Nature Of Scientific Knowledge Research Articles

Distinguishing Nature of Science Beliefs, Knowledge and Understandings

Abstract Whilst teaching about the nature of science (NOS) is a significant goal of science education, there remains debate about specifying the NOS and appropriate pedagogies and approaches to researching the NOS. A neglected, but conceptually and practically significant, problem is the proliferation of NOS-related learning goals such as NOS beliefs, views, understandings and knowledge. In this theoretical paper, we argue that such goals are often poorly defined, and different goals cohere with different pedagogical and research strategies. We propose a novel three-part taxonomy of NOS learning goals (as NOS beliefs, knowledge and understandings) and contend that different approaches are appropriate for teaching and assessing NOS beliefs, views and knowledge. An NOS belief refers to a positive attitudinal stance towards some proposition that lacks justificatory support or cannot easily be judged true or false. NOS knowledge indicates justified true beliefs related to the NOS. NOS understanding denotes a grasping of how a collection of NOS knowledge is related. The goals vary by the extent to which they can be judged true or false and the degree of justification they require. For NOS beliefs, a range of stances is acceptable; NOS knowledge must be a true and justified belief; in the case of NOS understanding, teaching and assessment should focus on the appreciation of relationships between justified true beliefs. The novel taxonomy brings needed clarity to a confused aspect of NOS research and may lead to the development of NOS pedagogies and assessment tools more precisely targeted to well-defined learning goals.

Bibliographic review of ENPEC meeting Minutes on the teaching of science in the first years of elementary school: continuing education for teacher

This article represents the expansion of an initial paper sent to the XIII ENPEC/2021 that aims to investigate how the continuing education for teachers (CET) working with young children on Natural Sciences (NS) has been historically carried out and presented in the editions of the National Meeting of Research in Science Education (ENPEC - 1997 to 2021). This is an exploratory research, of the bibliographic study type and was constituted from data from 14 complete papers, which were selected and analyzed in the light of Discursive Textual Analysis (DTA). In the categorization process, eight categories of analysis emerged: 1) training needs; 2) teaching concepts; 3) conceptions about training; 4) characteristics of the subjects; 5) training methodologies; 6) formative process and how the subjects felt; 7) direct results of training; and 8) post-formation (legacy), organized into three periods: pre-formative, formative and post-formative, interspersed with transitional units. After analyzing the works year by year, less than 1% of the papers published in this event and only 10% of the selected ones met the objectives of this research. The units of meaning representing the pre-formative period showed the deficiency in the initial training of educators in training, the importance of knowing the skills to work NS, planning, conducting and evaluating the teaching process, in addition to the importance of continuing the reflection process and teacher training. The two most pronounced characteristics among the educators in training were the need to deepen their conceptual knowledge in NS and the attempt to change their teaching methods after the group reflections. In the formative period, the teachers went through moments of reflection and reformulation of their practices, formation of concepts and changes in their vocabularies about NS. The direct results of the training showed that the educators in training were able to reflect on the action, face their problems, and change their attitude towards the teaching of NS, in addition to being motivated to create new strategies to achieve their goals in the classroom. In general, the researchers/trainers observed some methodological changes, safety to teach NS and the overcoming of some difficulties in the initial training of teachers, as well as a greater involvement of students during classes and the creation of collective spaces for discussion in Schools, which, until then, did not exist in these places. It is hoped that this work will contribute to researchers in the teaching area of NS in order to qualify their continuing education actions aimed at teachers in the early years, as well as to elucidate some gaps to be explored in research on the subject.

THE CONTENT OF CREATING ASSIGNMENTS BASED ON THE INTERNATIONAL TIMSS PROGRAM FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF THE QUALITY OF BIOLOGY EDUCATION

This article is a valuable resource for monitoring the effectiveness of TIMSS as an assessment system for mathematics and science literacy through the international program TIMSS, because science, technology, engineering, and mathematics curricula, often referred to as STEM, are the main areas of the curriculum. includes. It is clear that many professions still require a basic understanding of mathematics and science today, and will do so even more so in the future. Mathematics and natural-scientific knowledge are also the basis of everyday life. Natural sciences are about the natural world, including weather, land and water, food and fuel sources. Physical literacy helps us in our daily tasks and is important in the development of necessary technologies such as computers, smartphones and televisions.

