In this paper, we have argued that adolescents have extraordinary cognitive
abilities, and that these cognitive abilities need to be acknowledged and understood by
science educators. We have attempted to integrate research from different domains of
educational psychology, to demonstrate that science education can be tailored to the
needs of adolescents.
Science educators must understand developmental processes. High school science
teachers need to understand not only how their students learn, they need to understand
where their students came from (i.e., typical cognitive development of middle grade
students), and where they are going (i.e., continued cognitive development during early
adulthood). We contend that it is the intersection of teachers' knowledge about
adolescent cognition and teachers' knowledge about creating effective classroom
environments that will lead to enhanced scientific learning for adolescents.
Most important, we are at a critical point in terms of encouraging adolescents to
consider careers in science. Many American jobs are being shipped overseas to highly
qualified individuals who are well trained in science. Many American students turn away
from science-related disciplines because they have had bad experiences in science classes
during high school. Young women and minorities are under-represented in science
careers in the academy and in business and industry. We strongly argue that many of
negative experiences associated with the learning of science in schools can be avoided if
science educators are cognizant of both the cognitive abilities of all adolescent learners,
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and the types of learning environments that are most conducive to fostering the use of
these abilities.