A hair-splitting synthesis of the terms science literacy and scientific literacy suggests science literacy is the ability to know, understand, and possibly apply science knowledge to situations or phenomena. Scientific literacy is a stretch of this knowledge into analysis, synthesis, and evaluation of situations and phenomena. Both are important as we interpret the world around us.
According to the National Research Council (free PDF available here), having scientific literacy means that
a person can ask, find, or determine answers to questions derived from
curiosity about everyday experiences. It means that a person has the
ability to describe, explain, and predict natural phenomena. Scientific
literacy entails being able to read with understanding articles about science in the popular press and to engage in social conversation about the validity of the conclusions. Scientific literacy implies that a person can identify scientific issues underlying national and local decisions and express positions that are scientifically and technologically informed. A literate citizen should be able to evaluate the quality of scientific information on the basis of its source and the methods used to generate it (National Research Council, 1996, p. 23).
Classic Science Terms
In order to be literate in the ways of science, we must understand that some terms are used differently in everyday language than in science. Some examples are below.
Pay close attention.
What a theory is NOT is a vague idea or what someone “thinks” or “believes.”
An hypothesis is NOT an “educated guess.”
An hypothesis does NOT become a theory when it is “a little more proven”
About Data:
Data is a plural noun, as is people. Write this:
The data show….
Not this:
The data shows….
Substitute the word numbers for data in writing. If numbers is correct in your sentence, data will be as well.
Terms to use carefully
Terms NOT to use:
Students found this activity helpful as they wrote about science.
Scientific Method and Science Literacy C-E-R Card Sort and Reading
Selected resources for science literacy and scientific literacy:
Twenty-seven years of tracking Undergraduate Science Knowledge and Beliefs, Electronic Journal of Science Education, 21:4