Using the history of plate tectonics to teach the nature of science

ABSTRACT Current science education efforts emphasise the need to train students to understand the nature of scientific work. In geosciences, training students to understand how science works does not only promote their interest and community engagement in the field, but also has the potential to promote awareness and ethics. However, instructional activities using an explicit and reflective approach to promote students’ learning of the nature of science concepts remain scant. In this paper, a two-class unit intervention using an explicit reflective approach to the teaching of nature of science was used in an undergraduate lesson on the history of plate tectonics. We measured the influence of the lesson on students’ nature of science knowledge using the Student Understanding of Science and Scientific Inquiry instrument. We collected parallel quantitative and qualitative pre- and post-intervention data from 37 community college students involved in a physical geology course. Quantitative and qualitative data analysis indicated that students’ nature of science knowledge related to the tentativeness of scientific theories and the role of society and culture in science improved after the intervention unit. Results imply that geoscience educators should consider using explicit and reflective approaches when using the history of science to teach about the nature of science.

The Relationship between Understanding the Nature of Scientific Knowledge and Reasoning and Decision Making in Socioscientific Issues

The Relationship between Understanding the Nature of Scientific Knowledge and Reasoning and Decision Making in Socioscientific Issues

A Study of Akutagawa Ryunosuke’s “Spring Nights”：The Ways in which the Mystery is Understood

Akutagawa Ryunosuke’s later story “Spring Nights” (“Bungei Shunju”), published in September 1926, is a work that has not been much discussed. During his stay in his wife’s parents’ house in Kugenuma in 1926, from June 8<sup>th</sup> to the end of the month, he received the said material from the nurse who accompanied him. In previous interpretative studies of this work, it has been perceived that the theme of the “Shadow of Death” represents creeping melancholy. However, the main focus of this work is the “strangeness” of the experience which Ms. N talked about. In other words, it seems that the author’s aim was to create a mystery that could not be interpreted on the basis of knowledge of natural science. Therefore, in this light, I would like to attempt a new reading of “Spring Nights” in this article.

The role of students’ epistemic beliefs for their argumentation performance in higher education

ABSTRACT Students’ argumentation performance can be influenced by their epistemic beliefs, however, in the context of argumentative essay writing and argumentative peer feedback in online setting this has not been clearly investigated. This study explores relationship between students’ epistemic beliefs and argumentation performance regarding essay writing and peer feedback. In total, 101 undergraduate students filled out the epistemic beliefs survey and wrote an argumentative essay. Then, they provided two sets of feedback on the essays of their peers and finally submitted their revised essays. Students’ beliefs about the Internet-specific justification of knowledge did not play a significant role in their argumentation performance in essay writing, while it was related to their constructive peer feedback performance. Students’ beliefs about the nature of scientific knowledge were significantly related to their argumentative essay writing and peer feedback performance. In terms of uptake of peer feedback, no significant role was found for epistemic beliefs.

In-between: The Simultaneity of the Non-simultaneous

ABSTRACT At a given time, the sum of the layers that make up the phenomenon of society, “consist” of distinct attributes that emerged in different epochs; for example, different generations or indigenous and natural science knowledge. This is the normal state of affairs in modern societies. Society lacks, in this respect, distinctiveness. First, I am describing the twin concept as the idea of the simultaneity of the non-simultaneous as a cultural phenomenon itself, including many specimens, for example, Werner Sombart’s stimulating reflections about the social complexity of the social organization of capitalism. Next, I illustrate the concept in more detail, assisted by a brief description of three well-known social science phenomena: (1) the emergence, present and importance of generations as a macro sociological phenomenon, (2) the moralization of the markets as a mix of micro- and macro themes and what I designate as the (3) compartmentalization in everyday that allows for the presence of contradictory beliefs and activities as a genuine micro sociological topic. The discovery of layers of social phenomena as essential attributes of social reality. In closing the paper, I refer to many of the persisting virtues of the in-between concepts in theorizing and in mobilizing methodological caution in social science reasoning.

Evaluation of Barriers to Implementation of Environmental Education with Fuzzy FUCOM Technique

In this study, in order to examine the significance and encourage the adoption of Environmental Education (EE), it is fundamentally important to determine the strength and levels of the obstacles encountered in the EE process and to present the proposed solution. First of all, with the literature review, the factors that were found to affect the EE process in the past studies were determined. Then, a new subjective weighting method called the fuzzy Full Consistency Method (FUCOM) was used to determine the criterion weights of the obstacles. The final values of the weight coefficients were obtained using the GAMS/CPLEX package program. As a result of the application, it was determined that the most important obstacles encountered during the implementation of EE are financial inadequacies, lack of transportation, safety, responsibility, and classroom management, lack of content information, and lack of natural science knowledge. Based on the findings obtained in the last part of the study, recommendations were made for the dissemination of EE.

