SCIENCE : MEANING, DEFINITION, NATURE...

 SCIENCE : MEANING & DEFINITION

The word 'science' originates from the Latin noun SCIENTIA, which means KNOWLEDGE. 

Science is a SYSTEMATISED BODY OF KNOWLEDGE, gained through observation and experimentation . 

DEFINITIONS

HUXLEY: Science is an organised commonsense.

GAGNE : Science is what scientists do.

NATURE OF SCIENCE

From the definitions, science exposes its different aspects as,

# SCIENCE - A BODY OF KNOWLEDGE ( comprises of terms, facts, concepts, generalisations, theories and laws) ie PRODUCT aspect of science.

# SCIENCE- A METHOD OF INQUIRY ( it is the process by which knowledge is acquired) ie PROCESS aspect of science.

# SCIENCE - AN ATTITUDE TOWARDS LIFE ( a way of thinking) ie PROCESS aspect of science.

In other words, science is both a PRODUCT and PROCESS.

SCIENCE AS A PROCESS

In science, the ways of gathering information, thinking, measuring, problem solving etc are called process of science.

 Science is more of a process of accumulating and revising knowledge through evidence and logic rather than just a set of facts. 

The scientific process involves asking questions and testing hypotheses through systematic study and experiments conducted under controlled conditions.

The various processes of science are:

^ collection of data 

^ analysis of data

^ synthesis of data

^ evaluation of data

^ application and generalisation to new situation

Process skills in science : Examples

Basic Science Process Skills:

• Observing: Using senses to gather information about objects or events.
• Inferring: Making an educated guess about an object or event based on prior knowledge.
• Measuring: Using standard or non-standard units to describe dimensions.
• Communicating: Describing actions, objects, or events using words or graphics.
• Classifying: Grouping objects or events based on shared properties.
• Predicting: Stating the outcome of a future event based on evidence. 

Integrated Science Process Skills:

• Controlling Variables: Identifying and manipulating variables in an experiment.
• Formulating Hypotheses: Creating testable statements based on observations and prior knowledge.
• Experimenting: Designing and conducting experiments to test hypotheses.
• Interpreting Data: Analyzing and drawing conclusions from data collected during experiments.
• Formulating Models: Creating representations to explain complex phenomena.
• Defining Operationally: Creating clear definitions for concepts based on observable characteristics. 

SCIENCE AS A PRODUCT

INTERDEPENDENCY OF SCIENCE AS A PROCESS AND PRODUCT

The process aspect concerns with what scientists do and product aspect concerns

 with what scientists know. 

The products of science are the result of processing science or doing science.

 The process of  investigation starts from simple observation, leads to further process and 

ultimately to the generalisation of new scientific knowledge.

So, process and product are closely inter-dependent and cannot be overlooked 

in science instruction. If bothe these aspects are not finding due emphasis 

in science instruction, the result will be a handicapped learning outcome.