Understanding Of Nature Of Science Research Articles

Explicit Incorporation of the Nature of Science (NOS) in an Undergraduate Preservice Teacher Science Content Course: Action Research

This study aimed to address the gap in an environmental science undergraduate course by investigating the impact of explicitly integrating the Nature of Science (NOS) into the instruction of scientific inquiry. The lab-based course focused on developing an understanding of the natural world, as well as the processes scientists use to study that world. Through action research, data collection methods included the Views of Nature of Science Questionnaire (VNOS-B) and analysis of students' reflections on assignments and open inquiry projects for 37 students. Pre- and post-questionnaires were analyzed using NVIvo12, categorizing responses into five levels of NOS understanding thematically. Descriptive statistics were used to assess NOS views. Class reflective assignments and open inquiry projects were coded and evaluated using the revised NSI rubric employing a mixed methods analysis. The results reveal a notable shift in students' NOS understanding following the intervention which demonstrates the significance of deliberate NOS instruction. The research also pinpoints areas where students require focused instruction, offering valuable insights for educators with an emphasis on the impact of NOS integration in enhancing scientific literacy and highlighting the role of action research in refining instructional practices.

Enhancing students’ argumentation skills, content knowledge, and Nature of Science understanding through a web-based educational instrument in the context of socio-scientific issues

ABSTRACT Using socio-scientific issues as a learning context is an effective approach to achieve an important goal in science education, which is to enhance scientific literacy. It involves strengthening skills such as argumentation while also improving an understanding of the Nature of Science and imparting content knowledge. The present study evaluates the impact of a web-based educational instrument consisting of a unique combination of features designed to promote students’ development of skills and knowledge as well as to address the challenges faced by teachers in teaching socio-scientific issues. Participants included 423 students in secondary education. Students in the experimental condition received a three-lesson intervention with the educational instrument, and students in the control condition followed their regular science lessons. Findings indicated that the instrument proves effective in fostering learning outcomes while teachers benefit from the shift of managing classroom discussion to individual guidance of students. Applying the educational instrument in the classroom demonstrates promise in improving student engagement and their comprehension of socio-scientific issues.

Students’ and facilitators’ experiences with synchronous and asynchronous online dialogic discussions and e-facilitation in understanding the Nature of Science

AbstractThe existing literature lacks a precise understanding of how online facilitation and dialogic discussions can positively impact students’ comprehension of the Nature of Science (NoS). This study delves into the experiences of students and facilitators engaged in synchronous and asynchronous online dialogic discussions and e-facilitation to enhance our understanding of NoS. An innovative experiment employed a digital dialogue game to engage postgraduate students in a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) secondary science course. The participants included sixty-five PGCE science students and three lecturers specializing in different science disciplines (Physics, Chemistry, and Biology). Qualitative data collection methods and analysis, including transcripts of online discussions about NoS topics, were followed by critical event recall interviews to identify specific online dialogue events that significantly contributed to the comprehension of NoS. The findings contribute significantly to comprehending students’ processes in grasping complex and debatable topics such as Nature of Science (NoS) within online dialogic discussions supported by e-facilitation. They emphasize the importance of establishing an open and expansive dialogic space, with a focus on the crucial roles of e-facilitators. The results also highlight a tension between active and passive roles in both synchronous and asynchronous online discussions. Additionally, the study sheds light on the influence of space, time, and texts in understanding NoS through e-facilitated online dialogic discussions. Notably, the research emphasizes the live chat room’s significance within Interloc, accentuating its role as a social space fostering a sense of community and a safe environment for inquiry in online dialogue which supported understanding NoS.

Promoting preservice teachers’ global citizenship and contextualised NOS views through role-play activities integrated into place-based SSI instruction on climate issues

ABSTRACT This mixed-methods study explored changes in preservice teachers' (PSTs) understanding of the nature of science (NOS) and their values as global citizens after a place-based intervention augmented with role-play activities concerning climate change. The study further probed how these values manifested during role-play improvisations, where participants adopted the roles of global citizens. Conducted in Turkey with 20 PSTs, it integrated local field trips and role-play scenarios focused on climate change. We led PSTs on excursions to locales such as hydroelectric power plants, enabling interactions with the environment and local individuals, and facilitating role-play on climate-related issues. Within these scenarios, we employed a contextualized NOS approach to foster a comprehensive grasp of the NOS. Data was collected using the 'Character and Values as Global Citizens Assessment' scale, interviews, and video-recorded role-plays. Results indicated that the place-based SSI intervention enhanced PSTs' perspectives on NOS and cultivated their global citizen values. The values demonstrated in role-play improvisations shifted based on the scenarios. Consequent to these findings, the study recommends purposefully designing role-play scenarios targeting specific value domains for enhancement. It recommends involving students in local issues and using NOS-enriched role-play scenarios to bolster their values, and NOS understanding and diversify their argumentative perspectives.

