons. We view understanding of the nature and structure of scientific knowledge and the process by which it is developed as a worthy end in and of itself. In addition, emerging research evidence suggests that students’ grasp of scientific explanations of the natural world and their ability to engage successfully in scientific investigations are advanced when they under-

Suggested Citation:"6 Understanding How Scientific Knowledge Is Constructed." National Research Council. 2007. Taking Science to School: Learning and Teaching Science in Grades K-8. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11625.×

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stand how scientific knowledge is constructed. In this chapter we address how children come to understand both “how we know” in science and “why we believe” scientific evidence.

For more than a century, educators have argued that students should understand how scientific knowledge is constructed (Rudolph, 2005). One rationale that is often invoked, but not empirically tested, is that understanding science makes for a more informed citizenry and supports democratic participation. That is, citizens who understand how scientific knowledge is produced will be careful consumers of scientific claims about public scientific issues (e.g., global warming, ecology, genetically modified foods, alternative medicine) both at the ballot box and in their daily lives.

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