Course: Foundations of Science Education (695)

Semester: Spring, 2020

ASSIGNMENT No. 2
Q.1 What is programmed learning? Keeping in view the education system in Pakistan, discuss the
possibilities and limitations of employing this method in school science.
The term educational technology has a wide range of application at present. The examples of educational
technology include both hardware and software learning sequences. In the hardware, we find the teaching
machines, the computer-assisted instruction, the learner- controlled instruction and the CCTV. The examples of
software instructional sequences are programmed learning material either in the book form or in a teaching
machine form and various types of self- instructional materials.
Programmed learning is the most appropriate example of the latest concept of instructional technology. It is
educational innovation and auto-instructional device. It is not only a technique for effective learning but also a
successful mechanism of feedback device for the modification of teacher-behaviour.
Programmed learning has arrived on the educational scene mainly due to the laboratory experiments of Prof B.F
Skinner. Prior to Skinner the concept of “Conditioning” as presented by pavlov and Watson and the ‘Law of
effect’ as formulated by Thorndike are the main historical links in the developing chain of important events.
The procedure for shaping behaviour as developed by Skinner was called ‘operant conditioning’ and this finally
becomes the basis for programmed learning technology. Now it has become an established form of technology
of teaching.
According to Prof. Gagne, programmed Learning consists of making teaching models which take into account
the initial and terminal response of the student, are graded in accordance with a detailed schedule and permit
intermediate assessment of the strategies employed.
There are three key words in this definition:
1. The accounting of the initial and terminal response of the learner.
2. Gradation of the teaching models.
3. Evaluation of the instructional strategies used for shaping of terminal behaviour.
Thus, it may be seen that programmed learning has the following three important ingredients.
1. The terminal behaviour is presented step by step using the principle of successive approximation.
2. At every step the learner has to make a response.
3. The response of the learner is reinforced by the knowledge of result.
From the above discussion, it may be noted that, programmed learning is a practice of breaking down a body of
subject matter into its constituent elements and requiring the pupil to master one step before proceeding to the
next It allows for more pupil involvement in the learning process. Since it is a self-institutional device, it is
mostly individualised. In this technique learning is more rapid as well as interesting. It is directed towards
specific objectives.
Basic Concepts of Programmed -Learning:

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 Course: Foundations of Science Education (695)
Semester: Spring, 2020

Programmed learning is based on certain basic concepts which have been derived from experimental work of
Operant Conditioning.
These are as follows:
1. Stimuli & Responses:
A stimulus is that aspect of an environment which guides or controls the behaviour of an individual. It is any
condition, event, or change in environment of an individual which produces a changing behaviour. For example,
a question is asked by a teacher, is a very familiar stimulus in the class-room teaching.
A response is a part of, or a change in a part of behaviour. The example of a response is the’ answer’ given by
students when faced with a question.
2. The Transfer of Stimulus Control:
When the learner’s responses from the stimuli of initial behaviour, get transferred to the appropriate stimuli, this
is called transfer of stimulus control.
3. Prompting:
A prompt is a supplementary stimulus added to the another stimulus for facilitating an errorless response.
4. Gradual Progression:
It means step presentation of material in a logical sequence.
5. Reinforcement:
Generalisation means responding to similar elements in different leaning situations. Discrimination is
differentiating between two or more stimuli and making an appropriate response.
7. Extinction:
Extinction means weakening of a response. When a response occurs and remains unreinforced, the response
does not become firmly connected to the stimuli present
8. Concept Formation:
It is a process of generalization within certain specific limits and discrimination of one stimulus from another
within that limit
9. Successive Approximation:
It means approaching the terminal behaviour in a step by step sequence by a cumulative effort on the part of the
learner.
10. A frame or a Didule:
It is a unit of subject matter which the learner handles at one time. It has three parts: stimulus (stimule),
response (respule) and feed-back (corrule).
11. Operant Span:
It is the number of responses that a student can handle in one frame or didule.
12. Terminal behaviour:

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 Course: Foundations of Science Education (695)
Semester: Spring, 2020

The behaviour that the student is expected to have acquired at the end of a programme sequence is called
terminal behaviour.
Principles of programme- Learning:
The principles of programming imply the rules and systems by which a programme is constructed.
The following principles are considered to be the basic ones for programmed learning:
1. Objective specification:
Which means identifying the terminal behaviours that the learner will be able to perform when he has
completed the programme.
2. Small Step Size:
Which involves dividing the information to be communicated into small units.
3. Overt Responding:
It means that pupils must act on each unit of information by means of exercises provided to assimilate it.
4. Success or Minimal Error:
This means that error and failure must be avoided at all costs because they are construed as obstacles to
learning.
5. Immediate feedback:
In order to ensure success and satisfaction, the pupil must know that his action is correct.
6. Logical, graded progress:
It implies two things-relevance of content and its graded presentation.
7. Self Pacing:
It is used for programme development and validation.
Types of Programmed – Learning:
Various forms of programmed learning modules have been reported. This includes software which is mainly
represented by linear, branching and mathetics. The other form is hardware which is represented by Learner
Controlled Instruction (LCI) Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) and teaching machines.
Linear programme is one in which every learner follows the identical sequence, that is, the frames or didules are
encountered in a single, pre-arranged order. The proponent of this type of programme style is B.E Skinner
(1958).
Branching programme is one where the particular response emitted on a frame or didule determines the
alternative frame/ frames, the learner proceeds to next. The proponent of this programme type is Norman
Crowder (1960)
Mathetics is one in which there is the systematic application of reinforcement theory to the analysis and
construction of complex repertoires. This also represents mastery of subject matter.

