Instruction Addressing the Components of Scientific Literacy and Its Relation to Student Outcomes

Abstract

The instruction of 11 seventh-grade life science teachers was observed to determine the extent to which they made linkages between science content and its societal, reasoning, historical, or attitudinal implications. Such linkages were hypothesized to facilitate students’ scientific literacy. Data on students’ perceptions of teacher instruction and scientific literacy outcomes were also gathered. Results showed that (a) teachers rarely or never addressed the noncontent components of science in their presentations and academic work assignments; (b) students perceived content as the prominent focus of their teachers’ instruction; and (c) teachers’ references to the noncontent components were unrelated to growth on all but one student outcome, where the association was negative. Altogether, the results indicate a large gap between scientific literacy as a normative goal of science instruction and current teaching practice. Furthermore, natural levels of reference to the noncontent components may be of such low frequency and quality as to preclude empirical tests of their effectiveness.