Abstract
Although an important part of scientific literacy, most students hold misconceptions regarding the nature of science (NOS). We investigated the influence of a nonmajors' introductory biology course on college students' understanding of NOS in the context of instructor's NOS conceptions and instructional practices. Five instructors and 287 students were administered Views on ScienceTechnol ogySociety (VOSTS) questionnaire. Students took VOSTS as prepost tes t. All instructors and selected students were interviewed to corroborate VOSTS responses. Selected class sessions of all instructors were video recorded and transcribed to document instructional styles and communication of NOS. Results indicate that in some areas of NOS the course impacted the students negatively, in others there was no impact, while in still others the impact varied by instructor. Whether negative or positive, several instances indicate that the course did impact student understanding. Here, we focus on change in student understanding with regard to the relationships and distinctions between scientific hypotheses, theories and laws.
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