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1. REASONS WHY SCIENCE TEACHING MUST INCLUDE HISTORY OF SCIENTIFIC ACTIVITIES IN THE CURRICULUM
History is the interpretation of what are considered to be significant human activities in the past and the process by which these activities are selected, investigated and analysed. History is not the story of the past but rather our attempt to reconstruct and interpret elements of the past which are of interest to us in the present times and in benchmarking for future directions. History gives learner a knowledge of past human experiences at family, local, national and international levels. Learners in Science Education may develop an understanding, appropriate to their age, of time and chronology, change and continuity, cause and effect. They acquire skills appropriate to their developmental stages so that they may interpret evidence in a critical and scientific way. The following are nature of history as indicators that Science Teaching and Education must integrate the history of scientific activities in the science curriculum. 1. The nature of history is a way of scientific learners - centered curriculum A broad and balanced understanding of history is essential if a learner is to become a confident, informed, critical and responsible adult member of society. A rounded historical education reflects the nature of history itself: firstly, it is concerned with knowledge and interpretations of the lives of people in the past, and secondly, it enables children to experience something of the way in which historians go about their work. Therefore, in this way of integrating history of scientific activities, the process integrates the impact of history in its scientific process. Exploring the past in this way, learner can acquire knowledge and concepts while simultaneously developing important skills and attitudes appropriate to their individual stages of development. 2. The nature of history is a way of scientific learners connectivity of learning History is concerned with our interpretations of the actions of people in the past and the ways in which men, women and children responded to, and lived through, these events. Exploring the lives of people in the past, and especially the causes and effects of their actions, contributes to the learners awareness of human character, motivation, belief and emotion. More immediately, it can help the learner to understand more fully the world in which he/she liveshow events and personalities have shaped the home, locality and wider environments in which he/she exists. 3. The nature of history is a way of scientific learners explorative learning The particular people and events which are thought to be historically significant will vary from historian to historian, from society to society and from time to time. However, learners in science education may understand the actions of people in the immediate past more readily than those of people in distant ages, and historical inquiry will acquire a greater relevance for the

learners if it fulfils their need to explore and understand their immediate environment. For these reasons, the history in science curriculum places a very strong emphasis on the study of personal and local history in all classes in the science education. Furthermore, science curriculum provides for the exploration of various aspects of history through which the learners to become aware of the individuals, groups, events, cultures, beliefs and values which have affected the lives of people in the past and shaped contemporary society and community 4. The nature of history is a way of scientific learners inquiry engagement Engaging in the process of historical inquiry is an essential element of history. Thus, the science curriculum provides for the development of a growing range of historical skills and concepts as learner study the lives of people in the past. The scientific understanding of history uses skills and concepts which are associated with time, sequence and chronology. However, science learners have a very imperfect understanding of the concepts of time which use to mark periods in the past, they can become aware of differences between life in the present and the past, and so begin to develop a sense of time. Science learners sense of the past will become somewhat more sophisticated as they grow older, so that they will begin to understand and use concepts of time and chronology, recognize instances of change and continuity, and develop gradually a sense of perspective in time. 5. The nature of history is a way of scientific learners remarkable linkage from a significant evidence The science of hisotory rests on evidence. History in the science education should engage the learners in finding, selecting and analyzing a wide range of sources which can tell us about the past. By realizing that the evidence of the past may be interpreted in a number of ways, learners would come to appreciate that historical judgements are always provisional and may have to change in the light of new evidence. Historians do not simply study the past: they use the evidence they have found to reconstruct the past, and they convey their accounts and interpretations to others. Synthesizing an account from a number of pieces of evidence in science education in order to create an imaginative reconstruction of the past and its communication to others are fundamental aspects of history. This linkage may impart important contributions to the development of the learners wider personal, social and intellectual skills. 6. The nature of history is a way of scientific learners havioral adoptation A study of the past relies on, and helps to develop, a sense of empathy: the ability to view situations from another persons perspective. This involves learning to appreciate and understand the attitudes, values and motivations of others as well as the historical contexts in which they lived. A sense of empathy is essential if the learner is to become critically aware of his/her own attitudes and those of others, and it makes a valuable contribution to the development of mutual respect and tolerance.