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 Course: Foundations of Science Education (695)
Semester: Spring, 2020

In it, the behaviour is generally classified as in involving discrimination, generalisation, and chaining. This style
is considered to be an extension of the linear model of programming. The exponent of this style is Thomas E
Gilbert (1962).
Computer-assisted Instruction is one where use of the Computer as a highly adaptive teaching machine weakens
the distinction between software and hardware. This type of instructional module was developed by Stolurow
and Davis (1965).
Steps in Programming:
1. Topic Selection:
The programmes should select the most familiar topic; otherwise he has to take the help of a subject expert.
2. Content Outline:
After topic selection, its outline may be prepared which cover all the materials, one plans, to teach. For this
programme one has to refer to examine relevant books and materials.
3. Instructional Objectives:
Instructional Objectives must be formulated which involve both task description and task analysis. The former
is the description of terminal behaviours which the learner is expected to achieve and the latter is the series of
component behaviours that he is required to acquire in the process of achieving terminal behaviour.
4. Entry Skill:
The learner should have some pre-reqisite ability and skill to understand properly the new programme. This
background experience is called the entry skill and a suitable programme cannot ne prepared without proper
assessment of the entry skill.
5. Presentation of the Material:
Suitable format is to be decided for presenting the material from the educational point of view. Then the
programmed material should be presented in a sequence of frames arranged as steps towards terminal
behaviour.
6. Student Participation:
On analysis of the terminal behaviour one will find the critical responses of the students.
7. Terminal Behaviour Test:
The effect of programme can be ascertained by administering the terminal behaviour test. It is also known as
performance assessment. This provides feedback to the programme and shows the effectiveness of the
instructional materials.
8. Revision:
Lastly the programme may be revised on the basis of feedback. The instructional materials may be edited and
modified according to the needs and requirements of the target audience.

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 Course: Foundations of Science Education (695)
Semester: Spring, 2020

Programmed Learning is a self-instructional device. A rapid learner can cover the material quickly and slow
learner may proceed on his own pace. It helps the learner to teach himself at any place and pace according to his
convenience. The analytical thinking and self-direction of learners are also promoted through the use of
programmed learning materials.
Q.2 a) What are the main tenets of constructivist view of learning?
Constructivism is not a unitary theoretical position; rather, it is a continuum.  The assumptions that
underlie this continuum vary along several dimensions and have resulted in the definition and support for
multiple types of constructivism.  Typically, this continuum is divided into three broad categories: Cognitive
Constructivism, Social Constructivism, and Radical Constructivism.
Cognitive Constructivism.  Cognitive constructivism represents one end, or extreme, of the
constructivist continuum and is typically associated with information processing and its reliance on the
component processes of cognition.  While emerging from the four, previously mentioned, epistemological
tenets, cognitive constructivism only emphasizes the first two tenets, that is, that knowledge acquisition is an
adaptive process and results from active cognizing by the individual learner.  These particular epistemological
emphases lead to defining principles that maintain the external nature of knowledge and the belief that an
independent reality exists and is knowable to the individual.  Knowledge then, from the cognitive constructivist
position, is the result of the accurate internalization and (re)construction of external reality.  The results of this
internalization process are cognitive processes and structures that accurately correspond to processes and
structures that exist in the real world.  This claim, that reality is knowable to the individual, differentiates
cognitive constructivism from both social and radical constructivism. 
This process of internalization and (re)construction of external reality is learning.  That is, learning is the
process of building accurate internal models or representations that mirror or reflect external structures that
exist in the “real” world.  This perspective on learning focuses on (a) the procedures or processes of learning,
(b) how what is learned is represented or symbolized in the mind, and (c) how these representations are
organized within the mind.
            Cognitive constructivism, as a learning theory, is often considered a "weak" form of constructivism,
within the constructivist community, since it only embraces two of the four epistemological tenets.  "Weak" in
this case is not a value judgement, such as better or worse, but rather merely an indication of adherence to
foundational assumptions.  Thus , knowledge construction is considered primarily a technical process of
creating mental structures, but has little bearing on the nature of the subjective knowledge within the mind. 
However, cognitive constructivism, and its historical association with information processing, has led to a
multitude of significant empirical findings regarding learning, memory, and cognition, including schema theory,
working memory models, computational models of learning and memory, and neurological models of brain
function.  In addition, each of these theoretical advances has led to successful instructional applications, such as

