Teaching Thinking Skills and Science Knowledge: Two Competing or Two Complementary Goals?

Abstract

Teachers who participated in the TSC professional development courses often expressed the concern quoted above. Although the idea of engaging in higher order thinking appealed to many teachers, they were worried that “wasting” valuable time on teaching thinking might undermine their ability to achieve what they see as their main role as science teachers — to teach science contents. Such a concern does not fit current views about the nature of knowledge and how it is acquired. Perkins (1992) summarizes these views by saying that at a minimum, we want our schools to achieve three goals with regard to the knowledge they teach: retention of knowledge, understanding of knowledge and active use of knowledge. A summary phrase for the goals taken together might be “generative knowledge”—knowledge that does not just sit there, but functions significantly in people’s lives to help them understand and deal with the world.

The thinking project is great. You know what the problem is? It’s the curriculum. If we are going to spend so much time on developing students’ thinking, how will they ever learn all that they are supposed to know?

(From a teacher who participated in a TSC teacher workshop)