What is Science?

Science is concerned with understanding the world in which we live.

Students tend to approach Science subjects as knowledge they have to acquire...facts they have to remember and understand. Many take some time, to recognise the importance of the process of acquiring such knowledge. Actions like observing, predicting, experimenting and evaluating are all fundamentals of science.

Preparation for Life

In preparing students for life, the acquisition of skills is as important as the acquisition of knowledge.

The Challenge

Students must recognise the importance of the process and strive to acquire the necessary skills. Educators must do more than just teach the students the skills and knowledge involved. It is the responsibility of the teacher to enable students to acquire knowledge, through implementing the process. Knowledge acquired through an investigative approach is deeper and contributes to a fuller understanding of the subject overall.  The investigative approach to science makes good use of the "scientific method".

The Scientific Method

The famous Italian scientist, Galileo, made a major contribution to the development of the scientific method in the late 16th and early 17th century. The scientific method has four steps;

1. Observation and description of a phenomenon.
2. Formulation of a hypothesis to explain the phenomena.
3. Use of the hypothesis to predict the existence of other phenomena, or to predict the results of new observations.
4. Experiments to test the predictions.

If the experiments show the hypothesis to be true, it may come to be regarded as a theory or law of nature. If the experiments do not bear out the hypothesis, it must be rejected or modified.

Although students at school are unlikely to have the opportunity to "break new ground" often, the work they undertake is new to them. It can therefore be approached as an open investigation rather than conducted as a set of closed instructions targeted on verifying a truth that is already known.

The Investigative Approach to Science

The investigative approach to science is therefore modeled on the "Scientific method". It should develop problem-solving skills, analytical skills and critical thinking. In addition to these, an investigative approach to science offers excellent opportunities for developing important life skills in such areas as teamwork, organisation, presentation and communication. Any knowledge acquired in this way is likely to result in a deeper understanding of the issues.

Pivotal Role of the Teacher

No matter how open-ended an investigation is, the teacher plays a pivotal role in how the investigation is carried out and how useful the experience is for the student.  Without guidance, the open-ended investigation can result in students feeling confused and/or frustrated.

It is important therefore to strike a balance between providing an environment in which discovery learning can occur, and setting out enough guidance to ensure that students don't lose sight of the objective.

Certain strategies can be used to guide students through an investigation. The planning stage is crucial.

Encourage students to brainstorm initial ideas, outlining how the investigation will be undertaken. This can be beneficial as individuals or small groups. The teacher can play a pivotal role by having carefully thought-out a set of questions probing all aspects of the investigation and holding them in reserve in case the brainstorming session falters.

Advice on carrying out an investigation

Problem statement

Turn the topic into a problem statement. The problem statement is a sentence or question that identifies the independent and dependent variable.

If we consider the following example: "Investigate how watering plants affects the way they grow"

Possible problem statements (these are just some of the possibilities):

• How does the amount of water (independent variable) affect the height (dependent variable) of plants?
• How does the amount of water (independent variable) affect the numbers of leaves (dependent variable) a plant produces?
• How does the number of leaves (independent variable) affect the amount of water (dependent variable) taken up by plants?
• How does the time of day (independent variable) that plants are watered at affect their height (dependent variable)?
• How does the amount of light a plant is exposed to (independent variable) affect the uptake of water (dependent variable)?

It is important that each of the variables can be measured

Hypothesis

Once the problem statement has been identified, it should be possible to:

• Make an educated guess about how the experiment will turn out. This is called the hypothesis. The hypothesis should connect the dependent and independent variable
• Identify all the other things that might affect the outcome of the investigation

Experimentation

Students need to conduct experimental work with due regard to:

• Proper and safe use of equipment
• Accuracy and reliability of measurements

Analysis

It is important to compile tables of measurements and results, and to present findings graphically, where possible, so as to identify trends and patterns, so that conclusions may be drawn.

Evaluation

Evaluating the results and estimating their accuracy and significance are important parts of the investigative approach to science.