Table 2.

The NSES stress a changing emphasis on scientific content and process

Less emphasis on	More emphasis on
Knowing scientific facts and information	Understanding science processes and developing abilities of inquiry
Studying subject matter disciplines (e.g., physics, earth sciences) for their own sake	Learning subject matter disciplines in the context of inquiry, technology, science in personal and social perspectives, and history and nature of science
Separating science knowledge and science process	Integrating all aspects of science content
Covering many science topics	Studying a few fundamental science concepts
Implementing inquiry as a set of processes	Implementing inquiry as instructional strategies, abilities, and ideas to be learned

This information is from NRC (1996), p. 113.