Towards a Better Understanding of Social-Ecological Systems for Basin Governance: A Case Study from the Weihe River Basin, China

Promoting sustainable development of the river basin ecosystem is important for improving human ecological environment. Thus, prior knowledge of natural and social sciences on the integration of natural, economic, and social factors related to rivers should be assimilated to improve river basin governance. This study uses a social-ecological systems (SES) framework to diagnose key factors affecting the governance of the Weihe River Basin, ranging from the social, economic, and political context to related ecosystems, watershed resource systems, watershed management system, and watershed governance actors’ five subsystems. Further, corresponding countermeasures are proposed for the problems found during our diagnosis. The results of this study show that applying an SES framework to the diagnosis and analysis of river basin governance integrates the research results of different disciplines and fields. Thus, this study is helpful in identifying and proposing the key impact variables related to river basin management to establish a comprehensive management counterplan.

The Impact of Evolutionary Education on Knowledge and Understanding the Evolution

<p style="text-align: justify;">Evolution is one of the most difficult and controversial topics. Scientific knowledge of evolution should belong to general knowledge of people, it should be the part of their natural science knowledge or biological education because it is the basis for accepting or refusing of other important topics such as genetical modification, global climatic change and others. Our aim was to analyse the inclusion of evolution in the teaching process in Slovakia in the subjects of history and biology and the associated potential threats to the formation of misconceptions. We measured the level of knowledge and understanding of evolution and evolutionary processes among high school graduates (N = 200). In doing so, we hypothesized that graduating high school students who have received evolutionary education achieve higher levels of both knowledge and understanding of evolutionary processes compared to those who have not received such education. We hypothesized that interest in science and acceptance of evolution would also positively influence levels of knowledge about evolutionary phenomena and understanding of evolutionary processes. Having used research, we claimed the impact of interest in natural science. We suggest to include the evolution as a main topic of biology into education through exploration- oriented teaching.</p>

Theoretical-Methodological Perspectives of the Debate about Nature of Science in Science Education: Contrasts and Approximations between the Consensus View and Renewed Tendencies

Context : In science education, teachers and researchers are concerned with and defend a teaching practice that enables an understanding of the nature of science and the principles of scientific research that considers essential aspects such as the purpose of scientific work, the nature of scientific knowledge and the idea that science is a social enterprise, valuing the perception of science as human activity, permeated and conditioned by ethical, economic, political, and cultural values. In this sense, there are a series of proposals and perspectives on the nature of science that represent advances to the contributions to these discussions, which are taken as reference in Science classes. Objectives : In this work, we identify and systematize contrasts and approximations between classical theoretical-methodological perspectives and renewed tendencies for the nature of science in science education. Design : The analysis was carried out based on the criticisms and opinions of authors who are looking for alternatives to the teaching of the nature of science in Science classes. Results : In the end, we show that some of the different theoretical-methodological perspectives that have been renewed may not be able to overcome some of the criticisms to the classic view in the debate about the nature of science in science education

О понятии корреляционизма: К. Мейясу, Г. Харман, Р. Брассье

Speculative realism is often associated with a group of thinkers who have consciously united around the idea of fighting a common enemy – correlationism. The article substantiates the thesis that there is no agreement among speculative realists both about correlationism and the ways to overcome it. Based on the works of Meillassoux, Harman and Brassier, the author demonstrates that their interpretations of correlationism and programs for its refutation are incompatible. It is suggested that the result of such incongruence of the concept of correlationism is the conviction of the philosophers of this direction in correlationism of each other. The author considers Meillassoux’s concept of the “Era of Correlation”. From the point of view of Brassier, Meillassoux fails to substantiate the anti-correlationist thesis that human thinking is capable of cognizing non-subjective being. Rather, on the contrary, Meillassoux once again subordinates this being to thinking, and therefore remains a correlationist. Harman also accuses Meillassoux of correlationism for anthropocentrism. The author also clarifies Harman’s concept of the “philosophy of access”. It is established that the concepts of correlationism in the interpretation of Harman and Meillassoux cannot be completely compatible. It is revealed that Harman remains a philosopher of the era of correlation for Meillassoux, because, firstly, he illegitimately attributes human characteristics to non-human beings. Secondly, it does not accept the correlationist argument of the circle and preserves the Kantian metaphysical dichotomy of the noumenal/phenomenal. Brassier also considers Harman a correlationist, since he ontologically equates natural science knowledge and scientific rationality with other types of knowledge. The paper reveals the main features of correlationism in the interpretation of Brassier. It is established that for Meillassoux, the Brassier approach is correlationist on the same basis as the Harman approach. Harman, in turn, considers Brassier as a correlationist, since the latter postulates various ontological taxonomies, the most obvious among which are the priority of scientific rationality and anthropocentrism. According to the results of the work done, it is once again emphasized that speculative realists are by no means united in their understanding of correlationism and ways to overthrow this philosophical program.

