Inquiry-based science: more right-brained epiphanies

The new National Science Education Standards content guidelines unwittingly summarize everything that is wrong with today's grade school science programs:

LESS EMPHASIS ON                        MORE EMPHASIS ON 

Knowing scientific facts                Understanding scientific concepts and developing 
and information                         abilities of inquiry 

Studying subject matter disciplines     Learning subject matter disciplines in the context 
(physical, life, earth sciences) for    of inquiry,technology, science in personal and 
their own sake                          social  perspectives, and history
                                        and nature of science 

Separating science knowledge            Integrating all aspects of science content 
and science process

Covering many science topics            Studying a few fundamental science concepts 

Implementing inquiry as                 Implementing inquiry as instructional 
a set of processes                      strategies, abilities, and ideas to be learned

Activities that demonstrate             Activities that investigate and analyze science
and verify science content              questions

Investigations confined to              Investigations over extended periods of time 
one class period

Process skills out of context           Process skills in context 

Emphasis on individual process skills   Using multiple process skills--
such as observation or inference        manipulation, cognitive, procedural 

Getting an answer                       Using evidence and strategies for developing or
                                        revising an explanation

Science as exploration and experiment   Science as argument and explanation


Providing answers to questions          Communicating science explanations 
about science content

Individuals and groups of students      Groups of students often analyzing and 
analyzing and synthesizing data         synthesizing data after defending conclusions
without defending a conclusion

Doing few investigations in order to    Doing more investigations in order to develop 
leave time to cover large               understanding, ability, values of inquiry and
amounts of content                      knowledge of science content 

Concluding inquiries with the result    Applying the results of experiments to scientific
 of the experiment                      arguments and explanations

Management of materials and equipment   Management of ideas and information

Private communication of student ideas  Public communication of student ideas 
and conclusions to teacher              and work to classmates

A sea change from scientific knowledge to vague entities like "concepts," "abilities of inquiry," "process," "procedure," "manipulation," and "investigations." A seismic shift from scientific breadth and depth to the personal, social, technological, and historical.  A quantum leap to the conclusion that scientific disciplines (physical, life, and earth sciences) aren't interesting "for their own sake."

What about those students who like learning physics, biology, or geology?

Other changes, shifts, & leaps: From solo work to group work. From experimentation, observation, and inference, to "argumentation" and "communicating explanations." From communicating answers privately to teachers to sharing them publicly with classmates.

What about shy students and others who don't work well in groups?

What about those who excel at empirical observations and scientific inference, but have trouble using enough Language Arts to explain things to their teacher's satisfaction?

Many people have asked why ever fewer Americans are pursuing careers in science. Blaming everything from Creationism to anti-nerd stereotypes (more on this in a later post), they've overlooked that which has gone furthest out of its way to repel our most promising future scientists.