SUMMARY ON THE ROLE OF ICT IN SCIENCE EDUCATION BY ANGELA McFARLANE & SILVESTRA SAKELLARIOU , Cambridge Journal of Education, Vol. 32, No. 2, 2002

INTRODUCTION

Science education means addressing the question of what and who the science

curriculum is designed for and, therefore, what a successful navigation of that

curriculum might look like. The most powerful ways of embedding ICT-based

experiences in that curriculum. As a starting point it is necessary to identify what the

aims of a curriculum are and how attainment will be recognised, before addressing

whether or not the use of particular forms of ICT will assist teacher and pupil in

achieving more effective learning (McFarlane & De Rijke, 1999; McFarlane, 2001).

There are two perspectives on the relationship between the science curriculum

and the potential of ICT in science education.The first perspective takes the current

English curriculum for secondary school science with its emphasis on empirical science

as its context and the second looks at how the role of ICT might be developed if the

curriculum were to change emphasis to that of scientific reasoning rather than the

practice of empirical science.

It is beyond the scope of a paper such as this to address all the possible

applications of ICT in science education in either model. The emphasis here will be on

the use of ICT to support or replace practical work as a vehicle for investigation and on

the use of multimedia and the Internet as a vehicle for the development of scientific

reasoning, as we believe these are the most powerful applications of ICT to science at

the present time, although in most cases somewhat under-researched.

CONTENT

The role of ICT in the teaching of science it is important to place this in the

context of the pedagogical model promoted as the vehicle for curriculum delivery. The

current model of integration of ICTs in school science in England and Wales was

developed in the early 1990s (Frost et al., 1994). It takes as its starting point the

investigative approach to science teaching embedded in UK curricula.

The model is based on the premise that the approach to science is essentially

investigative, with students learning about both scientific theory and process

simultaneously. There are various forms of ICT which offer potential enhancement to

each stage of this essentially iterative model.ICT-based interventions can either be used

to enhance the practical investigation or as a virtual alternative to real practical work

where a simulation supports exploration of the investigative model through a

computerised representation of the phenomena under study.

The successful the underlying model of investigative science is, with or without

the use of ICT, in achieving the four objectives of practical work (to motivate students, to

teach them theoretical content, to teach laboratory skills and to expose students to the

scientific process) is debatable (Wellington, 1998, for a critique). The development of

theoretical understanding through practical work has long been recognize as

problematical, if desirable.

As a result they become overloaded and in order to handle this information

overload Johnstone & Wham (1982) argue that they are like to adopt the following

strategies to adopt a simple recipe approach;· focus on one aspect copy what others

(especially the high achievers) are doing. From this it becomes apparent that pupils are

unlikely to grasp the relevant theory, even where it could be derived from the results,

especially where there is not enough time for classroom discussion to draw this out. As

a result they may resort to memorization ( Klausmeier , 1985)

Three objectives of practical work are to be considered (motivation, content

knowledge and scientific reasoning) there is a role for other forms of ICT. The use of

applications, such as word processing (still by far the greatest use of computers in

schools), spread-sheets and databases within science teaching, can be powerful and

has much in common with the enhancements afforded to learning in other contexts. The

role of iterative working and dynamic representation in the development of

understanding are discussed elsewhere and are particularly pertinent in the context of

science education (Bonnett et al., 1999; Moseley et al., 1999; Buckingham &McFarlane,

2001). the motivational role of ICT is signi cant and suggests that the majority of young�

people react favourably to the use of computers in the classroom (Cox, 1997). None of

the studies recorded have been long term, neither have they concentrated on students

who have a rich experience of ICT in their wider lives.

The key point is as for any intervention, the use of an ICT-based task must be

evaluated in context. The teacher must both understand and communicate the exact

nature of the task in hand and ensure that the students have the necessary background

understanding to complete the task. The outcomes must be evaluated against the

intended outcomes and the adequacy of the task to support them. Using ICT is not the

issue so much as how it is used, and the role of the teacher is vital.

There are important elements of ICT literacy which are relevant to scientific

literacy and the development of scientific reasoning. The importance of the role of the

Internet and World Wide Web as contexts for the development of these important skills

sets. This is particularly so when the experience of access to information sources,

including broadcast and Internet media, in the wider community is growing so rapidly

and is such a central part of young people’s experience of the world beyond school

( Buckingham & McFarlane, 2001).

The model of science education which fully exploits electronic media should

incorporate both the location and analysis of scientific information and publishing of the

resulting critique as part of an active electronic community of learners. Indeed, in this

way school pupils can expose their interpretations of science to peer review and truly

experience the way research proceeds in an authentic fashion.

CONCLUSION

The role of ICT in science education where investigative science plays a central

part, there are applications of ICT which can both support ‘live’ bench work and some

which can replace it, providing a virtual system to investigate using the same principles

as in the laboratory. Moreover, models of the ideal system can be animated alongside a

simulation of the real system to reinforce the relationship between practice and theory.

An alternative approach can be to adopt an analytical approach to scientific information

found in popular and scientific literature, especially the wealth of each available on the

Internet.

There are an understanding of various scientific methods and the relationship

between evidence and conclusions are required this can be a more potent experience.

In order to avoid such a potentially divisive curriculum, it might be better to model a

curriculum for all which has an equitable balance between investigative empirical

science, supported with ICT so that it is more effective, and investigative critical science

which is supported through access to scientific sources and published analyses shared

and discussed with peers.

While the students using the laboratory, it can teach them to use the

apparatus safe handling of chemical. After that, they could collecting data become more

faster by then it can be manipulate the data using data logger. The information of

seeking information skill in order to evaluate to find the statement whether it is true or

false.. The use of computer based learning for data captured and display to give access

to an accurate data set but the teacher must teach first the basic skill to the students

and they will able to use it later on. Last but least if it programmed in the right situation

they will get accurate data .