Teaching science provides children the chance to observe the world around them and is a real strength. They learn about water creatures, for example, and follow up with research, reports and visits to aquariums, lakes or ponds to see for themselves. They may care for fish in their classroom, observing how different fish react to light, food and attention from students. In a science class, children may plant miniature gardens and observe how important water, soil and sunlight are to the health of the plant. They observe birth, life and death in plants and living creatures. Science teaches children to be observant and document what they see.
Sciences centers on the natural world. In teaching science, students learn not only to experiment and observe, but also to draw conclusion from their studies. They learn that when you plant a seed in good soil, water it and give it enough light, it will grow. Health depends on the right mix of what a plant needs. Their observations offers the teachers the opportunity to help students understand the components of plants, air and water. A strength of teaching science is that children learn critical thinking skills as they research, experiment, observe and summarize their findings. They prove and refine their findings through repeating their experiments.
Science data is derived from theory, experiments and observation. Whole schools of thought are built upon data that may be subsequently shown as unreliable. More precise measuring instruments change the foundation on which a school of thought has been built. A weakness of teaching science, is that teachers may not keep up on new data and theories and teach based on textbooks that also may be out-of-date. It often takes a long time for new scientific ideas to become mainstream, leaving students learning outdated theories and information.
According to the article "Science and Language Links: A Fourth Grade Intern's Attempt to Increase Language Skills" the authors Zale A. Liu and Valerie L. Akerson wrote, "Contributing factors to inadequate science teaching in these citations include limited science knowledge, inadequate equipment and textbooks."
Another weakness in the teaching of science is the lack of integration with other disciplines. Students do not learn the way mathematicians and philosophers see the world may differ from the views of those using only the scientific method. Because the scientific method depends upon experiments and observations in the here and now and by being able to repeat experiments for accuracy, science can only offer educated guesses at processes and events that happened in the distant past. There are also other methods of gathering information and finding conclusions. Courts may use evidence gathered through scientific tests, but the court system itself is based on the evidence method, not the scientific method. Scientific teaching is weak when it is not integrated into the total body of human knowledge and experience.