WASHINGTON POST

First came the wars over how to teach reading and math to young students. Now the fighting has spilled into science.

The battleground is California, vanguard of educational trends, a state with so much clout that its textbook choices influence editions sold across the country.

The issue is, broadly, the best way to teach science. Specifically, whether a state panel is trying to unduly limit "hands-on" instruction (lab experiments and practical projects) in kindergarten through eighth grade as part of a back-to-basics movement.

The major players are the California Curriculum Commission, which advises the state Board of Education and has recommended new criteria for K-8 textbooks that allow for a maximum of 20 to 25 percent of hands-on material. In opposition are many classroom teachers and scientists, including leaders of the National Academy of Sciences and the California Science Teachers Association, who say the recommendation makes no sense in a field that is all about discovery.

"What is being proposed is beyond idiotic," said Assemblywoman Jackie Goldberg, D-Los Angeles. She is a former teacher who chairs the state Assembly's education committee and recently was appointed to the curriculum commission.

"There isn't a scientist who thinks you can do science without hands-on, and then you say, 'We are going to artificially limit the amount of instruction that can be hands-on.' It is unbelievable."

Thomas Adams, executive director of the curriculum commission, said critics are misrepresenting the panel's views. He said commission members are trying to balance the need for a comprehensive science curriculum with the limited science background of many K-8 teachers. Twenty to 25 percent of hands-on instruction seemed "the most reasonable amount of time for someone faced with the challenges of limited facilities and limited time," he said.

"What we want are materials that all teachers can use," Adams said. "There are some people who are convinced that the only way that students learn is in a discovery method."

Rae Belisle, executive director of the California Board of Education, which will vote on the commission's textbook recommendation next month, said there was no intent to mandate a maximum amount of hands-on learning.

But many science teachers say that there is no research to justify a 20 percent to 25 percent limit, and that even if the commission is not trying to restrict hands-on science, the new textbook criteria would have that effect. "If publishers are not allowed to put more than 25 percent hands-on materials into their books, then teachers will have books that, in effect, don't give them the alternative," said Christine Bertrand, executive director of the California Science Teachers Association.

At the heart of the dispute is a disagreement about how students learn best, a debate that swirls as well around the federal No Child Left Behind Act, which emphasizes basic math and reading skills and the use of standardized test scores to measure progress.

Supporters of a philosophy known as "direct instruction" believe that students are served best in teacher-led classrooms that rely on structure, drilling and textbooks. They say that without the basics, students cannot learn more complex scientific theories, and that hands-on-dominated curriculum does not offer enough content.

Critics of this approach say research shows that students learn best when they are allowed to discover material themselves and that back-to-basics programs leave no room for higher-level thinking.

Bruce Alberts, president of the National Academy of Sciences, said the California curriculum commission's recommendation, if approved, would be harmful to students. "They are pushing very hard the dogmatic position of the 'direct instruction' crowd and emphasize what students know, not what they are able to do or understand," he said. "I strongly believe that they will turn even more students off of science and that they will work directly against the vital interests of California business and industry, who need a workforce of high school graduates who are able to solve problems using logic and evidence."