EMSE 3123
Math and Science in Education
Dr. Osborne
Activity 4
Understanding Science
Name: __________________________________________ Date:____________
Directions
1. In the blank provided in front of each of the statements about science, indicate wither you agree (A), partially agree
(PA), disagree (D), don’t know (DK), or have no opinion (NO) concerning the statement.
2. Review and discuss your individual responses in a small group of three or four people. At this step, add new
statements, combine, modify, or omit statements. Your group should reach agreement on the statements.
3. Compile the statements from the small groups into a class set.
4. After you have completed most of the science educational activities, engage in further class discussions then expand,
modify, and/or correct the original class statements about science.
_____ 1. The goal of science is knowledge which may originate from experiments, spiritual revelation,
mystical experiences, or creative insight.
_____ 2. Unexpected observation can play an important role in increasing scientific knowledge.
_____ 3. Observing, classifying, predicting, and hypothesizing are examples of important skills used by
scientists.
_____ 4. Sometimes scientists do not find solutions to their problems.
_____ 5. Observations of nature are sources of scientific information.
_____ 6. Scientists believe that some unexplained events do not have causes.
_____ 7. There are often several different methods of solving a single scientific problem.
_____ 8. If a conflict exists between matters of empirical evidence and matters of tradition, authority and
power are usually accepted.
_____ 9. Some of today’s scientific theories will be inadequate in the future.
_____ 10. The simplest theory that accounts for the most phenomena is the best.
_____ 11. Scientists try to improve their explanations of natural phenomena.
_____ 12. The fundamental values of science do not apply to technology since it is an application of science
to human situations and must, of necessity, have either different values or no values.
_____ 13. Even though incomplete, theories are useful.
_____ 14. A basic tenet of scientific inquiry is that the universe is knowable.
_____ 15. An important result of scientific work is scientific theory.
_____ 16. Of all the goals of science, truth is the greatest.
_____ 17. Predicting and controlling future events are important uses of scientific theory.
_____ 18. Scientists should report exactly what they observe.
_____ 19. Scientists should neither question nor criticize the work of another scientist.
_____ 20. Science is a part of the society in which it exists. The goals and values of a society directly influence
the existence and development of science.
_____ 21. New knowledge is more a result of skepticism, criticism, and questioning of present knowledge
than it is of verifying, confirming, and strengthening present knowledge.
_____.22. If a scientist reports his/her results precisely and truthfully, other scientists should accept the finding
without skepticism.
_____ 23. Science is concerned with the formulating of general principles, theories, and laws. Processes such
as hypothesizing, experiment, and classifying are means to these ends.
_____.24. The scientific method, that is, stating a problem, formulating a hypothesis, designing an experiment
and drawing conclusions, is central to the whole scientific enterprise. It is the exact process that
scientists use in their daily work because it ensures objectivity.
_____ 25. Once a good scientific paradigm has been developed, scientists usually stick together and discourage
Others from finding anomalies in the paradigm.
_____ 26. The universe is ordered and it is the job of science to discover the order and specify the
relationships between events.
_____ 27. Science has neither the methods nor the capability of explaining all of the physical world and human
experience. Therefore, it should not try to do so.
_____ 28. The processes and products of science and technology must be evaluated apart from the needs and
goals of society.
_____ 29. Nothing lies beyond the limits of scientific study. Therefore scientists (and science teachers) should
refrain from negative responses to the prospect of studying phenomena, no matter how weird or
unusual the study.
_____ 30. Scientists should change their explanations based on new information.
_____ 31. Science is neither moral nor immoral but scientist are, so they should not speak out on conventional
issues.
_____.32. Scientists often give diverse explanations about the same observations.
_____ 33. Science starts with publicly observable data that should be described atheoretically.
_____.34. Scientific theories are confirmed by comparison with experimental data.
_____ 35. When scientists choose between two theories, both of which explain the same natural phenomena,
the choice between theories is rational, objective, and based on specifiable data.
Note. The National Science Teachers Association is a fine source for ideas that help education students understand the
teaching of science. Professional associations like NSTA are very important. It is time to get student-rate memberships
going now. In NSTA the publications are by grade level and have the most current scientific philosophies as well as other
supportive materials.