On October 6, 2009, the Virginia Mathematics and Science Coalition directed the science committee to establish a task force to write a report to present to LEAs, DOE, BOE, and policy makers on how inquiry-based teaching and explicit nature of science instruction will improve student learning in science. This report includes, but is not limited to what is scientific inquiry and the nature of science, why teach them, and how to teach them effectively.
Task Force Members
Donna R. Sterling, Chair
Professor of Science Education
George Mason University
Teaching About Scientific Inquiry and the Nature of Science
Executive Summary, May 11, 2010
Science education reform efforts emphasize teaching science for all Americans, and identify scientific literacy as a principal goal of science education. However, developing scientific literacy requires a broader view of science that includes three principal components: the knowledge of science, the methods of science, and the nature of science.
• Scientific knowledge includes all of the scientific facts, definitions, laws, theories, and concepts we commonly associate with science instruction.
• The methods of science refer to the varied procedures that scientists use to generate scientific knowledge.
• The nature of science depicts science as an important way to understand and explain what we experience in the natural world, and acknowledges the values and beliefs inherent to the development of scientific knowledge.