Cullinane Alison, Erduran Sibel, Wooding Stephen John
Department of Education, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
The Norwegian Centre for Science Education, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
Int J Sci Educ. 2019 Oct 6;41(16):2201-2217. doi: 10.1080/09500693.2019.1666216. eCollection 2019.
The traditional description of "the scientific method" as a stepwise, linear process of hypothesis testing through experimentation is a myth. Although the teaching and learning of the scientific method have been a curriculum and assessment goal, the notion of the 'scientific method' itself has been identified as being problematic. Many researchers have recognised there is no single scientific method. However, there does not seem to be any useful guidelines for how best to deal with the nature of scientific methods in school science, including in high-stakes summative assessment. The article presents the use of a framework to illustrate the diversity of scientific methods that goes beyond the traditional limitations of a scientific method, to provide a more comprehensive and inclusive account, including non-manipulative parameter measurements. The framework not only clarifies the definition of scientific methods but also is adapted as an analytical framework to trace how scientific methods are framed in high-stakes chemistry examination papers from three examination boards in England. Such analyses can potentially point to what is emphasised in chemistry lessons, given how instrumental high-stakes testing is for driving teaching and learning. Results from an empirical investigation of examination questions are presented, highlighting an imbalance in the representation of methods in chemistry tests.
将“科学方法”传统地描述为通过实验进行假设检验的逐步、线性过程，这是一种误解。尽管科学方法的教学一直是课程和评估的目标，但“科学方法”本身的概念已被认定存在问题。许多研究者认识到不存在单一的科学方法。然而，对于在学校科学教育中，包括在高风险的终结性评估中，如何最好地处理科学方法的本质，似乎并没有任何有用的指导方针。本文介绍了一个框架的应用，该框架用以说明科学方法的多样性，它超越了传统科学方法的局限性，提供了一个更全面、更具包容性的描述，包括非操纵性参数测量。该框架不仅明确了科学方法的定义，还被用作一个分析框架，以追踪英国三个考试委员会在高风险化学考试试卷中对科学方法的构建方式。鉴于高风险测试对教学和学习的推动作用，此类分析可能会指出化学课程中所强调的内容。文中呈现了对考试问题的实证调查结果，突出了化学测试中方法呈现的不平衡。