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 Course: Foundations of Science Education (695)
Semester: Spring, 2020

the use of advanced organizers, concept maps, teaching for transfer, elaborative practice, teaching for
automaticity, and the use reading strategies (e.g., SQ3R; Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review) and problem
solving strategies (e.g., IDEAL; Identify problems, Define goals, Explore strategies, Act, Learn). Thus, while
the cognitive constructivist perspective has proved to be quite beneficial to the understanding of learning and
instruction, it remains the "black sheep" of the constructivist community since its focus does not include the
subjective nature of knowledge.
Radical constructivism.  Radical constructivism represents the opposite end of the constructivist
continuum from cognitive constructivism. Radical constructivism fully embraces the first three epistemological
tenets, that is, that knowledge acquisition is an adaptive process that results from active cognizing by the
individual learner, rendering an experientially based mind, not a mind that reflects some external reality.  In
addition, there is a current movement within radical constructivism to more fully accept the fourth
epistemological tenet, thus recognizing social interactions as a source of knowledge (see Larochelle, Bednarz,
& Garrison, 1998).  These particular epistemological emphases leads to defining principles that maintain
the internal nature of knowledge and the idea that while an external reality may exist, it is unknowable to the
individual (von Glasersfeld, 1990, 1996).  Reality is unknowable since our experience with external forms is
mediated by our senses, and our senses are not adept at rendering an accurate representation of these external
forms (e.g., objects, social interactions).  Therefore, while knowledge is constructed from experience, that
which is constructed is not, in any discernible way, an accurate representation of the external world or reality
(von Glasersfeld, 1990, 1995).
The adaptive nature of knowledge underscores that knowledge is not objective "truth," that is, internal
knowledge does not match external reality, but rather is a viable model of experience (von Glasersfeld, 1995). 
These viable models are created within an individual, influenced by the context within which an activity was
experienced, and relative to the accomplishment of a particular goal.  Thus, according to Staver (1995),
"knowledge is knowledge of the knower, not knowledge of the external world; improving knowledge means
improving its viability or fit in, but not match with, an external world" (p. 1126).
An evaluation of radical constructivism results in radical constructivism being considered a "strong"
form of constructivism, as it fully embraces three of the constructivist epistemological tenets and at least
partially embraces the fourth.  That is, radical constructivism is concerned with both the construction of mental
structures, the position of cognitive constructivists, and the construction of personal meaning.  In this sense,
radical constructivism involves a greater degree of construction than does cognitive constructivism, involving
two planes of construction, structure and meaning, rather than only one, structure.
Social constructivism.  Social constructivism lies somewhere between the transmission of knowable
reality of the cognitive constructivists, and the construction of a personal and coherent reality of the radical
constructivists.  Social constructivism, unlike cognitive and radical constructivism, emphasizes all four of the

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 Course: Foundations of Science Education (695)
Semester: Spring, 2020

previously mentioned epistemological tenets.  These particular epistemological emphases lead to defining
principles that maintain the social nature of knowledge, and the belief that knowledge is the result of social
interaction and language usage, and thus is a shared, rather than an individual, experience (Prawatt & Floden,
1994).  In addition, this social interaction always occurs within a socio-cultural context, resulting in knowledge
that is bound to a specific time and place (Gergen, 1995; Vygotsky, 1978).  This position is exemplified by
Bakhtin (1984), "truth is not to be found inside the head of an individual person, it is born between
people collectively searching for truth, in the process of their dialogic interaction" (p. 110).  Truth, in this case,
is neither the objective reality of the cognitive constructivists nor the experiential reality of the radical
constructivist, but rather is a socially constructed and agreed upon truth resulting from "co-participation in
cultural practices" (Cobb & Yackel, 1996, p. 37). 
Like radical constructivism, social constructivism would be considered a "strong" form of
constructivism, emphasizing all four of the epistemological tenets.  However, social constructivists generally
downplay the mental construction of knowledge (not because social constructivists do not believe in mental
construction but because it is seen as relatively trivial) and emphasize the co-construction of meaning within a
social activity.  In this sense, social constructivism is more concerned with meaning than structure.
b) Explain Piaget’s theory of learning and its implications for teaching science.
Piaget’s theory of cognitive development is a comprehensive theory about the nature and development of
human intelligence. Piaget believed that one’s childhood plays a vital and active role in a person’s
development. Piaget’s idea is primarily known as a developmental stage theory. The theory deals with
the nature of knowledge itself and how humans gradually come to acquire, construct, and use it. To
Piaget, cognitive development was a progressive reorganization of mental processes resulting from biological
maturation and environmental experience. He believed that children construct an understanding of the world
around them, experience discrepancies between what they already know and what they discover in their
environment, then adjust their ideas accordingly. Moreover, Piaget claimed that cognitive development is at the
center of the human organism, and language is contingent on knowledge and understanding acquired through
cognitive development. Piaget’s earlier work received the greatest attention. Many parents have been
encouraged to provide a rich, supportive environment for their child’s natural propensity to grow and learn.
Child-centered classrooms and “open education” are direct applications of Piaget’s views. Despite its huge
success, Piaget’s theory has some limitations that Piaget recognized himself: for example, the theory supports
sharp stages rather than continuous development (decal age).
Piaget noted that reality is a dynamic system of continuous change and, as such, is defined in reference to the
two conditions that define dynamic systems. Specifically, he argued that reality involves transformations and
states. Transformations refer to all manners of changes that a thing or person can undergo. States refer to the
conditions or the appearances in which things or persons can be found between transformations. For example,