7. The nature of history is a way of scientific learners agent for influence History is also concerned with the influence of the past on the present. History should allow the learner to explore how the actions and experiences of people in the past have influenced subsequent generations. The exploration of the immediate environment will reveal many instances in which people in the past have shaped elements of our present surroundings. History can also reveal how learners sense of identity has been shaped by the cultural and social experiences of many different peoples in the past. Perhaps most important of all, history can help the learner to begin to explore how peoples interpretations of the past can exert a powerful influence on their attitudes, beliefs and actions today. In a nutshell, the understanding of the scientific history makes an important and distinctive contribution to the development of the learner. Historical education complements the growth of the learners geographical and scientific learning. All three contribute to the wider social and environmental education of the child and their complementary roles will be reflected in the organization of learning. The embedding effect that science teaching must include history of scientific activities in the educational curriculum underscore the following worthy reasons :. Objectively, the following are the extrinsic reasons :

to develop an interest in and curiosity about the past to make the learners aware of the lives of women, men and children in the past and how people and events have had an impact upon each other to develop an understanding of the concepts of change and continuity to provide for the acquisition of concepts and skills associated with sequence, time and chronology, appropriate to the developmental stages. to allow the child to encounter and use a range of historical evidence systematically and critically to provide opportunities for the learner to communicate historical findings and interpretations in a variety of ways to foster sensitivity to the impact of conservation and change within local and wider environments to help the learner recognize and examine the influences of the past on the attitudes and behaviour of people today to foster a willingness to explore personal attitudes and values and to promote an openness to the possibility of changing ones own point of view to encourage the learner to recognize how past and present actions, events and materials may become historically significant to enable the child to acquire a balanced appreciation of cultural and historical inheritances from local, national and global contexts.

Objectively, the following are the intrinsic reasons :

to study a range of people and events in the past in order to develop a balanced understanding of family, local, national and world history to learn about the people, events, issues and cultural experiences which have helped to shape the local community and the environment develop an understanding of chronology, in order to place people, events and topics studied in a broad historical sequence acquire some understanding of change and continuity, including an awareness of factors which may have caused or prevented change, and come to appreciate that events may have a number of causes and outcomes examine and use a range of historical evidence systematically and critically, and appreciate the fact that evidence can be interpreted in different ways use imagination and evidence to reconstruct elements of the past communicate historical understanding in a variety of ways, using appropriate language and other techniques or media develop an appreciation of the perspectives and motives of people in the past and accept that individuals and events should be understood in their historical context be aware that the attitudes and behaviour of people may be influenced by their understanding of the past and by their past experiences respect and value a range of opinions and acquire open, questioning attitudes to the beliefs, values and motivations of others develop tolerance towards minorities in society and appreciate the contribution of various ethnic, cultural, religious and social groups to the evolution of modern Ireland develop a sense of personal, local, national, European and wider identities through studying the history and cultural inheritance of local and other communities develop a sense of responsibility for, and a willingness to participate in, the preservation of heritage.

Viewing the aims of social, environmental and scientific education are


to enable the learner to acquire knowledge, skills and attitudes so as to develop an informed and critical understanding of social, environmental and scientific issues to reinforce and stimulate curiosity and imagination about local and wider environments to enable the child to play a responsible role as an individual, as a family member and as a member of local, regional, national and global communities to foster an understanding of, and concern for, the interdependence of all humans, all living things and the earth on which they live to foster in the learner a sense of responsibility for the long-term care of the environment and a commitment to promote the sustainable use of the earths resources through his/her personal life-style and participation in collective environmental decision-making to cultivate humane and responsible attitudes and an appreciation of the world in accordance with beliefs and values.

Therefore there is a need of integrating history in the Science Curriculum in order to vitally provide opportunities for the learners to explore, investigate and develop an understanding of the natural, human, social and cultural dimensions of local and wider environments, to learn and practice a wide range of skills, and to acquire open, critical and responsible attitudes. This would

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probably lead the science learner to live as an informed and caring member of local and wider communities .

ENDNOTES REFERENCES : www.nationalacademies.org/rise/backg3a.htm www.curriculum.edu.au/leader/abstracts,58.html?issueID=10427 www.livebinders.com/play/play?id=24443 www.curriculumonline.ie/.../History/History_Curriculum Jenkins, E. (1985). "History of science education". In Husn, T.; Postlethwaite, T.N. International encyclopedia of education. Oxford: Pergamon Press.

