【導(dǎo)讀】教科書(shū)編寫(xiě)建議··································&#18

　　

【正文】 educational programs and systems nurture achievement. The Standards point toward a future that is challenging but attainablewhich is why they are written in the present tense. The intent of the Standards can be expressed in a single phrase: Science standards for all students. The phrase embodies both excellence and equity. The Standards apply to all students, regardless of age, gender, cultural or ethnic background, disabilities, aspirations, or interest and motivation in science. Different students will achieve understanding in different ways, and different students will achieve different degrees of depth and breadth of understanding depending on interest, ability, and context. But all students can develop the knowledge and skills described in the Standards, even as some students go well beyond these levels. By emphasizing both excellence and equity, the Standards also highlight the need to give students the opportunity to learn science. Students cannot achieve high levels of performance without access to skilled professional teachers, adequate classroom time, a rich array of learning materials, acmodating work 第 22頁(yè) spaces, and the resources of the munities surrounding their schools. Responsibility for providing this support falls on all those involved with the science education system. Implementing the Standards will require major changes in much of this country39。s science education. The Standards rest on the premise that science is an active process. Learning science is something that students do, not something that is done to them. Handson activities, while essential, are not enough. Students must have mindson experiences as well. The Standards call for more than science as process, in which students learn such skills as observing, inferring, and experimenting. Inquiry is central to science learning. When engaging in inquiry, students describe objects and events, ask questions, construct explanations, test those explanations against current scientific knowledge, and municate their ideas to others. They identify their assumptions, use critical and logical thinking, and consider alternative explanations. In this way, students actively develop their understanding of science by bining scientific knowledge with reasoning and thinking skills. The importance of inquiry does not imply that all teachers should pursue a single approach to teaching science. Just as inquiry has many different facets, so teachers need to use many different strategies to develop the understandings and abilities described in the Standards. Nor should the Standards be seen as requiring a specific curriculum. A curriculum is the way content is anized and presented in the classroom. The content embodied in the Standards can be anized and presented with many different emphases and perspectives in many different curricula. Instead, the Standards provide criteria that people at the local, state, and national levels can use to judge whether particular actions will serve the vision of a scientifically literate society. They bring coordination, consistency, and coherence to the improvement of science education. If people take risks in the name of improving science education, they know they will be supported by policies and procedures throughout the system. By moving the practices of extraordinary teachers and administrators to the forefront of science education, the Standards take science education beyond the constraints of the present and toward a shared vision of the future. Hundreds of people cooperated in developing the Standards , including teachers, school administrators, parents, curriculum developers, college faculty and 第 23頁(yè) administrators, scientists, engineers, and government officials. These individuals drew heavily upon earlier reform efforts, research into teaching and learning, accounts of exemplary practice, and their own personal experience and insights. In turn, thousands of people reviewed various drafts of the standards. That open, iterative process produced a broad consensus about the elements of science education needed to permit all students to achieve excellence. Continuing dialogues between those who set and implement standards at the national, state, and local levels will ensure that the Standards evolve to meet the needs of students, educators, and society at large. The National Science Education Standards should be seen as a dynamic understanding that is always open to review and revision. Science Teaching Standards The science teaching standards describe what teachers of science at all grade levels should know and be able to do. They are divided into six areas: The planning of inquirybased science programs. The actions taken to guide and facilitate student learning. The assessments made of teaching and student learning. The development of environments that enable students to learn science. The creation of munities of science learners. The planning and development of the school science program. Effective teaching is at the heart of science education, which is why the science teaching standards are presented first. Good teachers of science create environments in which they and their students work together as active learners. They have continually expanding theoretical and practical knowledge about science, learning, and science teaching. They use assessments of students and of their own teaching to plan and conduct their teaching. They build strong, sustained relationships with students that are grounded in their knowledge of students39。 similarities and differences. And they are active as members of sciencelearning munities. In each of these areas, teachers need support from the rest of the educational system if they are to achieve the objectives embodied in the Standards. Schools, districts, local munities, and states need to provide teachers with the necessary resourcesincluding time, appropriate numbers of students per teacher, materials, and schedules. For teachers to design and implement new ways of teaching and learning science, the practices, policies, and overall culture of most schools 第 24頁(yè) must change. Such reforms cannot be acplished on a piecemeal or ad hoc basis. Considerations of equity are critical in the science teaching standards. All students are capable of full participation and of making meaningful contributions in science classes. The diversity of students39。 needs, experiences, and backgrounds requires that teachers and schools support varied, highqua