A sense of wonder, curiosity, exploration beyond the apparent, and persistence, characterises scientific endeavours. School science, however, has been fraught with various struggles to engage with these through meaningful pedagogic practices. The four courses in Science Education, aim to develop an understanding of the nature of scientific knowledge and practices, the issues and ideas concerning the learning and teaching of science, and the study of the conceptual and practical demands of good science teaching. This will lead to the conceptualisation of the school subject drawing from curricular documents as well as pedagogic approaches and methods. The complex interplay between the nature of the discipline as well as appropriate pedagogy considering contextual understanding will be drawn. Students will be guided in conceptualising and planning for teaching at school and will explore the rationale for and development of curricular materials. The understanding developed in these courses will become enriched and nuanced while students undertake and reflect upon their twelve-week fieldwork experience.

In the first course Knowledge in Science, students will be introduced to science: its nature, practices and learning. They will appreciate the scientific worldview, including explanation and justification in science, as well as the relationship between science and values (that mark the distinction between science and non-science, for example). The course Curriculum and Pedagogy of Science will deliberate upon approaches to the development of curriculum and pedagogy in Environmental Studies in the primary years leading to the emergence of specialised science content in the middle and high school curricula. Perspectives from the disciplines of psychology and sociology will be discussed to understand linkages between children, science, society and science education. Examples of different school science curricula in India and other countries, along with discussions on the structure and process of curriculum development will be taken up. In the third course, Pedagogical Content Knowledge in School Science, a core or exemplary idea within each of the sub-disciplines of science will be studied at the upper primary level, with the intent of developing some understanding of its progression at the secondary level. This will lead to the conceptualisation of and preparation for science teaching, considering the stage of school education, curricular demands and contextual considerations. Curricular Material Development in Science will discuss the rationale for curricular materials, its choice, and development in the process of teaching and learning. Since this course will be taken up during students’ fieldwork, they will explore the selection and modification of existing resources, develop new material given
resource-constrained environments, and use these in their own teaching practice.