Basic competences that define scientific literacy

<p>To determine the degree of scientific literacy of an individual, we must established the scope (see: <a class="wikilink" href="/why_we_teach_science_in_school/">why we teach science in school</a>). This is directly linked to how the <a class="wikilink" href="/pisa_tests/">PISA tests</a> try to evaluate students. </p> <p>There are different stages (see perhaps: <a class="wikilink" href="/lifecycle_of_a_sicentific_idea/">lifecycle of a sicentific idea</a>) and skills (competences) that must be developed:[<a class="litnote tooltip" href="/literature/@minzi2018">@minzi2018<span class="tooltiptext">Aprender competencias científicas en la Universidad: estudio sobre la incidencia de un curso cuatrimestral con enfoque en la indagación.</span></a>]</p> <ul> <li>Experimenting</li> <li>Hypothesis generation</li> <li>Evidence evaluation</li> <li>Inference</li> </ul> <p>But, they can be further extended to a more concrete plane:</p> <ul> <li>Predictions/Hypothesis</li> <li>Variable correlations</li> <li>Experiment design</li> <li>Observation/Measurement</li> <li>Classification/serialization</li> <li>Investigative techniques</li> <li>Transformation</li> <li>Interpretation</li> </ul> <p>These different skills fit perfectly the ideas if <a class="wikilink" href="/curiosity-driven_education/">Curiosity-driven education</a>, by <a class="wikilink" href="/science_education_should_be_method-oriented/">science education should be method-oriented</a>. </p> <p>Although the different steps seem reasonable, I am completely missing the trigger. How can we experiment if we don't have a question. This is one of the biggest concerns I have: <a class="wikilink" href="/ideas_are_born_through_interaction_with_the_world/">ideas are born through interaction with the world</a>. </p> <p>The competences are measured through <a class="wikilink" href="/standardized_educational_tests/">standardized educational tests</a>. Through this tests it is possible to know that, at least in Latin America, <a class="wikilink" href="/science_education_outputs_correlate_with_socioeconomic_level/">science education outputs correlate with socioeconomic level</a> and that <a class="wikilink" href="/university_students_perform_poorly_in_basic_science_tests/">university students perform poorly in basic science tests</a>.</p>