2. PHILOSOPHY OF TEACHING IS MOST CONVENIENT IN THE INCLUSION OF THE HISTORICAL APPROACH IN SCIENCE TEACHING. SUPPORT YOUR ANSWER
The inclusion of historical approach in science teaching is a way towards providing benefits for purposive for scientific literacy. Furthermore, this also aim to : To improve strategies for the development and implementation of domainrelevant materials, teaching and learning strategies into science educational practice. To strengthen the cooperation and establish sustainable networking of all involved stakeholders in the field of scientific literacy and public understanding of science Specifically the inclusion of historical approach in science teaching provides :
1. Advancement of problem solving skill - It must guide students own scientific problem solving activities as students reconstruct historical problems on their own, develop solutions and compare them with those of real scientists in the past. In this way, students develop their own analytical skills as they learn from problem solving activities of historical scientists. In contrast, problems and their solutions of contemporary scientist often appear to complex for students. 2. Inquiry learning within historical setting - Inquiry learning fosters the learning of scientific concepts. It helps to keep the knowledge one has ever learned as students are involved with their minds as well as with their bodies and senses. Thus, knowledge acquisition is not restricted to a cognitive activity. Inquiry learning encourages students to develop their own strategies of problem solving, but the problems have to be cognitively inspiring. 3. Reconstruction of historical experiments - If students work with reconstructions of historical experiments they will be engaged with authentic problems, build small scientific communities, which share their knowledge and skills or demarcate themselves from those of other student-communities. 4. Promotion of a better comprehension of scientific concepts- This recognizes that scientific concepts can be formulated more intelligibly in their historical context of discovery than in a schematic and systematised way of modern interpretations. In discovery contexts scientific concepts do not yet belong to an accepted and settled inventory of knowledge.

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5. Supporting conceptual growth - Research indicates that the study of historical concepts can help students to develop their own concepts towards a scientific comprehension (Bar et al. 1998, Benseghir 1996, Httecke 2001, Sequeira et al. 1991, Seroglou et al. 1999, Wandersee 1986). History allows students to situate and assess their own understanding of scientific concepts on the background of historical concepts and ideas. Therefore, history supports the process of conceptual growth on the learners side. To experience that scientific concepts are changeable, tentative and variable helps students to reflect on and change their own pre-conceptions on the way towards a more sophisticated scientific understanding.

6. Showing science as background of cultural heritage - Students become aware of the different national contributions to science. Therefore, learning about the history of science strengthens the transnational connections and helps to develop a selfconception of culture as a part of a society which is strongly influenced by developments in science and technology. 7. Learning about the nature of science - Experts of science education, science, history, philosophy, and sociology of science to generally agree that learning about the nature of science belongs to the central objectives of science education. This dimension implies knowledge about the particularities of science and their differences from other forms of knowledge and knowledge generation. Moreover, the objectives and motivations to do science, scientific methods, its empirical basis, social and cultural aspects are as important as philosophical foundations of science, scientific concepts and their use. 8. Explicit reflection on the nature of science - Research has shown that even inquiryoriented teaching does not necessarily lead to a better comprehension of the nature of science. History and philosophy of science offer many opportunities to ask questions about the hows and whys of science. 9. Developing citizenship in a science and knowledge society - The nature-of-science promotes the view that active citizenship in democratic decision-making processes requires knowledge about what science means as political decision-making increasingly depends on scientific expertise. Therefore, students have to learn more about the relation of science, technology and society on the one hand. Historical case studies exemplify this relation in depth. On the other hand knowledge about how evidence is developed in science is a necessary prerequisite for an adequate estimation of scientific expertise in decision-making processes about socio-scientific issues. 10. History as a tool for teaching about the nature of science - Research and case studies of teaching practice have shown the effectiveness of history-oriented teaching in order to learn about the nature of science (Barth, 1999, Galili et al., 2001, Heering, 2000, Httecke, 2003, Irwin, 2000, Lin et al., 2002, Seker et al., 2005, Solbes et al., 2003, Solomon et al., 1992). The approach to teach science based on case studies about history and philosophy of science must be esteemed as a successfully piloted approach for teaching about the nature of science. 11. Science as a human endeavour - Science appears less abstract and gets the character of a human endeavour. This touches the problem of public recognition of science as systematic and inhuman. This view is one of the reasons for a decline of interest of many students in science.

7 12. Supporting authentic images of science and scientists - The inclusion of historical case studies in science teaching provides realistic images of science as process and images of scientists themselves.. 13. Promoting attitudes towards science - Research (Heering, 2000) indicates that especially science students benefit from the changing character of science as an open inquiry and from the appearance of scientific knowledge as progressive and changeable. 14. Building standards towards science Understanding the competence of language and history of science as an integral part of scientific literacy. Benchmarks of Science focuses on the multiethnic dimensions of science and suggests the study of its history as a means of understanding science as a social enterprise.

