  This is an editorial report on the outcomes of an international conference
sponsored by a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) (REESE-1205273)
to the School of Education at Boston University and the Center for Philosophy
and History of Science at Boston University for a conference titled: How Can
the History and Philosophy of Science Contribute to Contemporary U.S. Science
Teaching? The presentations of the conference speakers and the reports of the
working groups are reviewed. Multiple themes emerged for K-16 education from
the perspective of the history and philosophy of science. Key ones were that:
students need to understand that central to science is argumentation,
criticism, and analysis; students should be educated to appreciate science as
part of our culture; students should be educated to be science literate; what
is meant by the nature of science as discussed in much of the science education
literature must be broadened to accommodate a science literacy that includes
preparation for socioscientific issues; teaching for science literacy requires
the development of new assessment tools; and, it is difficult to change what
science teachers do in their classrooms. The principal conclusions drawn by the
editors are that: to prepare students to be citizens in a participatory
democracy, science education must be embedded in a liberal arts education;
science teachers alone cannot be expected to prepare students to be
scientifically literate; and, to educate students for scientific literacy will
require a new curriculum that is coordinated across the humanities,
history/social studies, and science classrooms.
