Ideas about Science
People need more than an understanding of the major science explanations if they are to be informed consumers of scientific knowledge.
They also need to be able to reflect on scientific knowledge itself, including:
- the practices that have produced it;
- the kinds of reasoning that are used in developing a scientific argument; and
- on the issues that arise when scientific knowledge is put to practical use.
The ideas that help us to understand and think critically about these have to be part of a course to develop scientific literacy.
We group them into these broad categories:
- Data and its limitations;
- Correlation and cause;
- Theories;
- The scientific community;
- Risk;
- Making decisions about science and technology.
The introduction to Appendix F in the OCR specification for GCSE Science expands on these categories. It gives a clear portrait of science that we wish to convey to students.
