Bringing Colleagues on Board

Barriers to Teaching Process of Science

• People haven't thought about Process of Science as something that should be taught because it is natural to them.
• Belief that doing science or learning science content leads to understanding of POS. It is counterintuitive that students don't absorb POS through doing science
• Intertia of change
• Content requirements -- too much to teach already
• Anything that isn't science content isn't appropriate in a science class
• Conflict between goals of general education and major
• POS is not well defined, difficult to articulate or agree upon. Lack of agreement among the scientific community.
  
• Not much info on how to teach POS, not much experience teaching POS
  
• Scientists haven't themselves thought explicitly or read about POS
• Lack of confidence in teaching something that is beyond their expertise
  
• Not in texts, not many supporting resources
• Misconception(s) that POS is the linear scientific method
• Belief that having student
• No feedback from students as to whether or not they understand POS
• No evidence that understanding POS improves content learning/success in the major/inclination to study science.
• Belief that the best way to learn POS is to do science- view is that research experiences are the best or only way to learn POS. research findings indicate that doing research does not lead to an understanding POS in the absence of explication.
• Science teacher education does not focus on either POS or research experiences.
• Tenure evaluation and reward system is a barrier to addressing POS. Deans, adminstrators and faculty haven't had experience with teaching POS.
  
• Gap between education specialists, those who study POS and science faculty/teachers. Lack of publication outlet that reaches across this gap.
  
• Lack of agreement on the importance of understanding or articulating POS vs knowing what it is like to be a scientist -- or understanding the relationship between these two.
• Fear of things coming with assessment expectations-- too much to learn at once.
  
• Notion that POS is being imposed on not generated from the scientific community.
• Faculty/teachers not wanting suggestions for what they should teach
• One more fad to reform STEM education