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 Course: Foundations of Science Education (695)
Semester: Spring, 2020

there might be changes in shape or form (for instance, liquids are reshaped as they are transferred from one
vessel to another, and similarly humans change in their characteristics as they grow older), in size (for example,
a series of coins on a table might be placed close to each other or far apart), or in placement or location in space
and time (e.g., various objects or persons might be found at one place at one time and at a different place at
another time). Thus, Piaget argued, if human intelligence is to be adaptive, it must have functions to represent
both the transformational and the static aspects of reality. He proposed that operative intelligence is responsible
for the representation and manipulation of the dynamic or transformational aspects of reality, and that figurative
intelligence is responsible for the representation of the static aspects of reality.
Operative intelligence is the active aspect of intelligence. It involves all actions, overt or covert, undertaken in
order to follow, recover, or anticipate the transformations of the objects or persons of interest. Figurative
intelligence is the more or less static aspect of intelligence, involving all means of representation used to retain
in mind the states (i.e., successive forms, shapes, or locations) that intervene between transformations. That is, it
involves perception, imitation, mental imagery, drawing, and language. Therefore, the figurative aspects of
intelligence derive their meaning from the operative aspects of intelligence, because states cannot exist
independently of the transformations that interconnect them. Piaget stated that the figurative or the
representational aspects of intelligence are subservient to its operative and dynamic aspects, and therefore, that
understanding essentially derives from the operative aspect of intelligence.
At any time, operative intelligence frames how the world is understood and it changes if understanding is not
successful. Piaget stated that this process of understanding and change involves two basic
functions: assimilation and accommodation. Through his study of the field of education, Piaget focused on two
processes, which he named assimilation and accommodation. To Piaget, assimilation meant integrating external
elements into structures of lives or environments, or those we could have through experience. Assimilation is
how humans perceive and adapt to new information. It is the process of fitting new information into pre-existing
cognitive schemas. Assimilation in which new experiences are reinterpreted to fit into, or assimilate with, old
ideas. It occurs when humans are faced with new or unfamiliar information and refer to previously learned
information in order to make sense of it. In contrast, accommodation is the process of taking new information in
one’s environment and altering pre-existing schemas in order to fit in the new information. This happens when
the existing schema (knowledge) does not work, and needs to be changed to deal with a new object or
situation. Accommodation is imperative because it is how people will continue to interpret new concepts,
schemas, frameworks, and more. Piaget believed that the human brain has been programmed
through evolution to bring equilibrium, which is what he believed ultimately influences structures by the
internal and external processes through assimilation and accommodation.
Piaget’s understanding was that assimilation and accommodation cannot exist without the other. They are two
sides of a coin. To assimilate an object into an existing mental schema, one first needs to take into account or

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 Course: Foundations of Science Education (695)
Semester: Spring, 2020

accommodate to the particularities of this object to a certain extent. For instance, to recognize (assimilate) an
apple as an apple, one must first focus (accommodate) on the contour of this object. To do this, one needs to
roughly recognize the size of the object. Development increases the balance, or equilibration, between these two
functions. When in balance with each other, assimilation and accommodation generate mental schemas of the
operative intelligence. When one function dominates over the other, they generate representations which belong
to figurative intelligence.
Q.3 “Developments in science and technology has profound impact on our society”. Discuss in detail keeping
in view social, cultural and economic aspects.
Technology affects the way individuals communicate, learn, and think. It helps society and determines how
people interact with each other on a daily basis. Technology plays an important role in society today. It has
positive and negative effects on the world and it impacts daily lives. We are living in an era where technological
advances are common. The internet and cell phones are some examples. However, with technological advances,
there’s a downside to it all.
One aspect of technology that has had a great impact on society is how it affects learning. It’s made learning
more interactive and collaborative, this helps people better engage with the material that they are learning and
have trouble with. Also, it gets you better access to resources. With the creation of the internet, it gives us
access to information at a twenty-four-hour rate and you have access to almost anything online. In addition, it
allows students to get work done easier. Students can take quizzes and exams more easily, and teachers being
able to hold online classes can be very effective. It also  expands the boundaries of the classroom, encouraging
self-paced learning. People can access learning through YouTube and social media. This helps students learn
better than sitting down for lectures and reading from textbooks. These technological advancements made
learning more fun and convenient.
Another way technology has impacted society is through communication, how we talk and communicate with
one another worldwide. Technology brought many new methods of electronic communication. For example,
there are emails, social networking, you can facetime a person that lives on the other side of the world, and
here’s video conferencing where you can have conferences electronically. Lastly, the technological
advancements that were made within the health industry have helped keep people safe and healthy. There are
many innovate apps on phones that although people to watch their weight, how many calories they intake, heart
rate and other health properties any time of the day. There’s increased accessibility of treatment available,
there’s the change in healthcare that adds benefits for the elderly, and hospitals using advanced technology
within their surgical rooms.
However, studies show that mobile communication affects people in a negative way when it comes to being
sociable and making face-to-face contact. Mobile technology can decrease communication and relations
between people. There’s less personal time, where you find that you don’t enough time for yourself because