Дидактический синтез физики и биологии при решении биофизических задач в школе

The article deals with the issues of combining physics and biology by solving biophysical problems in a specialized school. Based on the theory of integration of the content of natural science education, the concept of "didactic synthesis" is given as one of the levels of interdisciplinary integration of natural science knowledge. The authors, relying on an integrative-personal approach to the content of natural science education, show the possibility of forming scientific and theoretical thinking and the development of the natural science style of teaching and practical activities of high school students in solving biophysical problems of various types. The method of solving qualitative, quantitative, experimental and research biophysical problems is considered, which ensures the formation of proficiently significant mental neoplasms of high school students.

LEGAL BASIS FOR COLLECTION AND ATTACHMENT OF DIGITAL INFORMATION AS PROOF IN CRIMINAL CASES IN THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN

The constantly increasing volume of natural science, technical and other knowledge at the present stage determines the technical saturation of the criminal process in the investigation of crimes. The increasing complexity of forensic tools used in the collection and consolidation of digital traces of crime and evidence, the extensive instrumentalization of expert research methods, determines the need for a set of issues related to the use of special knowledge by participants in the criminal process. The purpose of this study is to identify, generalize and analyze the theoretical and practical aspects of the legal grounds for collecting and consolidating digital information in proving criminal cases, taking into account world experience and the opinions of scientists. The issues of legal grounds for collecting, consolidating digital information in proving in criminal cases in the realities of the current legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan is highlighted in this article. The historical aspects of the development of collecting evidence are also reviewed. In addition, the problems associated with the search, consolidation and application of digital information in evidence in criminal cases are addressed. Covert investigative actions aimed at collecting digital information are discussed. The author concludes that it is necessary to consolidate the concept of “Investigative actions” in the criminal procedural legislation, as well as investigative actions such as “Inspection” are not applicable to the collection of evidence in the form of digital information. Thus, authorization of investigative actions in the form of a search and seizure is required when receiving digital information.

PEDAGOGICAL ACTIVITY OF PROTESTANT COMMUNITIES IN UKRAINE IN THE 2 ND HALF OF THE 19 TH CENTURY TILL THE EARLY 20 TH CENTURY

The article focuses on the pedagogical activity of Protestant communities in Ukraine in the 2 nd half of the 19 th century till the early 20 th century. It is defined in the article that reformational socio-religious movement in Europe in the 16 th century contributed to the rapid changes in understanding of the surrounding reality and attitude to human, which was reflected in the educational activities of Protestant communities. On the basis of investigation of scholarly research and publications aspects of educational activity, methods of realization and moral and educational orienting points of Protestant communities in the cultural and social space of the studied period are analyzed in the article. It is singled out areas of non-institutional social and pedagogical activities, in particular, in the spread of basic literacy among the population. It is found in the paper that Protestants social and pedagogical activities had a positive impact on the mental, creative, patriotic, social, moral, national and cultural personality development. It should be added that Protestants activity played an important role in the introduction and dissemination of natural and ecological scientific knowledge. Protestant communities used the native Ukrainian language during services, which influenced the formation of national, ethno-national and patriotic worldview. The problem of publishing religious literature in Ukrainian was of great importance for Protestants. It is underlined that contemporary Protestant educational activities in Ukraine and abroadare considered as a reflection of its long-term development in the context of various political and state entities. It is emphasized in the article that Protestant communities take part in the formation of the moral and spiritual environment for harmonious development of children, help families with problems, provide livelihoods for family-type orphanages. It is highlighted in the paper that the combination of European and domestic educational experience, the interaction of Orthodox and Protestant teachers and public characters in the direction of dissemination of education and national value orientations are essentialcomponents of Protestants activities.

