A Comparative Study Of The Concept And Practice Of Chinese And American Science Education

At the end of last year,65countries and regions around the world simultaneously announced the results of Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). Results showed that Shanghai students ranked first again in terms of math, reading and scientific literacy since2009when they first participated in PISA and obtained first prize. This has attracted worldwide attention, reflection and thinking on scientific literacy since the ongoing "China craze" and "Shanghai Experience", a successful case of balanced basic education that has aroused attention from overseas education community. Though the results are satisfying, potential problems deserve to pay close attention to. A professor from University of Hawaii, USA referred to Chinese students as "test machines", he stated that Chinese students were always the most hardworking and ranked top in exams; however, when it came to solving problems, they stuck to conventional patterns and their capability of creative thinking and of practice lagged behind their USA counterparts and even fell behind that of African students. Though what the professor said was biased, his words can be an explanation why China lags USA in achievements of science, technology and innovation and why Chinese people do not win Nobel Prize in the field of science and technology. American students may not score high in PISA, but they show strong interest in science and their capability of creative thinking and of practice outperform their Chinese counterparts. Li Dongle, professor of Oakland University, Michigan, USA and member of council of Sino-American Education Consortium, said that we should combine the best parts of Chinese and American education, just like finding a reasonable way to mix soybean milk and milk to make them healthier. And how to combine knowledge and competence will be an important focus of research on education in future.National Research Council, USA issued A Framework for K-12Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts and Core Ideas in2011and Next Generation Science Standards in2013. This marked a milestone of reform of science education of USA, and both papers introduced most recent scientific research fruits and new ideas of reform of science education in the field of basic education. They provide new thinking and guidance on reform of science education in China. This thesis compares the similarities and differences of Chinese and American education in terms of ideas and practices of science education.The thesis is divided into five chapters. Chapter one is introduction and it introduces research background and research significance. The following chapter is literature review including definitions of some terms. Chapter three is an overview of science education in China and USA in terms of ideas and an analysis of its similarities and differences. Chapter four is a comparison of science education in China and USA in terms of practice including curriculum design, textbook compiling and pedagogy. The final chapter is a summary of relevant suggestions concerning science education in China.