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you’re always in contact with someone. Also, it can be distracting from your schoolwork. There is also loss of
privacy, because anyone can find you anywhere, at any time of the day. In conclusion, all of these things impact
how humans act today. Without technological advancements, our way of life would not be as complex.
Technological influences shape the way humans act today.
Humanity is at a crossroads. Present social science theory and public policy are no longer adequate to meet the
multi-dimensional challenges posed by rising social aspirations, unemployment and inequality, wasteful
patterns of production and consumption, globalization of markets, technological advances, demographic
changes, and ecological constraints. Incremental changes in public policy based on the present conceptual
framework will only aggravate problems that are already acute. At the same time, the resources and capabilities
of global society have never been greater than they are today. Scientific knowledge, technological
developments, infrastructure and productive capabilities, educated and skilled human resources, entrepreneurial
skills, commercial organization and a rapidly expanding global social network offer unprecedented
opportunities for rapid social progress.
Our problems arise from a mismatch between resources and opportunities: social science theory that is divorced
from real world functioning, financial markets that siphon off funds from investment in the real economy,
capital and technology-intensive manufacturing strategies that eliminate labor resulting in higher levels of
unemployment and falling consumer purchasing power, educational systems that fail to impart the knowledge
and skills required by the labor market, energy production technologies that threaten the ecosystem, mispricing
of natural resources leading to overexploitation and waste, national level institutions incapable and unwilling of
coping with global level problems.
A solution can be found to every one of these problems, if only we are willing to think outside conventional
boundaries. There is no dearth of opportunity. The limits we confront are limits to our thought. What is needed
is to approach the challenges and the opportunities comprehensively and evolve an integrated package of
solutions. The concept of efficient market theory to maximize return to investors has to be replaced by a
theoretical framework that maximizes the efficiency of society as a whole by the full utilization of all available
social resources to improve human welfare and well-being.
This Forum seeks to formulate a comprehensive package of solutions to mobilize the enormous untapped
potentials of human and social capital based on far-sighted, ecologically sustainable economic policies;
advanced delivery systems for higher education and vocational training; innovations in the application of
science and technology; and new types of social networks and industrial clusters; together with strategies to
release and direct social aspirations and energies into new fields of creativity.
 Human-Centered Social Framework/Human Capital: This theme combines the focus on new economic
theory and human capital with the role of entrepreneurship and innovation, placing them in a wider
theoretical context. Human Capital is a central unifying theme of the Academy’s work and also a central

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strategy for breaking out of the narrow conceptions and stifling economic policies that prevail now. The
theme also focuses on the catalytic role of the individual in social change, exemplified in economy by the
role of entrepreneurs. It also encompasses the issue of human rights and economic rights, including the right
to employment.
 The Network Society: This theme focuses on Social Capital and is a complement to the one on Human
Capital. Organization is a determinant of social productivity and human welfare. The theme here is the
creative role of organization in social development, the enormous productive potential generated by
advances in social organization and the opportunities to utilize innovative organizational models and
delivery systems to accelerate social progress in business, education, scientific research and governance.
Traditional economic theory and contemporary preoccupation with fiscal and monetary policy ignore the
tremendous potential for organizational innovation as a stimulus to social change. A comprehensive strategy
for addressing social problems needs to give sufficient prominence to this aspect.
 Economic theory and real economy: The Newtonian view of economics, in particular, and social science
in general ignores important theoretical advances in the physical sciences and critical aspects of economic
reality. This theme could actually encompass a wide range of issues related to economic theory in an
intellectually challenging manner which would include contributions from non-economists.
 Re-valuing Nature: Current theories based on the efficiency of markets overlook the gross inefficiency of
economic systems that seek to maximize return to investors by wastefully consuming natural resources or
grossly undervaluing and underutilizing human capital. Economic thought and practice are reoriented to
take into account the real value of natural and human resources to present and future generations and
formulate effective public policies designed to optimize the efficiency of the overall social system. This
theme should re-examine the concept of economic value and its role in promoting sustainable human
welfare and well-being. Energy plays the central role in society’s relationship with the environment: this
theme can also highlight the potential for new and alternative energy sources.
 The Global Workplace or Global Employment Challenge: Like climate change, the challenge has
become global and requires a wider understanding of the multiple factors affecting job creation and
retention, including trade, demography, aging, migration, technological development, tax policies, Internet,
global sourcing, production strategies, outsourcing, resource depletion, etc. The notion of regional and
global economies raised here has direct relevance to the Euro zone and EU.
 Recognizing Talents and Genius -- education for the 21st Century: A comprehensive social strategy
must give a central place to the role of education and training in preparing youth for productive engagement
in a rapidly changing and increasingly complex and sophisticated world. The Internet is set to become the
main delivery system for expansion of the global educational system to meet the rapidly expanding needs of
developing countries. It also has an essential role to play in vocational training to close the gap between the

