Few people question the importance of science education in American schooling. The public readily accepts that it is the key to economic growth through innovation, develops the ability to reason more effectively, and enables us to solve the everyday problems we encounter through knowing how the world works. Good science teaching results in all these benefits and more - or so we think. But what if all this is simply wrong? What if the benefits we assume science education produces turn out to be an illusion, nothing more than wishful thinking? In Why We Teach Science (and Why We Should), former high school teacher and historian of science education John L. Rudolph examines the reasons we've long given for teaching science and assesses how they hold up to what we know about what students really learn (or don't learn) in science classrooms and what research tells us about how people actually interact with science in their daily lives. The results will surprise you. Instead of more and more rigorous traditional science education to fill the STEM pipeline, Rudolph challenges us to think outside the box and makes the case for an expansive science education aimed instead at rebuilding trust between science and the public - something we desperately need in our current era of impending natural challenges and science denial.
John L. Rudolph is Vilas Distinguished Achievement professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has affiliate appointments in the Department of Educational Policy Studies and the Robert and Jean Holtz Center for Science and Technology Studies and is the past editor-in-chief of the Wiley & Sons journal Science Education. Prior to his faculty appointment, he taught physics, chemistry, and biology in middle schools and high schools across Wisconsin.
Title: Why We Teach Science: (and Why We Should)
Author: Rudolph, John L.
ISBN: 9780192867193
Binding:
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication Date: 2023-01-19
Number of Pages: 224
Weight: 0.4301 kg
A timely book by one of the country's best and most interesting thinkers about the history and current practice of science. * Ethan Hutt, University of North Carolina *
There is a great deal to admire in this book and the desired audience is not restricted to academics or educators. There is potential for this work to stir conversation and perhaps shape policy. Rudolph gives voice to countless grumbling conversations science education professors have. * John Settlage, University of Connecticut *
The topic is timely; the pandemic and climate change have increased attention to science education, and Rudolph writes thoughtfully. * Andy Zucker, Concord Consortium (retired) *