For several decades educators have struggled to identify the attributes all sciences have in common. In the popular mind this effort constitutes the importance of teaching "the" scientific method. In the policy maker's world this pursuit yields standards for all Americans that unify the sciences. For teachers, the quest for unity has typically meant teaching science as process. However, a curriculum that prioritizes what all sciences have in common obscures their vital differences. For example, studying landslides is very different from doing x-ray diffraction; climate science is unlike medical research. Naive ideas about scientific unity impoverish the public's ability to evaluate scientific enterprises. Challenging Science Standards voices skepticism towards the quest for unity. Through analyses of disciplinary knowledge, school curricula, and classroom learning, the book uncovers flaws in the unifying dimensions of the science standards. It proposes respect for disciplinary diversity and attention to questions of value in choosing what science to teach. Illuminated by vignettes of children and adolescents studying topics ranging from snail populations to horse fossils, Challenging Science Standards proposes promising remedies.

About the Author
Charles R. Ault, Jr. ("Kip") Professor Emeritus, Lewis & Clark Graduate School of Education and Counseling, taught courses in science education, field geology, natural history, and curriculum theory to elementary and secondary science teachers for three decades. His early research addressed children's conceptions of time, matter, and energy and his more recent interests have focused on earth science education.

Reviews
Fascinating, as used by Mr. Spock of Star Trek fame to indicate unexpected encounters, is an appropriate word to describe Ault's book. Many of us who think we have a strong background in the development of science standards will quickly learn to see conventional ideas in a new light. Charles R. Ault, Jr. has provided a courageous examination of science standards in the twenty-first Century. * Science & Education *



Book Information
ISBN 9781475818482
Author Charles R. Ault
Format Paperback
Page Count 218
Imprint Rowman & Littlefield
Publisher Rowman & Littlefield
Weight(grams) 336g
Dimensions(mm) 227mm * 154mm * 16mm