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need and availability of skilled individuals in the workforce. One of the challenges will be to prepare youth
for entrepreneurship and self-employment.
 Sharing Knowledge, Innovation & Creativity for Human Welfare: This theme covers the broad issue of
how to make available to industrial applications the existing large amount of scientific knowledge and
technical innovations. Particular emphasis will be given to the development of a sustainable human welfare,
including the field of health care, which is one of the world’s fastest growing industries, accounting for
more than ten percent of the economy in most developed nations. The general awareness is increasing on
this topic, but the management of S&T needs to develop instruments and a consensus to promote data
sharing and economic exploitation in developing countries.
 Freedom and equality: This theme, that should address the lack of balance between developed and
developing countries, is very much in keeping with the programmes of the International Higher Education
and Research Centers operating in Trieste, often in close collaboration with UNESCO, such as the
International Centre for Theoretical Physics, which hosted the Forum.
Q.4 Development in science and technology is a key to national development. Discuss.
The approaches recommended by advocates of deeper learning are not new, and historically these
instructional strategies have been described under a variety of terms. Until now, however, they have been
rarely practiced within the nation’s high schools:
 Case-based learning helps students master abstract principles and skills through the analysis of real-
world situations;
 Multiple, varied representations of concepts provide different ways of explaining complicated things,
showing how those depictions are alternative forms of the same underlying ideas;
 Collaborative learning enables a team to combine its knowledge and skills in making sense of a
complex phenomenon;
 Apprenticeships involve working with a mentor who has a specific real-world role and, over time,
enables mastery of their knowledge and skills;
 Self-directed, life-wide, open-ended learning is based on student’s passions and connected to students’
identities in ways that foster academic engagement, self-efficacy, and tenacity;
 Learning for transfer emphasizes that the measure of mastery is application in life rather than simply
in the classroom;
 Interdisciplinary studies help students see how differing fields can complement each other, offering a
richer perspective on the world than any single discipline can provide;
 Personalized learning ensures that students receive instruction and supports that are tailored to their
needs and responsive to their interests;

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 Connected learning encourages students to confront challenges and pursue opportunities that exist
outside of their classrooms and campuses; and
 Diagnostic assessments are embedded into learning and are formative for further learning and
instruction.
These entail very different teaching strategies than the familiar, lecture-based forms of instruction
characteristic of industrial-era schooling, with its one-size-fits-all processing of students. Rather than
requiring rote memorization and individual mastery of prescribed material, they involve in-depth,
differentiated content; authentic diagnostic assessment embedded in instruction; active forms of learning,
often collaborative; and learning about academic subjects linked to personal passions and infused throughout
life.
By 2025, a full-fledged DTP will serve three major functions: First, a DTP is a networked digital portal that
includes interactive interfaces for both teachers and students. To use a DTP, each student and the teacher have
a laptop, or some equivalent computational device, connected to the network. Teachers use the administrative
tools of the DTP to create lessons and assignments for students and to manage and evaluate the work the
students do. These capabilities include specific assessment tools, allowing teachers to create tests and other
types of measures, assign them to students, and review the results. The teacher tools also provide timely
reports on student progress and on their remedial needs, and the tools for students allow them to complete
assignments and assessments. More important, these tools allow for both individual and group work: Some
students can work independently on individualized assignments, while others work collaboratively on shared
assignments.
Second, a DTP provides the content of the curriculum and assessments for teaching and learning in digital
form. This content includes reading material, instructional strategies, exercises, assessments, manipulative
activities, special-purpose applications, multimedia materials, and any other digital content and assessments
that the teacher wishes to add.
Third, a DTP supports real-time, teacher-directed interaction in the classroom. The system includes special
tools for managing classroom activity, monitoring progress on assignments, displaying student work to the
entire class through an interactive whiteboard or similar device, managing group discussions, and
coordinating large- and small-group activities. In short, the DTP is an assistant for all the types of
instructional activities a teacher might wish to implement.
The deeper-learning capabilities of a DTP function effectively in the give-and-take atmosphere of a STEM
classroom. The teacher can shift quickly from large-group demonstrations, to small-group activities, to
individualized practice and assessment. Students move seamlessly from using their devices for these activities
to ignoring their computers and participating in dialogues. The teacher is central in guiding student activities
through giving assignments, mentoring individuals, and leading discussions.

