Recommended Reading
Keeping up-to-date with Science
Although there is no direct unit in current science curriculums linked to the study of current affairs in the scientific world, keeping up to date with new scientific theories, ideas and controversies is great for essay writing and staying interested in the varied world of science. All scientific ideas, concepts and ideas that are taught in science today, such as electricity, vaccinations and plastics, were all discoveries at one point. Learning about revolutionary people that are coming up with new ideas and concepts in the modern world can put the historical discoveries into context and highlight just how important scientific discovery is to society.
There are many resources designed for students to keep their knowledge up to date. The internet, for instance, offers many websites that record and report on the news in science especially news sites such as the BBC and Channel 4. There are also scientific articles, journals and magazines that are released regularly. Catalyst is a particularly good magazine for young people, most libraries carry this magazine and there is an associated website. Other magazines that are very useful and interesting to read are the New Scientist and the National Geographic.
Scientists in history have played such important roles in the history of our society and learning not only about them but the ever-increasing stream of new scientists that are researching and resolving helps us get a better, more rounded view of what exactly science is, and how it links to our lives.
The curriculum in science is ever-changing and is becoming much more focussed on the use of science in the 'real world', and how it works. Knowing about the current developments in science will help put the science we learn in the classroom into context much more easily. I also believe that keeping up to date with science allows students to create their own passions and interests in different, wider and more varied areas of the subject of science.
