scholarly journals A Study on Demonstration of the Nature of Science in Science Textbooks: History and Philosophy of Science Perspectives

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. Ayık ◽  
B. Coştu

Many scholars in the teaching of science put forth that the perennial target of science education is to teach the nature of science (NOS), and science textbooks play a crucial role in the teaching of the nature of science (NOS). Understanding the nature of science is said to be effective when both understanding science concepts and doing science. Numerous studies focus on the teaching of NOS. This study investigates the effect of a science content that is prepared in history and philosophy of science (HPS) perspective on the NOSunderstandings of pre-service science teachers. 34 sophomore pre-service science teachers participated in the study. The quasi-experimental method was used by employing a pre-test, an intervention, and a post-test which is the same as the pre-test. The intervention involved the presentation of science content from the HPS perspective in six weeks long of discussions. Data were collected through a survey that revealed categorical views regarding the characteristics of the NOS. The results showed that the demonstration of atom theories in the HPS perspective gave a positive effect on the pre-service science teachers in understanding the NOS.

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 131-144
Author(s):  
Katherine Pilongo Caga-anan ◽  
John Mitchell O’Toole

There are significant tensions regarding relative international educational effectiveness. In the science education field, such concerns churn around the extent of scientific understanding with which students leave school. There have been suggestions that this aspect of science literacy is related to how well teachers help students to understand the nature of science. Previous research indicates the existence of both naïve and sophisticated views of this among both teachers and students. However, little research exists regarding Filipino students preparing to teach science in a local and international fluid context, particularly how their views of the nature of science relate to their classroom teaching practices. It was the purpose of this qualitative study involving seven pre-service science teachers from a single institution in Mindanao, Republic of the Philippines, to better understand the relationship of teacher views of the nature of science and the way that they taught science during their final teaching practice. Data was gathered through non-participant class observations, documents, interviews, and survey analysis. Findings reveal that: (a) These pre-service science teachers hold a mixture of naïve and sophisticated views of the nature of science; (b) Their views of science as empirically based (a potentially sophisticated view), subject to strict method and producing absolute knowledge (naïve views) transferred into their planning and delivery of practice lessons to a minor but discernible extent; (c) The views of science emerging from interview and survey were more varied and more sophisticated than appeared from the lessons planned or observed. The implications of this study are significant because they support some indications in the literature that wider teacher conceptions can translate into practice. This suggests that change in the conceptions held by these teachers might lead to change in the experiences they offer to students in their classes. The research process piloted in this small study could be scaled up to make a useful contribution to science education as the nation for which it was contexted moves into a period of rapid curriculum change.


2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 446-461
Author(s):  
Aykut Emre Bozdoğan

This research examined the effect of a course designed with different content on pre-service science teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs and knowledge about organizing curriculum-based trips. A pre-test post-test quasi experimental design was used in the research. One-hundred and thirty pre-service science teachers participated in the research. The research was carried out within the context of an elective course called “Informal Learning Environments in Science Education” and was conducted over 14 weeks in total for two hours per week. The research data were obtained by means of a questionnaire, self–efficacy scale for designing curriculum-based field trips (CFTSES) and semi-structured focus-group interviews. As a result of the research, it was found that the course content which included in-class and out-of-school setting practices in the 3rd group was the most effective. This was followed by the 2nd group which included only in-class implementations. The first group which was supported with visuals and theoretical related presented information was the group which was the least effected. The results of the research revealed that pre-service science teachers had mainly different concerns about safety, but that this did not deter them, as they still continued to design curriculum-based field trips for learners. Keywords: elective course, field trip, knowledge level, pre-service teachers, self-efficacy.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 97-107
Author(s):  
Hakan Şevki Ayvacı ◽  
Dilek Özbek

Understanding the nature of science, one of the most important dimensions of scientific literacy, is regarded as an absolute necessity in science education. To teach students the nature of science, science teachers should emphasize the nature of science in the classrooms. This is possible through the training of science teachers with knowledge of the nature of science. In this study, documentary films were used to teach preservice science teachers about the nature of science. This study aims to investigate the effect of nature of science course conducted with documentary films on preservice science teachers’ views of nature of science. The study, in which the experimental design was used, was conducted with 30 preservice teachers in nature of science and history of science courses. Throughout the courses, documentary films were watched, and nature of science aspects of the documentary films was discussed. The Views of Nature of Science Questionnaire (VNOS-C) was used as pre-test and post-test, and the data were analyzed with SPSS. As a conclusion, preservice science teachers’ views regarding the nature of science were enhanced after the implementation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 107
Author(s):  
Ismo T. Koponen

