21st Century Skills
LEARNING AND INNOVATION
Creativity and Innovation
Science is, by its nature, a creative human endeavor. Scientific and technical innovations are advanced through processes that build on previous knowledge and the application of theory to real world situations. Modern societal and environmental challenges require new and creative scientific and technical approaches, as well as investigations that are more cross-disciplinary.
OUTCOME: Students explain how scientific understanding builds on itself over time, and how advancements in science depend on creative thinking based on the knowledge and innovations of others.
Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
Critical thinking and creative problem solving are the hallmarks of the scientific process. Students can use abilities developed in science to think logically and reasonably about concepts they are learning, and to apply them to their everyday lives. Compelling, and often complex, problems are at the root of many science investigations.
OUTCOME: Students understand that scientific research and experimentation are guided by fundamental concepts, and that investigations are conducted for different reasons, such as exploring new phenomena, building on previous results, comparing different theories, and addressing problems facing society.
Communication
Effective communication is central to scientific research practices. Scientists describe their work so that the research can be duplicated, confirmed, and advanced by others, but also understood by public, non-technical audiences. Scientific thinking is communicated in many different ways including oral, written, mathematical, and graphical representations of ideas and observations.
OUTCOME: Students model the practices of research science by informing others about their work, developing effective explanations, constructing and defending reasoned arguments, and responding appropriately to critical comments about their explanations.
OUTCOME: Students can explain why mathematical equations and formulae are used as representations of scientific phenomena and as a means of communicating scientific ideas.
Collaboration
Science is inherently a collaborative process with 21st Century emphases on interdisciplinary and international research, as well as increasing collaboration between “hard” science and social sciences. A trend toward greater specialization in scientific careers requires researchers to rely on the disciplinary expertise of others as collaborators in their work.
OUTCOME: Students collaborate with peers and experts during scientific discourse and appropriately defend arguments using scientific reasoning, logic, and modeling.
INFORMATION, MEDIA, AND TECHNOLOGY LITERACY
Information Literacy
Being information literate in the context of science involves assessing the credibility, validity, and reliability of information, including its source and the methods through which the information and related data are derived, in order to critically interpret scientific arguments and the application of science concepts.
OUTCOME: Students are able to determine the verifiability of evidence presented in print and electronic resources to evaluate scientific claims.
Media Literacy
Media interpretation of scientific information may be different from the interpretation by the scientific community of that same information. Complexities in science do not always convert well into short media messages.
OUTCOME: Students are able to critique claims that people make when they select only data that support the claim, and ignore data that may contradict it.
Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Literacy
Increased computing capacity enables large-scale data analysis, wide-array instrumentation, remote sensing, and advanced scientific modeling. ICT innovations provide new tools for doing science including gathering and analyzing data and communicating results.
OUTCOME: Students can provide examples of how new technologies make it possible for scientists to extend their research in new ways or to undertake entirely new lines of research, and how the very availability of new technology itself often sparks scientific advances.
LIFE AND CAREER SKILLS
Flexibility & Adaptability
Flexibility and adaptability are valued in science because evidence-based reasoning can change previously held ideas and hypotheses. Over time, changing technologies and expanding scientific understanding create new fields of interdisciplinary study and new ways of doing things.
OUTCOME: Students are able to revise their own scientific ideas and hypotheses based on new evidence or information.
OUTCOME: Students are able to successfully apply their scientific knowledge and scientific reasoning skills to a variety of situations and new areas of study.
Initiative & Self-Direction
As the nature of science is to raise questions, science cultivates initiative and self-direction, and encourages lifelong learning. Curiosity motivates scientific thinkers to make careful observations and try things out as a way to seek answers to questions and to develop solutions to identified problems.
OUTCOME: Students have a variety of opportunities to read/view and interpret scientific information through both popular and professional media in areas that interest them, and are able to discuss their thoughts and questions on these topics informally with peers.
Social & Cross-Cultural Skills
Social and cross-cultural skills are important to science because doing science involves many different kinds of work and engages men and women of all ages, backgrounds, and physical abilities. Science is advanced by synthesizing the different observations, perspectives, opinions, and interpretations of many individuals
OUTCOME: Students can explain how personal, societal, and cultural perspectives influence the scientific questions people pursue, and how people interpret scientific information.
Productivity & Accountability
The high ethical standards and collaborative nature of science promote expectations for accountability and productivity. Scientists use a variety of tools and instruments to enhance their ability to produce and replicate accurate data, and to meet expectations for sharing their findings with the scientific community and general public.
OUTCOME: Students can describe and provide examples of how people may be impacted positively or negatively by the outcomes of scientific studies, technical developments, and scientific approaches applied to real world problems.
Leadership & Responsibility
Science involves a code of conduct that is openly and frequently discussed, with high standards for ethical responsibility around referencing the work of others, drawing conclusions based on evidence, recognizing the potential for bias, avoiding political and financial influence, constructing and conducting safe investigations, and appropriately applying research results and other scientific knowledge.
OUTCOME: Students recognize the role of science in society and can identify potential sources of bias and influence that can affect scientific research and the use and reporting of scientific information.
Interdisciplinary Themes
Global Awareness
Science is an international enterprise that benefits from cross-cultural perspectives and multi-national collaborations. Many pressing issues of scientific study can only be addressed on a global systems scale
Financial, Economic, Business and Entrepreneurial Literacy
Scientific information and the products of science and technology research are increasingly integral to the U.S. and global economies, including new business sectors that are rapidly arising from interdisciplinary research areas (e.g., biotechnology, nanotechnology, alternative energies). Funding basic scientific research and development is an essential precursor to sparking science and technology business innovations. Understanding basic science concepts behind commercial products and services can help inform consumer choices, and the scientific processes of data interpretation and modeling facilitate financial analysis and planning.
Civic Literacy
Scientific literacy is important to making informed civic decisions, as communities increasingly must determine policies and regulations related to environmental health, natural resources management, civil engineering, and human wellness.
Health Literacy
Health literacy is developed through understanding of human biology and the role of humans in global ecosystems, including concepts of basic biology, disease transmission, nutrition, biotechnology, and bioethics. It is important that scientific knowledge and peer-reviewed research inform how health science information is gathered, evaluated, and applied at scales from personal choices to healthcare delivery to federal policymaking.
Environmental Literacy
Essentially the capacity to perceive and interpret the relative health of ecosystems and take appropriate action to maintain, restore, or improve the health of these systems.
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