Teaching nature of science in introductory biology: Impacts on students' acceptance of biological evolution.

The present study investigates the impact of explicit, reflective Nature of Science instruction on students' evolution acceptance, understanding of evolution as a theory, and understanding of Nature of Science in an introductory biology course. Results revealed similar improvement in evolution acceptance in both the treatment and control groups, but also that Nature of Science instruction had disproportionately large impacts on evolution acceptance for women and individuals who already had high acceptance. We also found evidence of relationships between understanding and acceptance of evolution and Nature of Science understanding, particularly the creativity aspect of Nature of Science. Together, these results suggest that targeted Nature of Science instruction can have differential impacts on students with particular characteristics, such as women and individuals with high acceptance, but also point to the need to consider additional interventions that can reach men and individuals with low acceptance.

Authentic Scientific Research through an Undergraduate Ecology Course

Undergraduate science students who volunteer within a research laboratory group, or participate in funded research opportunities, in general are those who have the opportunity to engage in authentic research. In this article, we report the findings from two different iterations of a semester-long collaboration between a biology faculty member and a science education faculty member at a major research institution in the Southeastern United States. Specifically, the faculty members designed an ecology laboratory course for upper-level undergraduate students (primarily biology majors) where they would engage in an original and highly authentic ecological research project. The goal of this course was to have students explicitly learn about the nature of science (NOS), and authentic scientific practices such as inquiry and experimentation in the context of their own research. In the second year of the course, the global COVID-19 pandemic forced us to modify our approach to accomplish the same goals, but now in a remote and online format. Using questionnaires, concept inventories, and semi-structured interviews, the impact of the course on students’ understandings of NOS, inquiry, and experimentation, in addition to their perspectives on the experience within the course compared to prior laboratory coursework, was investigated. We found that students showed modest gains in each of the aforementioned desirable outcomes. These gains were generally comparable in both face-to-face and remote course settings. Additionally, students shared with us their preference for authentic laboratory work as compared with the typical laboratory work with its given research question and step-by-step instructions. Our research demonstrates what is possible in both face-to-face and remote undergraduate laboratory courses in biology and the positive impact that was observed in our students. We hope it serves as a model for other scientists and science educators as they collaborate to design authentic research-based coursework for undergraduate biology students.

Students’ Understanding of Nature of Science in Islamic Private School

The objective of this study is to explore Muslim students’ level of understanding regarding the nature of science (NoS) and compare their understanding between genders in private Islamic schools in Thailand. Descriptive statistics and t-test independent was used to analyze the data. The results revealed that a majority of the participants held a transitional perspective on NoS. Furthermore, there were no statistically significant differences in NoS comprehension between genders at the .05 level. To enhance students' understanding of NoS in all domains, it is recommended that learning activities in private Islamic schools promote a reflective attitude towards NoS.

Impact of Teaching Materials Based on the Family Resemblance Approach on Pre-service Chemistry Teachers’ Views of Nature of Science

Abstract This study investigated the impact of teaching materials developed using the reconceptualized family resemblance approach to the nature of science (RFN) on pre-service chemistry teachers views about the nature of science (NOS). The materials were based on the book Leviathan and the Air-Pump: Hobbes, Boyle, and the Experimental Life by Shapin and Schaffer (1985), which covers various aspects of NOS emphasized by the RFN. The pre-service teachers underwent 15 weeks of constructivist learning, including lectures, discussions, and essay writing, and their understanding of NOS was evaluated using a pre- and post-test. The results revealed changes in their understanding of NOS, particularly in the social aspects of science. This study is significant in shedding light on the specific challenges that participants encountered when grappling with the idea of science as a social and institutional system.

