新奇事件簿 学校考试磨灭孩子们的好奇心（在线收听）

Making schoolchildren take tests is harming students’ interest in science, as well as having a negative impact on kids’ natural curiosity. This is the conclusion of a British university report into science teaching and testing in primary schools. Researchers from Durham University warned that too many schools were teaching science just so students could pass tests. There is a lot of pressure for students to get to better schools. The experts said there was very little real science teaching going on that encouraged students to find out things for themselves. Learning by doing, experimenting and seeing should be at the heart of all physics, chemistry and biology lessons. The Durham University team found the opposite; that there was little hands-on, practical work taking place in Britain’s schools.

让学生们参加考试损害了学生对科学的兴趣，也对孩子们天生的好奇心有负面影响。这是英国大学对小学科学教学和测试进行的一份报告的结论。杜伦大学研究人员警告称，许多学校教科学的目的是让学生们能够通过考试。学生们为了升入更好的学校面临许多压力。专家们表示，几乎没有真正的科学教育能够鼓励学生们为自己而发现。通过动手，实验和观察来学习应该是所有物理，化学和生物课的核心。杜伦大学研究发现现实刚刚相反，英国的学校几乎没有动手实际操作。

Lead researcher Professor Peter Tymms said it was important to develop new approaches to primary school science. He compared today’s teaching with that of the past sixty years and found that testing was harming children’s natural desire to ask questions about science: “We suspect that the current national approach to science in primary schools is not impacting on children’s scientific thought and curiosity as much as is possible,” he said. Professor Tymms made it clear what schools and science teachers need to focus on, saying: “The purpose of science in primary schools should be to foster a sense of curiosity and positive attitudes in the young child. It should also guide the child in solving problems to do with the physical, natural and human worlds.”

研究主任Peter Tymms教授认为，我们应该研究出小学科学新的教学方法，这至关重要。他将当今的教育方法与过去六十年前进行比较，发现考试磨灭了儿童对科学答疑解惑的欲望：“我们怀疑当前小学的科学教育方法并没有最大可能地启发孩子们的科学思维和好奇心。”Tymms教授明确指出了学校和科学老师需要关注的重点：“小学科学的目的应该是培养小学生的好奇心和积极的态度。还应该指导学生解决与物理，自然和人类世界相关的问题。”