The scientific method instills critical observation and reasoning skills, which students may then apply to other areas of their education, as well as to their lives outside of school. The method consists of four steps. It begins with observation of a phenomenon. It then leads to an attempted explanation via hypothesis, encourages thought experiments and attempts to predict other related phenomena, and finally requires testing to establish the validity of the student's observations and predictions. A student who learns to observe and give critical thought to her experiences, as well as test her own assumptions for validity, is better suited to observe and understand her environment than a student who merely memorizes facts as the teacher provides them.
Many students across the K-through-12 spectrum express a disinterest in math, citing the presumed lack of need for math skills later in life. A student may insist that he'll never use algebra as an adult, for instance, so there is no need to learn it in school. However, science has an observable influence on everyday life. Whether in transportation, communications or medical technology, scientific innovation and invention create the society in which students live both in and out of the classroom. This serves as a greater impetus to learn math than the simple promise of balancing your checkbook or calculating tips as an adult. Without math, the science behind much of the world's complex technology would not be possible and future improvements in technology and quality of life would be less common, if not nonexistent.
Much of what is understood by science takes place at scales too small or too large for a student to observe. An understanding of the unobservable world requires knowledge of the observable world's effects on it. When students develop an understanding of the unseen effects of observable causes, they become primed to understand larger and more complicated systems in other subjects, as well as in life outside of school. Outside of the classroom, these may include political systems, economics and social phenomena of which all contributing factors are not readily apparent. Instead, the details and the inner workings of these complex systems may only be discoverable by inference, based on their more observable components, and verifiable by hypothesis and testing in accordance with the scientific method students have learned in school.
Learning and comprehending science requires some understanding of logic. By grasping the basics of logic, students learn to follow a premise or set of premises to a logical conclusion. Through a sense of order, and an understanding of logical progressions, students become better equipped to grasp and understand the rules of other subjects outside of science. Once the student has a competent handle on logic, she can apply it to other areas of her education. The rules of subjects such as grammar relate to each other logically, as do those of mathematics. Even the rules of nonacademic subjects, such as sports and physical education, conform to logic.