When a science investigation is done the way it was done before, we expect to get a very similar result.
Learning Goal 2
When a science investigation is done again in a different place, we expect to get a very similar result.
For Grades: 3-5
Learning Goal 1
Sometimes similar investigations give different results because of differences in the things being investigated, the methods used, or the circumstances in which the investigation is carried out, and sometimes just because of uncertainties in observations. It is not always easy to tell which.
Learning Goal 2
Science is a process of trying to figure out how the world works by making careful observations and trying to make sense of those observations.
For Grades: 6-8
Learning Goal 1a
When similar investigations give different results, the scientific challenge is to judge whether the differences are trivial or significant, and it often takes further studies to decide.
Learning Goal 1b
Even with similar results, scientists may wait until an investigation has been repeated many times before accepting the results as correct.
Learning Goal 2
Scientific knowledge is subject to modification as new information challenges prevailing theories and as a new theory leads to looking at old observations in a new way.
Learning Goal 3
Some scientific knowledge is very old and yet is still applicable today.
Learning Goal 4ab
Some matters cannot be examined usefully in a scientific way. Among them are matters that by their nature cannot be tested against observations.
Learning Goal 4c
Science can sometimes be used to inform ethical decisions by identifying the likely consequences of particular actions, but science cannot be used by itself to establish that an action is moral or immoral.
For Grades: 9-12
Learning Goal 1
Science is based on the assumption that the universe is a vast single system in which the basic rules are everywhere the same and that the things and events in the universe occur in consistent patterns that are comprehensible through careful, systematic study.
Learning Goal 2
From time to time, major shifts occur in the scientific view of how things work. More often, however, the changes that take place in the body of scientific knowledge are small modifications of prior knowledge. Continuity and change are persistent features of science.
Learning Goal 3a
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.
Learning Goal 3bc
In science, the testing, revising, and occasional discarding of theories, new and old, never ends. This ongoing process leads to a better understanding of how things work in the world but not to absolute truth.
Learning Goal 3d
In matters that can be investigated in a scientific way, evidence for the value of a scientific approach is given by the improving ability of scientists to offer reliable explanations and make accurate predictions.
Subchapter B
Scientific Inquiry
For Grades: K-2
Learning Goal 1
People can often learn about things around them by just observing those things carefully, but sometimes they can learn more by doing something to the things and noting what happens.
Learning Goal 2
Tools such as thermometers, magnifiers, rulers, or balances often give more information about things than can be obtained by just observing things unaided.
Learning Goal 3
Describing things as accurately as possible is important in science because it enables people to compare their observations with those of others.
Learning Goal 4
When people give different descriptions of the same thing, it is usually a good idea to make some fresh observations instead of just arguing about who is right.
For Grades: 3-5
Learning Goal 1
Scientific investigations may take many different forms, including observing what things are like or what is happening somewhere, collecting specimens for analysis, and doing experiments.
Learning Goal 2a
Because we expect science investigations that are done the same way to produce the same results, when they do not, it is important to try to figure out why.
Learning Goal 2b
One reason for following directions carefully and for keeping records of one's work is to provide information on what might have caused differences in investigations.
Learning Goal 3a
Scientists' explanations about what happens in the world come partly from what they observe, partly from what they think.
Learning Goal 3bc
Sometimes scientists have different explanations for the same set of observations. That usually leads to their making more observations to resolve the differences.
Learning Goal 4
Scientists do not pay much attention to claims about how something they know about works unless the claims are backed up with evidence that can be confirmed, along with a logical argument.
For Grades: 6-8
Learning Goal 1a
Scientists differ greatly in what phenomena they study and how they go about their work.
Learning Goal 1b
Scientific investigations usually involve the collection of relevant data, the use of logical reasoning, and the application of imagination in devising hypotheses and explanations to make sense of the collected data.
Learning Goal 2ab
If more than one variable changes at the same time in an experiment, the outcome of the experiment may not be clearly attributable to any one variable. It may not always be possible to prevent outside variables from influencing an investigation (or even to identify all of the variables).
Learning Goal 2c
Collaboration among investigators can often lead to research designs that are able to deal with situations where it is not possible to control all of the variables.
Learning Goal 3ab
What people expect to observe often affects what they actually do observe. Strong beliefs about what should happen in particular circumstances can prevent them from detecting other results.
Learning Goal 3cd
Scientists know about the danger of prior expectations to objectivity and take steps to try and avoid it when designing investigations and examining data. One safeguard is to have different investigators conduct independent studies of the same questions.
For Grades: 9-12
Learning Goal 1
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 theories.
Learning Goal 2
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).
Learning Goal 3
Sometimes, scientists can control conditions in order to obtain evidence. When that is not possible, practical, or ethical, they try to observe as wide a range of natural occurrences as possible to discern patterns.
Learning Goal 4
There are different traditions in science about what is investigated and how, but they all share a commitment to the use of logical arguments based on empirical evidence.
Learning Goal 5
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. For that reason, scientific teams are expected to seek out the possible sources of bias in the design of their investigations and in their data analysis. Checking each other's results and explanations helps, but that is no guarantee against bias.
Learning Goal 6a
In the short run, new ideas that do not mesh well with mainstream ideas in science often encounter vigorous criticism.
Learning Goal 6b
In the long run, theories are judged by the range of observations they explain, how well they explain observations, and how useful they are in making accurate predictions.
Learning Goal 7
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.
Learning Goal 8
Scientists' nationality, sex, ethnic origin, age, political convictions, and so on may incline them to look for or emphasize one or another kind of evidence or interpretation.