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 Course: Foundations of Science Education (695)
Semester: Spring, 2020

Q.5 Discuss the state of science education in Pakistan. Keeping in view constructivism as a philosophy of
science and psychology of learning what changes you would suggest for teaching and learning science at
secondary level?
One way to assess a nation’s state of science would be to gauge the state of its scientists and ascertain whether
its institutions are promoting a rational mindset in society  by allowing the benefits of science to trickle down to
the masses.
If we define science as the critical enterprise of building and organising empirically verifiable knowledge that is
reliably applied for problem-solving in the natural world, Pakistan is clearly lagging behind, and the fault lies in
its leadership and educational system.
This fact was symptomised by the lack of critical thinking some of our leading scientists, the media and
government authorities reflected when they entertained engineer Agha Waqar’s fraudulent claim that a car
could be powered using distilled water as fuel. A former director-general of the Kahuta Research Laboratories
said he had done his research and that there was no fraud in the water-car claim. He even suggested Agha
Waqar have this idea patented. The chairman of the Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research
(PCSIR) upped the ante by stating that the idea was workable and that his organisation had already worked
along these lines, while a former project director of the Integrated Missile Programme also said that this idea is
absolutely workable. (It took him a few weeks to start talking about the possibility that Agha Waqar might have
hidden calcium carbide in his water kit that, when mixed with water, produces acetylene which is used as fuel).
On the other hand, a former chief science officer of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission  and rector of
Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute clearly stated his lack of confidence in the idea. But, the fact that some leading
Pakistani scientists were endorsing Agha Waqar’s perpetual-motion machine, and that engineering universities
were extending invitations to him, casts a shadow on the state of science in Pakistan.
Trashing the claim of water as a primary fuel does not even require an undergraduate understanding of
thermodynamics; common sense should suffice. Were the honourable scientists actually unaware of the erosion
of their scientific bases, or were they willing to risk their reputation to cater to the pseudo-nationalist tastes
prevalent in society?
Shockingly, the Pakistani media, in their usually misplaced patriotic zeal, equated Agha Waqar with Dr
Hoodbhoy and Professor Atta ur Rahman, who vehemently opposed his unscientific ideas, citing the well-
established laws of nature. The TV anchors, who conducted an intense debate on the potential of Waqar’s
discovery to overturn the nation’s fortunes, lacked the scientific training needed to simplify the ongoing
dialogue for the audience.
Agha Waqar was being presented as an underdog prodigy who was fighting the jacketed scientific elite in order
to deliver to the underprivileged masses. Hamid Mir even praised Agha Waqar by quoting the omniscient
Iqbal: “Tundee-a-baad-e-mukhalif say na ghabra ae uqaab, Ye to chalti hai tujhe ooncha uranay kay leay” (Fear

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 Course: Foundations of Science Education (695)
Semester: Spring, 2020

not the severity of the opposing winds; the faster they blow the higher you will fly). So, thanks to the Pakistani
media, Agha Waqar came across as more qualified than the two distinguished professors — a sad day for
science in Pakistan. Pakistan’s only Nobel laureate in physics, Professor Abdus Salam, must have turned in his
desecrated grave.
Unfortunately, with Pakistan being a security state, its science and technology has been subservient to its
politics and national defence. Consequently, most research institutions in Pakistan are geared toward
nuclear/high-energy physics and space/military technologies. In fact, the contributions of nearly all those
Pakistani scientists who have been honoured with the most prestigious civilian awards (Nishan-e-Imtiaz, Hilal-
e-Imtiaz and Sitara-e-Imtiaz) have been in these areas.  Barring a few exceptions, most Pakistani science and
technology has been a by-product of sustaining its defence infrastructure. Though Pakistani researchers in
nuclear physics and missile technology were the logical beneficiaries of this martial approach toward science,
the key sectors for national socio-economic development (energy, healthcare, environment and civic
infrastructure) have largely been ignored. As a result, we always hear about how Pakistan is faring better than
India in the development of nuclear weapons and missile technology. But, what we don’t hear is how India
produces twice as much electricity per capita compared to Pakistan, with far-reaching consequences for the
economy and the common man’s relief.
Even though successive Pakistani governments have declared science a national priority since the 1960s, and
our scientists have won prestigious international honours, a lack of scientific priorities driven by socio-
economic development is inhibiting Pakistan from translating its scientific resources into growth and prosperity.
It is time for civil society in Pakistan to demand that technical information about their scientific concerns be
made publicly available. They need to keep an eye on the mega projects such as the Thar Coal Power Project
(TCPP) and the K2 and K3 nuclear power plant projects to ensure that they are indeed in the people’s best
interests and not boondoggles designed to generate windfalls for influential quarters.
It is not reassuring to learn that the scientific leadership responsible for the technical feasibility of the TCPP had
failed to get the thermodynamics of Agha Waqar’s water-car right. Likewise, the Environmental Impact
Assessment (EIA) for the K2 and K3 nuclear plants was approved without the mandatory public hearing.
Furthermore, officials managing the K2 and K3 nuclear power plants confused the Chinese ACP-1000 reactor
design, planned for the Karachi site, with the AP-1000 reactor designed by the US-based Westinghouse
company, on national television. So, a civilian technical oversight is critical to ensuring scientific rigour and
transparency in such projects.
The Pakistani media has also hurt science by conditioning its audience to irrational ways of looking at events
and by creating undeserving heroes. Their unscientific ways of conducting debates have adversely affected
science by creating intellectual chaos in Pakistan as against rational problem-solving. These debates are mostly
dictated by unquestionable religiosity and patriotic zeal, and not by any rational thought process.

