People on all side of this debate often speak of skills and knowledge as separate.
They describe skills as akin to a function on a calculator:if your calculator can compute square roots,it can do so for any number;similarly
If a student has developed the ability to "think scientifically",he or she can do so with any content.
In this formulation, domain knowledge is mainly important as grist for the mill-you need something to think about.
Grist