Upon looking back on the historical panorama of science education in Malaysia, it could be inferred that science
education in Malaysia has been evolved in three different phases. The first phase was highly dominated by 3R’s
basic skills (Reading, wRiting and aRithmatics) or bahaviourist movement, which sweeping all over the globe in
that era. In the late 70’s, in consonance with world wide science and technological reform, the modern science
programmes were introduced. In this new innovation, students were exposed with different paradigm of learning
approches which satisfy the characteristics of cognitive science teaching and learning. Finally, in the late 80’s, the
science curriculum was further revised as part of the national curriculum reform which witnessing the introduction
of the national integrated curriculum, both at the primary and secondary levels. At this point, besides cognitive
science, some elements of construtivism were injected in the science curriculum to ensure meaningful scientific
acquisition on part of the learners themselves. Within these changing perspectives of science education curriculum
approaches, it could be argued that science teaching has shifted from the absolutist tradition to the constructivist
tradition (Osman, 1995; Lee, 1992).