The Philosophy of Constructivism is a theory to explain how knowledge is constructed in the human being when information comes into contact with existing knowledge that had been developed by experiences. It has its roots in cognitive psychology and biology and an approach to education that lays emphasis on the ways knowledge is created in order to adapt to the world. Constructs are the different types of filters we choose to place over our realities to change our reality from chaos to order. Von Glasersfeld describes constructivism as a theory of knowledge with roots in philosophy, psychology, and cybernetics.[1] Constructivism has implications for the theory of instruction. Discovery learning, hands-on, experiential, collaborate, project-based, taskedbased are a number of applications that base teaching and learning on constructivism. On historical root, According to Kliebard John Dewey created an active intellectual learning environment in his laboratory school during the early 20th century. Neuroscience now supports this form of active learning as the way people naturally learn Active learning conditionalizes knowledge through experiential learning. Smith writes that John Dewey believed education must engage with and expand experience; those methods used to educate must provide for exploration, thinking, and reflection; and that interaction with the environment is necessary for learning; also, that democracy should be upheld in the educational process. Dewey advocates the learning process of experiential learning through real life experience to construct and conditionalize knowledge, which is consistent with the Constructivists. The following supports the philosophy of constructivism in the inclusion of historical approached in science teaching : 1. Maria Montessoris key points contribute to Constructivism emphasizes the value of experiential learning to conditionalize knowledge: Montessoris beliefs are consistent with the Constructivists in that she advocates a learning process which allows a student to experience an environment firsthand, thereby, giving the student reliable, trust-worthy [conditionalized] knowledge. 2. David Kolb, in his books Learning Style Inventory Technical Manual and Experiential Learning, emphasizes the importance of conditionalized knowledge through experiential learning. Kolbs beliefs are consistent with the Constructivists in that he includes Concrete Experience as part of the learning process and requires a student to

test knowledge by acting upon the environment, thereby, giving the student reliable, trust-worthy conditionalized knowledge. Kolbs work closely parallels recent work in the field of neuroscience, exemplified in the writings of James Zull 3. Reich observed that constructivists do not look for copies or mirrorings of an outer reality in the human mind, but instead they rather see humans as observers, participants, and agents who actively generate and transform the patterns through which they construct the realities that fit them." 4. Glasersfed, underscored that the responsibility of learning should reside increasingly with the learner. Social constructivism thus emphasizes the importance of the learner being actively involved in the learning process, unlike previous educational viewpoints where the responsibility rested with the instructor to teach and where the learner played a passive, receptive role. In constructivism , the nature of the learner is self-directed, creative, and innovative. The purpose in education is to become creative and innovative through analysis, conceptualizations, and synthesis of prior experience to create new knowledge. The educators role is to mentor the learner during heuristic problem solving of ill-defined problems by enabling quested learning that may modify existing knowledge and allow for creation of new knowledge. The learning goal is the highest order of learning: heuristic problem solving, metacognitive knowledge, creativity, and originality. ( Lombardi, S.M. (2011). Internet Activities for a
Preschool Technology Education Program Guided by Caregivers (Doctoral dissertation, North Carolina State University).

The following are Researches and evidence supporting constructivism in the light of integrating historical approach in science teaching :
1. Hmelo-Silver, Duncan, & Chinn ( 2005 ) cited several studies supporting the success of the constructivist problem-based and inquiry learning methods. This study also cite a large study by Geier on the effectiveness of inquiry-based science for middle school students, as demonstrated by their performance on high-stakes standardized tests. The improvement was 14% for the first cohort of students and 13% for the second cohort. This study also found that inquiry-based teaching methods greatly reduced the achievement gap for African-American students. 2. Guthrie et al. (2004) compared three instructional methods for thirdgrade reading: a traditional approach, a strategies instruction only approach, and an approach with strategies instruction and constructivist motivation techniques including student choices, collaboration, and hands-on activities. The constructivist approach, called CORI (Concept-Oriented Reading Instruction), resulted in better student reading comprehension, cognitive strategies, and motivation 3. Jong Suk Kim found that using constructivist teaching methods for 6th graders resulted in better student achievement than traditional teaching methods. This study also found that students preferred constructivist methods over traditional ones. However, Kim did not find any difference in student self-concept or learning strategies between those taught by constructivist or traditional methods 4. Doru and Kalender compared science classrooms using traditional teacher-centered approaches to those using student-centered, constructivist methods. In their initial test of student performance immediately following the

lessons, they found no significant difference between traditional and constructivist methods. However, in the follow-up assessment 15 days later, students who learned through constructivist methods showed better retention of knowledge than those who learned through traditional methods.