Learning Goal 9
To be useful, a hypothesis should suggest what evidence would support it and what evidence would refute it. A hypothesis that cannot, in principle, be put to the test of evidence may be interesting, but it may not be scientifically useful.
Learning Goal 10
Bias attributable to the investigator, the sample, the method, or the instrument may not be completely avoidable in every instance, but scientists want to know the possible sources of bias and how bias is likely to influence evidence.
Learning Goal 11
To avoid biased observations, scientific studies sometimes use observers who don't know what the results are "supposed" to be.
Subchapter C
The Scientific Enterprise
For Grades: K-2
Learning Goal 1
Everybody can do science and invent things and ideas.
Learning Goal 2
In doing science, it is often helpful to work with a team and to share findings with others. All team members should reach their own individual conclusions, however, about what the findings mean.
Learning Goal 3
A lot can be learned about plants and animals by observing them closely, but care must be taken to know the needs of living things and how to provide for them in the classroom.
For Grades: 3-5
Learning Goal 1
Science is an adventure that people everywhere can take part in, as they have for many centuries.
Learning Goal 2
Clear communication is an essential part of doing science. It enables scientists to inform others about their work, expose their ideas to criticism by other scientists, and stay informed about scientific discoveries around the world.
Learning Goal 3
Doing science involves many different kinds of work and engages men and women of all ages and backgrounds.
Learning Goal 4
Many social practices and products of technology are shaped by scientific knowledge.
For Grades: 6-8
Learning Goal 1
Important contributions to the advancement of science, mathematics, and technology have been made by different kinds of people, in different cultures, at different times.
Learning Goal 2
Until recently, women and racial minorities, because of restrictions on their education and employment opportunities, were essentially left out of much of the formal work of the science establishment; the remarkable few who overcame those obstacles were even then likely to have their work disregarded by the science establishment.
Learning Goal 3
No matter who does science and mathematics or invents things, or when or where they do it, the knowledge and technology that result can eventually become available to everyone in the world.
Learning Goal 4
Scientists are employed by colleges and universities, business and industry, hospitals, and many government agencies. Their places of work include offices, classrooms, laboratories, farms, factories, and natural field settings ranging from space to the ocean floor.
Learning Goal 5ac
In research involving human subjects, the ethics of science require that potential subjects be fully informed about the risks and benefits associated with the research and of their right to refuse to participate. Because animals cannot make informed choices, special care must be taken in using them in scientific research.
Learning Goal 5b
Science ethics demand that scientists must not knowingly subject coworkers, students, or community residents to health or property risks without their prior knowledge and consent.
Learning Goal 6
Computers have become invaluable in science, mathematics, and technology because they speed up and extend people's ability to collect, store, compile, and analyze data; prepare research reports; and share data and ideas with investigators all over the world.
Learning Goal 7
Accurate record-keeping, openness, and replication are essential for maintaining an investigator's credibility with other scientists and society.
Learning Goal 8
Scientists' personal interests and viewpoints can influence the questions they investigate.
Learning Goal 9
Scientists are linked to other scientists worldwide both personally and through international scientific organizations.
For Grades: 9-12
Learning Goal 1
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. People from all cultures now contribute to that tradition.
Learning Goal 2
Progress in science and invention depends heavily on what else is happening in society.
Learning Goal 3
History often involves scientific and technological developments.
Learning Goal 4
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. Although each discipline provides a conceptual structure for organizing and pursuing knowledge, many problems are studied by scientists using information and skills from many disciplines. Disciplines do not have fixed boundaries, and it happens that new scientific disciplines are being formed where existing ones meet and that some subdisciplines spin off to become new disciplines in their own right.
Learning Goal 5a
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.
Learning Goal 5b
When applications of research could pose risks to society, scientists' decisions to participate in that research are based on personal as well as professional ethics.
Learning Goal 6ab
Scientists can bring information, insights, and analytical skills to bear on matters of public concern. Acting in their areas of expertise, scientists can help people understand the likely causes of events and estimate their possible effects.
Learning Goal 6c
Outside their areas of expertise, scientists should enjoy no special credibility.
Learning Goal 6d
Where a scientist's own personal, institutional, or community interests are at stake, he or she may be as biased as others are.
Learning Goal 7
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. Deliberate deceit is rare and likely to be exposed sooner or later by the scientific enterprise itself. When violations of these scientific ethical traditions are discovered, they are strongly condemned by the scientific community, and the violators then have difficulty regaining the respect of other scientists.
Learning Goal 8
Funding influences the direction of science by virtue of the decisions that are made on which research to support. Research funding comes from various federal government agencies, industry, and private foundations.
Learning Goal 9
Scientists often cannot bring definitive answers to matters of public debate. There may be little reliable data available, or there may not yet be adequate theories to understand the phenomena involved, or the answer may involve the comparison of values that lie outside of science.
Learning Goal 10
Because science is a human activity, what is valued in society influences what is valued in science.
Learning Goal 11
The direction of scientific research is affected by informal influences within the culture of science itself, such as prevailing opinion on which questions are most interesting or which methods of investigation are most likely to be fruitful. Elaborate processes involving scientists themselves have been developed to decide which research proposals receive funding, and committees of scientists regularly review progress in various disciplines to recommend general priorities for funding.
Learning Goal 12
The dissemination of scientific information is crucial to its progress. Some scientists present their findings and theories in papers that are delivered at meetings or published in scientific journals. Those papers enable scientists to inform others about their work, to expose their ideas to criticism by other scientists, and, of course, to stay abreast of scientific developments around the world.
