What is ‘scientific method’ and can it be taught?

The emphasis on science as process is endorsed by the Department of Education and Science Policy Statement which asserts that ‘the essential characteristic of education in science is that it introduces pupils to the methods of science’ (DES 1985a:7). It goes on to outline this method as a series of steps beginning with observation, leading via classification to the drawing of inferences and the formulation of hypotheses (‘seeking patterns’), and culminating in experimental testing.