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A. The Scientific World View
By the end of 12th grade, students should know that:
- Scientists assume that the universe is a vast single system in which the basic rules are the same everywhere.
- From time to time, major shifts occur in the scientific view of how the world works.
- No matter how well one theory fits observations, a new theory might fit them just as well or better, or might fit a wider range of observations.
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B. Scientific Inquiry
By the end of 12th grade, students should know that:
- Investigations are conducted for different reasons, including to explore new phenomena, to check on previous results, to test how well a theory predicts, and to compare different theories.
- Hypotheses are widely used in science for choosing what data to pay attention to and what additional data to seek, and for guiding the interpretation of the data (both new and previously available).
- Sometimes, scientists can control conditions in order to obtain evidence.
- There are different traditions in science about what is investigated and how, but they all have in common certain basic beliefs about the value of evidence, logic, and good arguments.
- Scientists in any one research group tend to see things alike, so even groups of scientists may have trouble being entirely objective about their methods and findings.
- In the short run, new ideas that do not mesh well with mainstream ideas in science often encounter vigorous criticism.
- New ideas in science are limited by the context in which they are conceived; are often rejected by the scientific establishment; sometimes spring from unexpected findings; and usually grow slowly, through contributions from many investigators.
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C. The Scientific Enterprise
By the end of 12th grade, students should know that:
- The early Egyptian, Greek, Chinese, Hindu, and Arabic cultures are responsible for many scientific and mathematical ideas and technological inventions.
- Modern science is based on traditions of thought that came together in Europe about 500 years ago.
- Progress in science and invention depends heavily on what else is happening in society, and history often depends on scientific and technological developments.
- Science disciplines differ from one another in what is studied, techniques used, and outcomes sought, but they share a common purpose and philosophy, and all are part of the same scientific enterprise.
- Current ethics in science hold that research involving human subjects may be conducted only with the informed consent of the subjects, even if this constraint limits some kinds of potentially important research or influences the results.
- Scientists can bring information, insights, and analytical skills to bear on matters of public concern.
- The strongly held traditions of science, including its commitment to peer review and publication, serve to keep the vast majority of scientists well within the bounds of ethical professional behavior.
- Funding influences the direction of science by virtue of the decisions that are made on which research to support.
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