scholarly journals Open-mindedness in science education

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guilherme Brambatti Guzzo ◽  
Guilherme D. Garcia
Keyword(s):  
Science Education ◽  
Critical Thinking ◽  
General Terms ◽  
Educational Ideal

Critical thinking is widely regarded as one of the main objectives of education in general terms, and also of science education. The idea of thinking critically, that is, to evaluate adequately and eventually embrace a certain claim only if there are good reasons for it, however, seems to contradict some popular conceptions about other educational ideal: open-mindedness. The purpose of this essay is to discuss how critical thinking and open-mindedness are not exclusionary ideals, and how those ideas are important for science education.

scholarly journals OPEN-MINDEDNESS IN SCIENCE EDUCATION

Think ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (41) ◽  
pp. 99-103
Author(s):  
Guilherme Brambatti Guzzo ◽  
Guilherme Duarte Garcia
Keyword(s):  
Science Education ◽  
Critical Thinking ◽  
General Terms ◽  
Educational Ideal

Critical thinking is widely regarded as one of the main objectives of education in general terms, and also of science education. The idea of thinking critically, that is, to evaluate adequately and eventually embrace a certain claim only if there are good reasons for it, however, seems to contradict some popular conceptions about other educational ideal: open-mindedness. The purpose of this essay is to discuss how critical thinking and open-mindedness are not exclusionary ideals, and how those ideas are important for science education.

MODEL FOR APPLICATION OF STEM APPROACH IN CONDITIONS OF DISTANCE LEARNING – STEM HOME LABORATORY

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 209-215
Author(s):  
Greta Stoyanova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Science Education ◽  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Distance Learning ◽  
Primary School ◽  
Soft Skills ◽  
Learning By Doing ◽  
Online Classes ◽  
Successful Model ◽  
Scientific Experiment ◽  
At Home

The sudden shift to distance learning caused by the COVID-19 virus emergency has posed a serious challenge to schools. This article presents a successful model for applying the STEM approach in science education at the Alexander Georgiev-Kodzhakafaliyata Primary School in Burgas. In the conditions of synchronous distance learning in MS Teams environment, students conduct experiments with handy tools and materials at home, during online classes or as homework assignments, then describe the experiments in presentations and share them with their classmates during the project week ( April holidays and at the end of the year). The application of STEM home laboratory combines knowledge from different disciplines, diversifies and facilitates learning, enables learning by doing things, which most stimulates the curiosity of students. Thus, they casually acquire skills for planning and conducting a scientific experiment, generating hypotheses and reasoning, measuring results and formulating conclusions. At the same time, soft skills for teamwork, creative and critical thinking, presentation skills are formed and upgraded.

Neither Humean nor (Fully) Kantian Be

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harvey Siegel
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Practical Reason ◽  
Educational Ideal

This chapter offers a reply to Stefaan Cuypers’ explication and critique of the views of rationality and critical thinking laid out in the previous chapters and in earlier work (see his “Critical Thinking, Autonomy and Practical Reason,” 2004). While Cuypers’ discussion is praiseworthy in several respects, it (1) mistakenly attributes to those views a Humean conception of (practical) reason, and (2) unsuccessfully argues that the positions articulated and defended in those earlier chapters lack the resources required to defend the basic claim that critical thinking is a fundamental educational ideal. Cuypers’ analysis also raises deep issues about the motivational character of reasons; I briefly address this matter as well.

Cultivating Reason

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harvey Siegel
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Philosophy Of Science ◽  
Social Epistemology ◽  
Historical Record ◽  
Philosophical Tradition ◽  
Epistemic Dependence ◽  
Philosophical Work ◽  
Western Philosophical Tradition ◽  
Educational Ideal

The Western philosophical tradition has historically valorized the cultivation of reason as a fundamental intellectual ideal. This ideal continues to be defended by many as educationally basic. However, recent philosophical work has challenged it on several fronts, including worries stemming from relativistic tendencies in the philosophy of science, the apparent ubiquity of epistemic dependence in social epistemology, and broad critiques of objectionable hegemony launched from feminist and postmodernist perspectives. This chapter briefly reviews the historical record, connects the cultivation of reason to the educational ideal of critical thinking, spells out the latter ideal, and evaluates these challenges. It ends by sketching a general, “transcendental” reply to all such critiques of reason.

scholarly journals The environment and politics in science education: the case of teaching fracking

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynda Dunlop ◽  
Lucy Atkinson ◽  
Maria Turkenburg-van Diepen
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Science Education ◽  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Young People ◽  
Hydraulic Fracturing ◽  
Environmental Issues ◽  
School Science ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
High School Science ◽  
Illustrative Case

AbstractHydraulic fracturing (‘fracking’), like other complex social and environmental issues, is a controversy about science which raises educational questions about how best to prepare young people to understand, respond to and, where necessary, act (or not) in response. It raises political questions. We present a state-of-the-art review of research literature on fracking and education using systematic strategies, with a view to finding out how it is framed in educational situations and how politics enters the science classroom. This serves as an illustrative case of how contested scientific and technological interventions with implications for the environment and society are treated in school science. The review is supplemented by interviews with 10 teachers of science and engineering working in schools or colleges near sites of operational exploratory fracking. We find that the research literature on teaching hydraulic fracturing is sparse, with only 25 studies relating to teaching and learning about fracking. Few studies (n = 7) relate to high school education. Where it features in science education, fracking is used as a context for interdisciplinarity and critical thinking, and lends itself to approaches using discussion, dialogue and modelling. Outcomes from fracking education range include knowledge gains and critical thinking. Teachers interviewed tended not to see a place for fracking in the curriculum or in the classroom and were averse to including politics in upper high school science education. Our analysis suggests depoliticization through absence of this specific complex environmental issue from the public (education) sphere, reinforced by the desire for ‘balance’ in high school science education and instrumental approaches to science education which prioritize assessed learning outcomes. Dealing with complex social and environmental issues such as hydraulic fracturing in the years of compulsory science schooling is necessary because scientific knowledge is necessary but not sufficient to prepare young people for the critical scientific literacy required to meet sustainable development goals. There is a need to assess and respond to the educational needs of local communities affected by industrial interventions such as fracking. These findings are likely to be relatable to other issues where there are local and global consequences of action or inaction and where the environment and health are pitted against economic and energy demands.

scholarly journals Open-mindedness, Critical Thinking, and Indoctrination: Homage to William Hare

Paideusis ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harvey Siegel
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Philosophy Of Education ◽  
Central Importance ◽  
Important Work ◽  
Educational Ideal

William Hare has made fundamental contributions to philosophy of education. Among the most important of these contributions is his hugely important work on open-mindedness. In this paper I explore the several relationships that exist between Hare’s favored educational ideal (open-mindedness) and my own (critical thinking). I argue that while both are of central importance, it is the latter that is the more fundamental of the two.

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