Supporting further, the two strands of the constructivist perspective. These two strands, cognitive constructivism and social constructivism, are different in emphasis, but they also share many common perspectives about science teaching and learning. Jonassen's (1994) description of the general characteristics of constructivist learning environments is a succinct summary of the constructivist perspective.. Jonassen (1994) proposed that there are eight characteristics that differentiate constructivist learning environments: 1. Constructivist learning environments provide multiple representations of reality. 2. Multiple representations avoid oversimplification and represent the complexity of the real world. 3. Constructivist learning environments emphasize knowledge construction instead of knowledge reproduction. 4. Constructivist learning environments emphasize authentic tasks in a meaningful context rather than abstract instruction out of context. 5. Constructivist learning environments provide learning environments such as real-world settings or case-based learning instead of predetermined sequences of instruction. 6. Constructivist learning environments encourage thoughtful reflection on experience. 7. Constructivist learning environments enable context- and contentdependent knowledge construction." 8. Constructivist learning environments support "collaborative construction of knowledge through social negotiation, not competition among learners for recognition."

ENDNOTES REFERENCES :

Dewey, John. John Dewey between pragmatism and constructivism. Fordham American philosophy. Fordham University Press,(2009). John R. Anderson, Lynne M. Reder, and Herbert A. Simon, Applications and misapplications of cognitive psychology to mathematics education, Texas Educational Review 6 (2000). Montessori, M. (1976). Education for a New World. Madras, India: Kalakshetra Publications. Kolb, D. (1976). Learning Style Inventory Technical Manual . Boston, MA: McBer.

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Hickman, L.A.; Neubert, S.; Reich, K., eds. (2009). John Dewey between pragmatism and constructivism. Fordham University Press. p. 40. ISBN 978-08232-3018-1. Guthrie; et al. (2004). "Increasing Reading Comprehension and Engagement Through Concept-Oriented Reading Instruction". Journal of Educational Psychology

3. IN SCIENCE WE ARE MORE CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT WE KNOW RATHER THAN HOW WE KNOW WHAT DOES THIS STATEMENT MEAN TO YOU AS A SCIENCE TEACHER

"Let knowledge grow from more to more; and so be human life enriched "
this motto of University of Chicago embodies the concept of thinking, transforming, and thriving in pursuing science education
Science education is the field concerned with sharing science content and process with individuals not traditionally considered part of the scientific community. The target individuals may be children, college students, or adults within the general public. The field of science education comprises science content, some social science, and some teaching pedagogy. The standards for science education provide expectations for the development of understanding for students through the entire course traditional subjects included in the standards are physical, life, earth, and space sciences. The practice of science education has been increasingly informed by research into science teaching and learning. Research in science education relies on a wide variety of methodologies, borrowed from many branches of science and engineering such as computer science, cognitive science, cognitive psychology and anthropology. Science education research aims to define or characterize what constitutes learning in science and how it is brought about. John D. Bransford, et al., summarized massive research into student thinking as having three key findings: 1. Preconceptions Prior ideas about how things work are remarkably tenacious and an educator must explicitly address a students' specific misconceptions if the student is to reconfigure his misconception in favour of another explanation. Therefore, it is essential that educators know how to learn about student preconceptions and make this a regular part of their planning. 2. Knowledge Organization

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In order to become truly literate in an area of science, students must, "(a) have a deep foundation of factual knowledge, (b) understand facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework, and (c) organize knowledge in ways that facilitate retrieval and application." 3. Metacognition Students will benefit from thinking about their thinking and their learning. They must be taught ways of evaluating their knowledge and what they don't know, evaluating their methods of thinking, and evaluating their conclusions.

Bespeak with WHAT WE KNOW RATHER THAN HOW WE KNOW , this statement mirrors the following insights :

1. Sensing Intuiting - how we know what we know : This pay attention to


the details or notice particular trees rather than the whole forest

2. What & Why, rather than How ! We do what we do if we dont know what else to do- we invent. Seeing through the what and why rather than just seeing how is a way of win to win learning

3. What we know rather than how we how is a means of baseline inquiry.

4. What is more sounding to learn is What and coming from behind is how

5. Scholars calculate the true value of what rather than how we know.

6. A knowing What person is a person that wins his object rather than how one loses

ENDNOTES REFERENCES :

www.friendsreunited.com/Discussion/935166?take=10&page=2 www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=53539&page=2 www.cimt.plymouth.ac.uk/journal/samson.pdf www.teacherleaders.org/node/3456 www.teachersdiary.com/teachers-diary/charter-schools

12 Del Giorno, B.J. (April 1969). "The impact of changing scientific knowledge on science education in the United States since 1850". Science Education Kim Catcheside (15 February 2008). "'Poor lacking' choice of sciences". BBC News website. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 22 February 2008.

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