There were two articles in the New York Times today that relate to this post about the nature of science teaching. One was an essay entitled by Dennis Overbye, Elevating Science, Elevating Democracy, and the other was an interview with Peter Agre (President of the AAAS & Nobel Winner in Biology, and major contributor to ScienceDebate2008) by Claudia Dreifus entitled Using a Leadership Role to Put a Human Face on Science.

Overbye’s essay marks the inauguation of Presdient Obama as a new beginning for the scientific community in the USA. Overbey argues that science is one of the most successful human activities of all time in that science have evolved over time to become one of the key ways to search for truth (about the natural world). He also links democracy with science, and visaversa in that each thrives on debate and respect for one another. No subject should off limits to inquiry and discussion in science, and especially in science teaching, topics such as global warming, birth control,stem cell research, abortion, or evolution; topics that science teachers have been either discouraged from teaching or told not to teach by school boards.

The other piece, the interview with Peter Agre, is instructive in the sense that here we have a Nobel winning scientist talking about his consideration of a run for the US Senate race in Minnesota, and his belief in track II diplomacy among scientists in the USA and North Korea.

Science teaching should embody elements of each of these pieces by creating an environment in the classroom that is friendly to open communication and discussion, and helps students understand the nature of science, and how scientific theories and discoveries can serendipodous as in the case of Ogre’s of the discovery of the “plumbing system for cells” (aquaporins).

Many years ago John Denver wrote a song entitled Calypso, which was tribute to Jacques-Yves Cousteau and his oceanographic ship, the Calypso. In the song is a wonderful line “In search of the answers of questions unknown,” which is might be considered as a metaphor for the nature of science. For many years I used this song as a way to discuss with teachers the nature of science and science teaching, and what implications the song might have for their own classrooms. You might click on the song linked above, and read the lyrics, and then ask yourself how this song relates to your own view of science, and science teaching.

Share your thoughts, please.