Let them research with

The French natural philosopher Henri Victor Regnault (1810–1878) was one of many researchers who contributed to the development of the thermometer in the 19th century. In this paper, we use an example from Regnault’s work to explore how the history of thermometry can provide a context for teaching upper-secondary chemistry students about the nature of science (NOS), particularly its aims and values. The study takes form as a hermeneutical spiral, wherein literature on the history and philosophy of science, NOS, the family resemblance approach (FRA), NOS teaching, characteristics of narratives, and the new performative paradigm feed into the spiral, along with input from an empirical study. A teaching unit (n = 21, duration = 90 min) was developed and tested on Norwegian students aged 17–18 years, and a thematic analysis of students’ statements (n = 13) was carried out. The students identified “being first,” “usefulness,” “accuracy,” and “minimalism” as values and aims that guided Regnault’s work. We argue that the use of this particular historical episode framed within FRA (1) invited students to identify with the human actor—Regnault, (2) invited students into the historical context of the development of the thermometer, and (3) demonstrated complexity and provided context to support students’ own construction of their understanding of NOS. To summarize, by deriving the term “research with” from the performative paradigm and using the context of the historical episode related to the thermometer within the FRA framework students were invited to research with Henri Regnault.

Early years education teachers’ perceptions of nature of science

ABSTRACT Research indicates that teachers lack a sophisticated understanding of Nature of Science (NOS), which in turn, can impact their instructional decisions and students’ understanding of NOS. The aim of the study was to investigate United Arab Emirates (UAE) early years’ science teacher’s (N = 433) perceptions about the NOS. Results obtained from a 70-item questionnaire revealed that teachers have an adequate understanding on many aspects related to science and NOS, especially those pertaining to the ‘Social-Institutional’, ‘Scientific Practices’ and ‘Educational Applications’ categories. However, varied perceptions were found on some key concepts such as the role of bias and prejudices on scientific facts, the employment of same scientific practices across different branches of science, and the influence of politics in science. Misconceptions on particular aspects of NOS were also recognised (e.g. the distinction between laws and theories and the fixed nature of procedures followed in experiments). The findings suggest practical and pedagogical implications for teaching and outline an agenda for further research.

Enhancing students’ nature of science understanding through project-based learning and mind mapping

This study aimed to investigate students' understanding of the nature of science (NOS) in project-based learning combined with mind mapping (PjBL-MM), students' NOS understanding across gender, and PjBL-MM and gender interaction's effect on students' NOS understanding of conservation education. It employed a pretest-post-test non-equivalent group design. The research population consisted of first-year students at the Biology Department, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Negeri Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia. Thus, the study consisted of 98 students (40 males and 58 females) selected randomly from three different classes. The students' NOS understanding was assessed using the views of NOS type B questionnaire. The learning models' effectiveness was tested using ANCOVA. The results showed a significant difference in students' NOS understanding, PjBL-MM group reported the highest NOS score among all treatment groups in the Conservation education course. There is a significant difference NOS understanding between male and female students. Females outperformed males in NOS understanding. However, PjBL-MM and gender interaction did not affect students' NOS understanding. This study is expected to encourage the implementation of PjBL-MM to improve the students' NOS understanding. The educators are also expected to empower NOS understanding through students' active participation in science by implementing project-based learning combined with mind mapping techniques.

Rwandan Senior Secondary Physics Students’ Views on Nature of Science

Although the nature of science (NOS) is recognized worldwide as an important aspect of promoting the understanding of science subjects in schools but very little research has been conducted in this regard in the Rwandan context. This study investigates the status of Rwandan senior secondary physics students’ views on NOS aspects. The instrument for data collection in this study is made up of 30 items adapted from “Views of Nature of Science-B”; “Student Understanding of Science and Scientific Inquiry (SUSSI)”; and “Views of Nature of Science-C (VNOS-C)”. After establishing the reliability of the instrument, we administered this questionnaire to 148 senior secondary physics students from four schools (i.e. randomly selected two boarding schools and two day schools) from Kicukiro and Kayonza districts. Frequency, mean, and standard deviation were calculated, and a t-test was used as part of the data analysis. The findings of this study indicate that many of the students have strongly held and naïve views about all targeted NOS aspects. The naïve views are predominantly related to the tentative nature of science; empiricism; the relationship between scientific theories and laws; social contexts in knowledge construction; and scientific methods, compared to other remaining targeted NOS aspects which are observation and inferences; and imagination and creativity. The study revealed that, overall, students’ understanding of NOS is not influenced by gender or school location. However, a more detailed look shows slight variations between male and female students on some items.

