Science education is the field concerned with sharing science content and process with individuals not traditionally considered part of the scientific community. The target individuals may be children, college students, or adults within the general public. The field of science education comprises science content, some sociology, and some teaching pedagogy.The standards for science education provide expectations for the development of understanding for students through the entire course of their k-12 education. The traditional subjects included in the standards are physical, life, and earth and space sciencesPrior ideas about how things work are remarkably tenacious and an educator must explicitly address a students' specific misconceptions if the student is to abandon his misconception in favour of another explanation. Therefore, it is essential that educators know how to learn about student preconceptions and make this a regular part of their planning.In order to become truly literate in an area of science, students must, "(a) have a deep foundation of factual knowledge, (b) understand facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework, and (c) organize knowledge in ways that facilitate retrieval and application."Informal science education is the science teaching and learning that occurs outside of the formal school curriculum in places such as museums, the media and community-based programs. The National Science Teachers Association has created a position statement on Informal Science Education to define and encourage science learning in many contexts and throughout the lifespan. Research in informal science education is funded in the United States by the National Science Foundation.
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