Neurobiology as an Interdisciplinary Science in the System of Natural Sciences

The presence of neurobiology as an interdisciplinary science in the system of natural sciences has become the basis for the development of the academic discipline "Fundamentals of Modern Neurobiology" as a component of the natural science training of future psychologists in higher education institutions. The main aim of the article is to structure the above-mentioned discipline to deepen and systematize the natural science knowledge previously mastered by psychology students to modern ideas about the physiological mechanisms of mental activity and human behavior, the causes of occurrence and the neural mechanisms of the main psychopathologies. To this end, one has achieved a number of partial results: a) the analysis of modern neurobiological sources has made it possible to determine the main areas of neurobiology as an interdisciplinary science in the system of the natural disciplines; b) one has justified the expediency of using interdisciplinary links when structuring the course on fundamentals of modern neurobiology; c) one has selected the three most promising areas of neurobiological research relevant to structuring the course on fundamentals of modern neurobiology. It has allowed one to design an integrative academic discipline "Fundamentals of modern neurobiology", which, combining three interdependent and interconnected modules, namely: "Neurobiological essence of human connection with the environment", "Cognitive neurobiology and modern ideas about the higher nervous activity of a person", "neurobiological changes and mechanisms of dysfunctions of the nervous system, higher nervous activity and sensory systems ", - will contribute to the effective implementation of the transformation of the content of natural science training of future psychologists, taking into account current trends in the present and the current state of development of neurobiological sciences.

Phronesis at the Human-Earth Nexus: Managed Retreat

This study explores how experiences from the current pandemic can inform societal responses to future climate change. To that end, an established philosophical concept of geoscientific insights (geoethics) is utilized to advice on governance under systemic uncertainty that, in turn, is a critical feature of complex-adaptive dynamics. Illustrative examples are the Covid-19 health pandemic and the impact of the global sea-level rise to threatening heights in the early 22nd Century. The term “geoethics” labels an emergent geo-philosophical school of thought rooted in geoscience expertise. When combined with contemporary political philosophies, geoethics leads to a geo-philosophical framework that can support adaptation to complex-adaptive dynamics by favoring multi-agent and context-depending processes (e.g., learning-by-doing). The proposed geo-philosophical framework merges geoethics with the political philosophies of H. Jonas (1903–1993), L. Kohlberg (1927–1987), and M. Bunge (1919–2020). These contemporary philosophies emphasize as relevant for achieving a modern caretaking society, respectively, “the hierarchy of societal coordination processes,” “the intergenerational responsibility of agents of change,” and “the balancing of individual wellbeing (happiness) and duties.” When these philosophies are combined with geoethics, a logical approach can be derived for policy design and decision-making. It emphasizes the “autonomy” (of the human agent) combined with a civic culture that favors “trustworthiness,” “scientific culture.” and a “culture of inclusive justice.” We argue that governance of adaptation to complex-adaptive dynamics (e.g., climate change impact) can be informed by the geo- and society-centric perspectives of the proposed geo-philosophical framework. It can address “Human Earth Nexus” governance issues using the knowledge of both natural and social sciences and applying the lens of geoethical thinking.

Decline in the alpine landscape aesthetic value in a national park under climate change

Alpine landscapes are projected to be degraded under climate change, which would threaten their benefits to society. Previous studies, however, have been limited to aesthetic change, and it remains unclear how much the aesthetic change would affect human welfare. To address this issue and gain insights into climate change adaptation policies, we conducted a choice experiment survey using digitally manipulated images based on climate change scenarios and natural scientific knowledge in a mountainous national park in Japan. We uncovered that park visitors appreciate the alpine landscapes that include snow patches on mountains and some types of alpine flowers by analyzing the data from 445 respondents. Conversely, both the invasion of alpine vegetation by dwarf bamboo and the disappearance of snow patches due to climate change substantially deteriorated the perceived aesthetic benefits from alpine landscapes. The economic loss caused by climate-induced landscape degradation was estimated at more than 100 USD per visitor, at maximum; the disappearance of snow patches and invasion by dwarf bamboo reduced the benefits by approximately 13 USD and 101 USD, respectively. Our findings suggest that sustaining the aesthetic value of alpine landscapes in national parks via climate change adaptation has potentially significant economic benefits. By supposing that the mountain national park attracts 70,000 visitors in summer, climate change would cause as a minimum of eight million USD economic loss at the park without appropriate measures annually. Our findings highlight the importance of climate change measures by considering climate change impacts on social benefits associated with alpine landscapes.

Using Cinquain as a Form of Representation of Natural Science Knowledge

Using Cinquain as a Form of Representation of Natural Science Knowledge