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 Course: Foundations of Science Education (695)
Semester: Spring, 2020

This pernicious trend in Pakistan is rooted in the retrogressive educational system General Zia-ul-Haq instituted
when he appointed people with fundamentalist leanings to administer universities and research institutions as a
part of his radicalisation agenda. Mazhar Mahmood Qurashi and Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood were two such
pioneers, who undertook the glorification of pseudoscience in an attempt to reconcile religion and science in the
curriculum and research. They played a major role in radicalising science in Pakistan by publishing abstract
theories about various religious phenomena and events. Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood published work on the
‘mechanics of doomsday,’ as well as on ‘harnessing the jinn power’ to solve the energy crisis. A winner of
theSitara-e-Imtiaz and a gold medal from the Pakistan Academy of Sciences, Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood was
eventually arrested for his suspected connections with the Taliban in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks in the US.
Even a generation after Zia, the radicalisation of scientific education is still hurting. Dr Mujahid Kamran, the
vice chancellor of Punjab University, the oldest and most prestigious institution in Pakistan, who is a professor
of theoretical physics, is a leading conspiracy theorist. He claims that the US and British governments are
controlled by a cabal of elite bankers that sponsor terrorist attacks in Pakistan and want to control human beings
by putting microchips in their brains. Another prominent scientist in Pakistan subscribed to the thought that the
High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP), an Alaska-based US atmospheric research
programme, could cause earthquakes by experimenting with the ionosphere using radio waves. Without
identifying the physical mechanism used by its 3.6 MW transmitter, he speculated that HAARP had the ability
to bring about continental-scale weather changes and might have caused the devastating floods in Pakistan. The
problem with the theory is that it would simply violate the law of conservation of energy that even Albert
Einstein’s theory of general relativity cannot violate.
Increasing resource allocations for science and technology would not be enough to energise and sustain a
scientific culture. More fundamental changes are required to promote a scientific attitude and enlightened
behaviour than building new ‘state-of-the-art’ universities and putting satellites into orbit. Embracing science
will require giving up entrenched prejudices, promoting the freedom of thought and speech and showing a
commitment to life-long learning, instead of just following a career-centric, money-making trajectory.
Science should not be reduced to imparting technical knowledge to students without any regard to developing
their critical thinking skills and cultivating higher scientific ideals. Teachers need to ingrain in their students the
idea that scientific methods are meant to be inherently adaptive and self-critical, and their sole objective is the
pursuit of reality, regardless of biases.
In order to promote a culture of rational sciences in Pakistan, we need to educate ourselves about the
generational debate over natural philosophy that took place in the 11th and 12th centuries between Ibn Sina
(Avicenna), Al-Ghazali (Algazel), and Ibn Rushd (Averroes). We need to overturn the conclusion of that debate
that was exacerbated by Ibn Taymiyyah and has been hurting the rational sciences in Muslim societies over the
last 800 years. We also need to teach our children that the Golden Age of Islam in the 9th-12th centuries in

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 Course: Foundations of Science Education (695)
Semester: Spring, 2020

Baghdad and Andalusia, that brought about major advances in mathematics, science, medicine and architecture,
was also its most secular. They need to learn that, like today, even back then there were fundamentalist forces
that constantly threatened the leading Muslim scientists and philosophers. They burned Ibn Rushd’s books and
exiled him. But, Ibn Rushd’s influence, along with that of Ibn Sina on Rene Descartes and Isaac Newton, has
significantly contributed to the scientific progress made by western civilisation. On the other hand, Muslim
societies have descended into an intellectual abyss by following Al-Ghazali’s incoherent narrative.
In Pakistan, more than 20,000 religious seminaries are churning out millions of graduates who have no
knowledge of mathematics and science that could help them adopt a decent profession.  Some graduates end up
joining terrorist groups and become their cannon fodder, while many others go around society spreading their
virulent message. So, an increased emphasis on scientific education is also a survival tip for Pakistan in fighting
terrorism.
Pakistan also needs to reduce the bureaucratic influence on its scientific research by making it independent of
the various government ministries and the Pakistan Academy of Sciences, whose role should be confined to
policy-making and vision-development. Because of government control, academic research in Pakistan is
unknown to the international scientific community. According to an analysis, published by Dr Pervez
Hoodbhoy, of the scientific  papers and their citations over a 10-year period, the scientific research activities in
Pakistan are much lower than that in many other developing countries, with significantly lower populations.
Dr Hoodbhoy has also been one of the lone voices decrying the assembly line of doctoral candidates walking
out with PhDs in Pakistan. Most of these candidates, he says, have no understanding of the fundamentals of
science yet they are awarded doctoral degrees and go on to peddle pseudoscience disguised as academic
research that would not pass even the most basic critical scrutiny.
Delegating research to universities will not only improve the quality of higher education in the country, it will
also open up avenues for international funds to Pakistani research programmes. The US-Pakistan Science and
Technology Cooperation Programme, for instance, presents a credible framework for improving the quality and
capacity of scientific education and research in Pakistan and needs to be expanded. It offers the potential for
uplifting the lives of ordinary Pakistani people through technology transfer and successful public-private
partnerships.

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