Why NOS?

I would wholeheartedly disagree with my colleague.  My thought process comes from the short video, appendix H, and my classroom experience.  I would tell my colleague that science is not only the physical world that they interact with on a daily basis, but it also a practice of decision making based on facts and research.  These ideas make our daily lives more thoughtful, thought provoking, and more fulfilled.

From the video the example of the growth of knowledge about weather forecasting over the past 150 years not only shows the importance of understanding the past science practice but the practice of inquiry based learning. This examples shows both the ability to understand the past science practices but also the ability to question and improve as individuals and a society.

From appendix H one of the nature of science practices is that science is a human endeavour, specifically within the middle school section it states "Scientists and engineers rely on human qualities such as persistence, precision, reasoning, logic, imagination and creativity. This resonated with me because they are practices that I try to instill in my students every day.  I don't necessarily use these terms, but the concept of working hard through difficult problems, creating new and inventive solutions, and being detailed with their information and communication tie directly back to appendix H statement.

Within my classroom, I preach to my student that science requires them to be persistent and come up with creative solutions to the problems we face each and everyday.  Examples that we have worked on is solutions and systems to bus routes, lunch lines, and other school day issues.  Science once again in my opinion is gathering information about not only what is the world around is but how it all works together.  We experience so much on daily basis that we take for granted and the nature of science allows us to have a better understanding of the world around us but also be a better member of the communities we interact with.

Thank you for your post. I agree with all three of your reasons from the video, article, and your teaching background.

I also pulled out similar information from the video and to me, it's what you are describing. Life skills, not just content. Isn't that what we want for our students, to be able to function in the real world and adapt to their surroundings? I feel that if I could teach my students to persevere, I have accomplished my goal as an educator.

I totally agree with your point of view.
kadashika

I agree with your post! Students need to question things around them and wonder how things work the way they do. The nature of science helps them understand the process of science.