Understanding about nature of science is important topic in science education as well as in pre-service science teacher education. In science education, Nature of Science (NOS), in its different forms of educational scaffoldings, seeks to provide with students an understanding of features of scientific knowledge and science in general, how scientific knowledge changes and becomes accepted, and what factors guide scientific activities. For a science teacher, deep and broad enough picture of sciences is therefore of importance. This study attempts to show that the research field called Science of Science (SoS) can significantly support building such a panoramic picture of sciences, and through that, significantly support NOS. The SoS approaches the structure and dynamics of science quantitatively, using scientific documents (e.g., publications, reports, books and monographs and patent applications) as trails to map the landscape of sciences. It is argued here that SoS may provide material and interesting cases for NOS, and in so doing enrich NOS in a similarly significant way as history, philosophy and sociology of science (HPSS) scholarship has done thus far. This study introduces several themes based on SoS that are of relevance for NOS as they were introduced and discussed in a pre-service science teachers’ course. The feedback from pre-service teachers shows that introducing SoS, with minimal additional philosophical interpretations and discussions, but simply as evidential facts and findings, sparks ideas and views that come very close to NOS themes and topics. Discussions related to nature of science, and specific educational NOS scaffoldings for it, can find a good companion in SoS; the latter providing facts and evidence of thee structure and dynamics of sciences, the former providing perspectives for interpretations.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 774-783
Author(s):  
Güzin Özyılmaz ◽  

The aim of science education is to enable children to become “science-literate.” Science literacy is defined as taking responsibility for and making decisions about situations requiring scientific understanding and having sufficient knowledge, skills, attitudes and understanding of values to put their decisions into practice. Revealing teachers’ beliefs can help to understand the types of experiences presented by teachers in their classrooms. Inadequate understandings and misbeliefs of teachers shape the first perceptions of children about the NOS when they are formally introduced with science education in their early childhood. Most of the studies were also performed with science teachers and there have been few studies conducted with preschool teachers. Therefore, the present study was directed towards determining NOS beliefs of preschool teacher candidates. To achieve this aim, Nature of Science Beliefs Scale (NOSBS), developed by Özcan and Turgut (2014), was administered to the preschool teacher candidates studying in Preschool Education Department of Buca Education Faculty at Dokuz Eylül University in the spring semester of the 2018-2019 academic year. In the study, the NOS beliefs of the teacher candidates were found to be acceptable in general. While the findings of this study are consistent with those revealed in several relevant studies in the literature


2021 ◽  
pp. 209653112096678
Author(s):  
Guihua Zhang ◽  
Yuanrong Li ◽  
George Zhou ◽  
Sonia Wai-Ying Ho

Purpose: The Nature of Science (NOS) is an important component of scientific literacy. Science teachers’ Views of the Nature of Science (VNOS) directly affect their teaching behaviors. Therefore, it is of great significance to explore science teachers’ VNOS and find ways of improvement. This study was designed to comparatively investigate preservice science teachers’ VNOS between China and Canada. Design/Approach/Methods: The study employed a survey design to explore how Chinese and Canadian preservice science teachers understood the seven different aspects of NOS. Findings: Data showed that preservice science teachers in China and Canada both hold a modern view about science education. The level of Chinese and Canadian participants’ understanding of NOS was above the relatively naive level. Chinese teachers had better macro-understanding toward science education but their micro-mastery was insufficient. While the Canadian participants had a better understanding of the NOS than their Chinese counterparts. Originality/Value: Based on the research results and the experience of science education and teacher education in Canada, we suggested that there is a need to reconstruct the preservice science teacher education curriculum in China and promote the transformation in the science teacher educational system.


2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 158-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Burcu Alan ◽  
Fikriye Kirbağ Zengin ◽  
Gonca Keçeci

In this research the effects of STEM applications, which are aimed to support the integrated teaching knowledge of pre-service science teachers on the problem solving skills of pre-service science teachers were examined. The research was carried out in scope of the mixed method design of convergent parallel design. The research was conducted with pre-service science teachers of experimental group (n=31) and control group (n=31) who were studying at Fırat University. STEM applications including Algodoo were carried out with the pre-service teachers in the experimental group for one term. The data of the research were collected through the problem solving inventory test (PSIT), prospects diaries during the process of the pre-service science teachers in the experiment group. Quantitative data were analyzed using unpaired samples t-test. Statistically significant differences were found in favor of the experimental group when the PSIT post-test scores of the pre-service teachers in the experimental and control groups were analyzed. They said that STEM education is necessary and important for them, much better products arise as a result of gathering different disciplines, but integration of four disciplines is not easy.


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