topic 1 scientific skills

7/27/2019 Topic 1 Scientific Skills

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INTRODUCTION

Back in the days when streaming was done in schools, Pure Science students hadto study thick Physics, Chemistry and Biology books.

The question is, „Are science books the same as science?‰

The answer is, No, science cannot be simply defined as a number of science books. Science is not only about the "facts", it represents a process of proposingand refining explanations about our world. It stands for the activities of thepeople who possess scientific attitudes and values; the people who are alwaysusing and practising scientific skills in dealing with the world around them.Scientific knowledge is the product of the activities of scientists.

In this topic, you will be introduced to scientific skills which consist of scienceprocess skills and manipulative skills. The science process skills consist of basic

LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of this topic, you should be able to:

1. Define the meaning of scientific skills;

2. Discuss the importance of acquiring scientific skills;

3. Categorise scientific skills into process skills and manipulativeskills;

4. Compare and contrast between science process skills and sciencemanipulative skills.

TTooppiicc

11 Scientific

Skills



TOPIC 1 SCIENTIFIC SKILLS2

science process skills and integrated science process skills. This topic will alsodiscuss why it is important for science teachers, like you, to acquire these skills.

SCIENTIFIC SKILLS

We are all scientists in our own way. We studied science during our school days.We did science experiments, we talked about science, and today, we teachscience to our students. In doing so, we must have possessed what we callscientific skills. Do we have the same idea about what is meant by scientificskills?

Let us look into a science classroom in any school. What do the students doduring a science lesson? Do they just read science books, articles or surf forscience content from the Internet? Do they just have to listen to the teacherÊsexplanation and copy the notes written on the board?

Of course, the answer is "No", as they also have to do hands-on activities, as wellas make observations, classifications, hypotheses, predictions, etc. They have todo investigations which need certain skills in order to execute the process ofinvestigating.

1.1

In a group of three to four members, discuss and write down:

(a) The meaning of scientific skills.

(b) The importance of scientific skills to your pupils.

Compare your definition of scientific skills with your coursemates'.Discuss the importance of these skills as well.

ACTIVITY 1.1



TOPIC 1 SCIENTIFIC SKILLS 3

Figure 1 1: Science students in a science laboratory and at the school compound

Figure 1.1 shows students doing science activities in a science laboratory andoutside the lab during field work. Here, the students are acquiring, applying andenhancing their scientific skills.

So, a science class is not solely about reading scientific material. Readinghundreds of science books and memorising the contents will not make anyperson a scientist. A science teacher needs to plan meaningful hands-on activitiesto help students acquire, apply and enhance their scientific skills.

These skills are associated with the process of conducting investigations in

science in order to acquire scientific knowledge.

IMPORTANCE OF ACQUIRINGSCIENTIFIC SKILLS

Teaching students scientific facts is important, but it is even better to help themdevelop their scientific skills as it will help them learn science on their own.Young students who are taught and equipped with sound scientific skills are ableto retain them for future use.

This is crucial because as any science person, scientist or science teacher wouldknow, the best way to learn science is by "doing" science. When we teach ourstudents these skills, we are actually providing them skills that they will use intheir future lives.

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Figure 1 2 : Teaching students science skills

CATEGORIES OF SCIENTIFIC SKILLS

You have learnt last semester that there are three elements of science which areall essential. The first element is the product or scientific knowledge whichconsists of science facts, concepts, laws and theories. The second element isscientific attitudes. The final element is the process of doing science which youwill learn in detail in this module.

Scientific skills can be classified into two categories science process skills andscience manipulative skills. See Figure 1.3.

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Figure 1 3: Classification of scientific skills

1.3.1 Science Process Skills

Science begins with science process skills. These skills form the foundation ofscience. The term „science process skills‰ was popularised by the curriculumproject „Science A Process Approach ‰ by the American Association for theAdvancement of Science, AAAS Commission on Education. The skills aredefined as a set of broadly transferable abilities, appropriate to many sciencedisciplines and reflective of the behaviour of a scientist (Padilla, 1990).

Science process skills are used to gather information about the world. These skillsenable us to answer our questions about how the world works. In addition tothat, these skills help a person to conduct investigations objectively.

Science process skills consist of basic and integrated skills. The basic skills areuseful in science and also in non-science situations. They provide the foundationfor learning integrated skills, which are more complex. The integrated scienceprocess skills are the working behaviours of a scientist.

There are 12 science process skills listed in the Malaysian Primary and SecondaryScience Curriculum as listed in Table 1.1.




Table 1 1: Twelve Science Process Skills

Six Basic Science Process Skills Six Integrated Science Process Skills

Observing Classifying

Measuring and using numbers

Making inferences

Predicting

Communicating

Using space-time relationship Interpreting data

Defining operationally

Controlling variables

Making hypotheses

Experimenting

Descriptions of the science process skills are given in Table 1.2.

