What are the Aims and Objectives of Teaching General Science?

Aims and Objectives of Teaching General Science

In modern time, it has been recognised properly that science has attained an important place in the school curriculum but it is very important to discuss the aims and objectives for which this subject is being included in the curriculum or being imparted.

About objectives of science education, it can be said that these have broad perspective. For achieving objectives of science teaching, there is a desperate need of programme based on such experiences which can lead the students towards an overall development. Here it is important to mention that overall development includes intellectual, psychological and social growth of the students.

Before discussing about the aims and objectives of science teaching, it is first necessary to understand the concepts of Aims and Objectives properly. Usually people consider both these terms as synonymous of each other because of which their use is done on interchangeable pattern. This is far from reality, as in a deep sense, both of these terms different from each other significantly.

Concepts of Aims and Objectives:

There are two concepts which are found to be inter­related and inter-dependent on each other and they are values and aims. All the human beings aim to attain or acquire something as they consider that thing to be valuable. Aims are the values or advantages which a person will get by achieving certain object or thing.

Through the process of setting the goals and aims, human beings strive to realise the values or advantages inherent in the things or objects. Applying this concept in the area of teaching science this can be said that what can be expected in the form of advantages or values from teaching of science form of foundation of aims of imparting information of science to the students.

Such kind of values or advantages can be taken as broader purposes or targets that can be anticipated roughly through teaching of science. For realisation of such values, there is a need of long term and systematic planning. Not only this, there should be proper efforts by the teacher or personnel indulged in teaching function to make use of the plans in reality.

As aims are broader in nature, thus the task of fulfilling or attaining them becomes quite difficult. To make function of realisation of such aims easy, generally they are divided into some definite and workable units. These definite and workable units are termed as objectives.

Generally objectives are short term in nature and they are considered to be the purposes which can be achieved within the specific time period through the – proper utilisation of certain available resources. Through the expected behavioural changes or learning outcomes, it is possible to evaluate such definite units, i.e., objectives. This function can only be performed by the teacher of the subject.

In this way it can be said that ways and means by which aims can be achieved practically and in definite way, are termed as objectives. Thus, it is possible to divide the aims of teaching science into some definite and specified objectives by which students can be provided with definite learning experiences as a result of which various kinds of desirable changes will take place in their behavioural pattern.

As a result of this, objectives of science teaching can provide certain well defined and short term purposes to the science teacher at the time of imparting information relating to his or her subject or while communicating various kinds of experiences to the students.

Various experts and educationists have provided their views and ideas regarding the objectives of education. It is not possible to discuss views and ideas of all the experts, because of which mention of only Bloom’s views and approach is being made here. Bloom’s approach to taxonomy of the Educational, Objectives was designed with an intention to classify or to categorise goals of educational system in various parts or categories.

Multiple views have been provided by the experts on the issue of objectives of education. There are majority of experts who are of the view that students should understand knowledge, while in view of others, an important objective of education should be to develop an ability within the students by which they can grasp the reality inherent in different concepts.

Not only this, different people have interpreted the same objective in different ways. In the same way, it has become possible for the teachers of different subjects to define and to translate the objectives for which they perform their function properly and accurately with the help of taxonomy of educational objectives designed by the Bloom. Through this, function of exchanging information and developing a well defined and accurate curriculum has also become possible. Through this, teachers and students can play important roles in modifying and bringing positive changes in educational outcomes or results.

It was in an informal meeting of college examiners conducted in the year 1948 by American Psychological Association that the idea to classify the educational objectives was formed for the first time. The need to frame theoretical framework which can be used to exchange ideas and various essential materials among test workers was felt.

It was realised that through such framework, test workers would be able to communicate with other examiners properly and effectively. Experts agreed on the point that educational objectives would be divided into some specific categories, which were Cognitive, Affective and Psychomotor. Majority of the members were of the opinion that objectives should be stated in behavioural form as it was possible to observe and describe them. It was also agreed that it was on the educational, logical and psychological basis that taxonomy should be developed.

Into three parts objectives of education were being divided by the members, which were Cognitive, Affective and Psychomotor domains. Those objectives were included in the cognitive domain which deals with recalling and recognition of knowledge and help in developing the intellectual abilities and skills among the students.

Those objectives by which interests and attitudes of students got developed were given place in affective domain. Objectives included in this domain were defined not in a clear cut manner.

As all human beings possess different kinds of interests and feelings, because of which it was quite difficult to describe behaviour included under this domain. The steps taken to classify the objectives included in this domain are still unsatisfactory.