Abstract
Internationally, science curricula make specific demands on students for the achievement of some level of scientific literacy. The details of what this means, and how it is to be achieved, have often been left for the teacher to elaborate. This paper argues thatnarrative, as a valued component of scientific literacy, offers a structure that allows scientific concepts to be (1) more easily integrated into other conceptual understandings, (2) more easily recalled, (3) more easily ordered and structured in the mind, and (4) an important component of the what it means to be a Self. The paper ends with practical suggestions for the use of narratives in the science classroom.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aitkenhead, A.M. & Slack, J.M. (Eds.) (1985).Issues in cognitive modelling. London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Andrews, R. (1992).An exploration of structural relationships in narrative, and argumentative writing, with particular reference to the work of year 8 students. PhD Thesis, University of Hull.
Bartlett, F.C. (1932).Remembering: a study in experimental and social psychology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Bazerman, C. (1990).Shaping written knowledge. Madison WI: University of Wisconsin Press.
Cohen, G., Eysench, M.W., & Le Voi, M.E. (1986).Memory: a cognitive approach. Milton Keynes: Open University Press.
Factor, L. & Kooser, R. (1981).Value presuppositions in science textbooks: a critical bibliography. National Science Foundation.
Finke, R. (1987). Mental imagery and the visual system,Scientific American, 254(3), 76–83.
Fisher, W. (1987).Human communication as narration: towards a philosophy of reason, value and action. Columbia SC: University of South Carolina Press.
Freedman, A. (1987). Development in story writing.Applied Psycholinguistics, 8, 153–170.
Freedman, A. (1993). Show and tell? The role of explicit teaching in the learning of new genres.Research in the teaching of English, 27(3), 222–251.
Freedman, A. & Pringle, I. (1984). Why students can't write arguments.English in Education,18(2).
Graves, D. (1982).Writing—children and teachers at work. Oxford: Heinemann.
Halliday, M.A.K., & Martin, J.R. (1993).Writing science. London: The Falmer Press.
Hardy, B. (1975).Tellers and listeners: the narrative imagination London: The Athelone Press.
Kerby, A.P. (1991).Narrative and the self. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Marland, M. (1977).Language across the curriculum. London: Heinemann.
Martin, W. (1986).Recent theories of narrative. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
McCrone, J. (1990).The ape that spoke London: Macmillan.
Moffett, J. (1968).Teaching the universe of discourse. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Prince, G. (1982).Narratology. Berlin: Mouton.
Wilkinson, A., Barnsley, G., Hanna, P., & Swan, M. (1980).Assessing language development. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Specializations: language and science, science for nurses, narrative and science education.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Strube, P. Narrative in the science curriculum. Research in Science Education 24, 313–321 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02356358
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02356358