Table 1 2: Science Process Skills

Basic Science Process Skills Description

Observing Using the sense of hearing, touch, smell, taste andsight to find out about objects or events

Classifying Using observations to group objects or eventsaccording to similarities or differences

Measuring and using numbers Making quantitative observations by comparingto a conventional or non-conventional standard

Making inferences Using past experiences or previously collecteddata to draw conclusions and explain events

Predicting Making a forecast about what will happen in thefuture based on prior knowledge gained throughexperiences or collected data

Communicating Using words or graphic symbols such as tables,graphs, figures or models to describe an action,object or event

Integrated Science Process Skills Description

Using space-time relationship Describing changes in parameter with time.Examples of parameters are location, direction,shape, size, volume, weight and mass

Interpreting data Giving rational explanations about an object,event or pattern derived from collected data

Defining operationally Defining concepts by describing what must bedone and what should be observed




Controlling variables Naming the fixed variables, manipulated variableand responding variable in an investigation. Themanipulated variable is changed to observe its

relationship with the responding variable. At thesame time, the fixed variables are kept constant

Making hypotheses Making a general statement about therelationship between a manipulated variable anda responding variable to explain an observationor event. The statement can be tested todetermine its validity

Experimenting

(design a fair test)

Planning and conducting activities to test ahypothesis. These activities include collecting,analysing and interpreting data and making

conclusions

1.3.2 Manipulative Skills

Science manipulative skills are psychomotor skills that enable pupils to doscience activities more effectively. The science manipulative as stated in theMalaysian school science curriculum is given below:

(a) Use and handle science apparatus and substances.

(b) Handle specimens correctly and carefully.

(c) Draw specimens and apparatus.

(d) Clean science apparatus.

(e) Store science apparatus.

Detailed descriptions of the science manipulative skills are given in Table 1.3.

1. State the categories of scientific skills.

2. What are science process skills?

3. How do you differentiate between basic science process skillsand integrated science process skills?

4. List the integrated science process skills.

SELF-CHECK 1.1




Table 1 3: Science Manipulative Skills

Science Manipulative Skills Description

Use and handle science apparatus andsubstances

Use and handle apparatus and substancescorrectly and carefully.

Set up the apparatus or prepare thesubstances in an orderly manner.

Carry out the experiment following thecorrect procedures.

Handle specimens correctly andcarefully

Handle living and non-living specimenscorrectly and carefully.

Caring for living specimens.

Use non-living specimens without waste.

Draw specimens and apparatus Draw specimen, apparatus and substancesneatly and using correct scales. Label thedrawings correctly.

Clean science apparatus Clean apparatus using the correct method.

Dispose waste using the correct method.

Store science apparatus Store apparatus and substances correctlyand safely.

Scientific skills are the skills that we need to do science.

Scientific skills consist of two categories science process skills andmanipulative skills.

The best way to learn science is by doing, thus developing pupilsÊ scientificskills will help them learn science on their own.

There are six basic science process skills:

1. What are science manipulative skills?

2. What is the difference between science process skills and science

manipulative skills?

SELF-CHECK 1.2




Observing, classifying, measuring and using numbers, making inferences,predicting and communication.

The six integrated skills are using space-time relationship, interpretingdata, defining operationally, controlling variables, making hypothesesand experimenting.

Basic science process skills provide the foundation for learning the integratedskills.

The integrated science process skills are the working behaviour of thescientist.

Science manipulative skills are psychomotor skills that enable pupils to doscience activities effectively.

Science manipulative skills as stated in our Malaysian primary sciencecurriculum are as follows:

Use and handle science apparatus and substances.

Handle specimens correctly and carefully.

Draw specimens and apparatus.

Clean science apparatus.

Store science apparatus.

Basic science process skills

Classifying

Communication

Controlling variables

Defining operationally

Experimenting

Integrated science process skills

Interpreting data

Making hypotheses

Making inferences

Measuring and using numbers

Observing

Predicting

Psychomotor skills

Science manipulative skills

Science process skills

Scientific skills

Using space-time relationship




Ministry of Education Malaysia. (2002). Curriculum specification, Science Year 1 .Kuala Lumpur: Pusat Perkembangan Kurikulum

Ministry of Education Malaysia. (2003). Integrated curriculum for secondarySchools, curriculum specification, Science Form 1. Kuala Lumpur: PusatPerkembangan Kurikulum

Padilla, M. J. (1990). The science process skills. Retrieved June 2, 2012, fromwww.narst.org/publications/research/skill.cfm.

Rezba, R.J. et al. (1995). Learning and assessing science process skills . (3rd Ed.).Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company.

Vitti, D & Torres, A. (2006). Practicing science process skills at home. A handbookfor parents .pdf. Retrieved June 12, 2012 from http://www.nsta.org/.../200712TorresHandoutParentNSTAConn

Teaching the Science Process Skills. Clean Virginia Waterways . Retrieved June14, 2012, from, www.longwood.edu/cleanva/images/sec6. processskills.pdf)

What are Science Process Skills? wiseGeek . Retrieved June 14, 2012, from http://

www.wisegeek.com/what-are-science-process-skills.htm)

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