We all know what literacy is, right? What about literacy in science?

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.

• Law – describes events or phenomena, often represented by a mathematical equation
• Theory – an explanation of bodies of evidence, information, knowledge, laws
• Hypothesis – a testable statement; most useful if it also predicts putcomes.

Pay close attention.

What a theory is NOT is a vague idea or what someone “thinks” or “believes.”

A 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. 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

• Affected – how are the data affected? Did the variable cause an increase or decrease in the resulting values? What caused this increase, decrease, color change?
• Belief, believe – Generally, events in an investigation or naturally-occurring process do not care what you believe. When scientists use the term “believe,” they see a suggestion among the data or observations that the observation may be worth investigating.
• Different, changed – what, specifically, is different, and how is it different? Did the temperature increase, or decrease? By how much? Why?
• Think, thought, is thought to be – see belief, above.

Terms NOT to use:

• Proof, prove, proven – while these terms are appropriate in philosophy and logic, mathematics, and maybe in a court of law, the concept of “proof” does not exist in science. The data gathered may be evidence to support a claim, but is not “proof.” As more evidence to support a claim is collected from different sources, the claim becomes more reliable and more likely.
• Off – unless you have accidentally knocked something off your lab bench, this word is inappropriate.
• Stuff – name the material
• Thing – name the item

Here is an activity to help students better understand science terms:

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