Pre-Service Teachers Nature of Science Views After Engaging with COVID-19 as a Socioscientific Issue

This study investigates undergraduate pre-service understanding and views of nature of science (NOS) before and after engaging with a socioscientific issues-based unit based on a the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 unit consisted of lessons about viruses and bacteria, COVID-19, the spread of disease, and NOS. The data sources consisted of pre- and post-semi-structured interviews and pre- and post-questionnaires. After the unit in post-interviews, most students held transitional views of each NOS aspect (tentativeness, process, society, creativity). However, some students had informed views of tentativeness and process of science and naïve views of society and creativity in science. Pre-service teachers tended to rely on examples from the COVID-19 pandemic when explaining their NOS understandings, which resulted from teaching about NOS with socioscientific issues in a contextualized approach. We discuss the implications of these results for future pre-service teacher training with socioscientific issues.

Investigating Pre-Service Teachers’ Understanding of Nature of Science: Contributions of An Assessment Tool Based on the Reconceptualized Family Resemblance Approach

Several literature sources discuss the importance of nature of science (NOS) understanding and how having an understanding is central to being a scientifically literate citizen. As a result, developing NOS understanding is one of the most commonly stated objectives for science education. Acquiring views on NOS has been a prominent feature of research in this area since the 1960s. The following article provides a proof of concept for the transformation of a theoretical framework into a practical assessment tool (worksheet). The reconceptualized family resemblance approach to NOS is a theoretical framing of NOS which describes components of science in terms of categories subsumed under epistemic, cognitive and social systems. The aim is to explore its potential for use in science education and demonstrate its functionality so as to collect data on pre-service teachers’ understanding of NOS and substantiate what can be achieved through its application. The designed assessment tool has many purposes and in this case it was used in a pre-, post-, and delayed-post methodology to investigate pre-service teachers’ understanding of NOS following participation in NOS themed workshops. Implications for science teacher education will be discussed.

Investigation of Preservice Science Teachers' Nature of Science Understanding and Decision Making on Socioscientific Issue through the Fractal Model.

The paper reports a qualitative study to reveal how preservice science teachers' decision making (DM) processes on socioscientific issue (SSI) in a referendum case compare between unsophisticated (Group U) and sophisticated (Group S) views in terms of nature of science (NOS) understandings. Firstly, pre-study was conducted with focus group interviews with pre-service science teachers. With the findings, one-on-one semi-structured in-depth interviews of the main study for DM on SSI, the artificial meat was developed. In the main study, 12 participants’ responses were analyzed, and a new DM model named the Fractal Model of DM which reflects real-life situation DM process, especially referendum case, was constructed. In DM, NOS lens usages of five NOS aspects about creativity and imagination, observation and inference, empirical-basis, subjectivity, and social and cultural embeddedness and 23 other lens usages such as animal rights (morality), economic, and risk factor were detected and explained through the fractal model. Findings showed that there is a hidden and complex effect of NOS understandings about tentativeness of scientific knowledge on DM. With multiple lens usage, each participant had multi-perspective considerations in DM. While Group S used NOS lenses mainly parallel with their NOS understandings, Group U used them in a more complicated way.

Examining Some of Students’ Views on the Nature of Science (NOS) in Traditional Lecture Format Teaching Environment

The preparation of a scientifically literate society is the main goal of science education throughout the world and this has resulted in the emphasis of nature of science in the curriculum. The purpose of this research project is to examine the aforementioned students’ views on NOS tenets, its relationship to their academic achievements and background, and how it changes through their study of science. The study took place at the City College of New York, an urban, commuter, public college, and minority serving institute. The research data was collected through the administration of a survey that contained three of the NOS questions and academic and background information about the students. The data suggest that students possess inadequate understanding of the nature of science when they begin their academic fields of science study. This inadequate understanding is resistant to change in traditional science teaching settings. The data provide evidence that the inadequate understanding of nature of science does not change as the result of exposure to science courses, the field of science studied, and the students’ academic achievement as measured by grade point average. Our data show that traditional instruction in college science courses does not address nature of science and does not cause a conceptual change in the students’ understanding of NOS. The lack of correlation between students’ understanding of nature of science and credits completed or grade point average could be attributed to students relying on rote-learning and algorithmic problem-solving to achieve high grades and succeed in science, which hinders their meaningful learning of science and the development of conceptual understanding. Thus, science teaching and instruction should address naïve conception on the NOS and changes the instruction methods to consider NOS naïve conceptions and learning challenges. Science teaching and learning curriculum and instruction should immerse students in science learning activities that nurtures their understanding of the nature of science through participating in novel science research and inquiry-based learning activities.

STEM-Based NOS Teaching on 7th Grade Students' NOS Views

The aim of the study is to improve students’ nature of science understandings while integrating nature of science aspects into appropriate science-technology-engineering-mathematics (STEM) activities. In this study, four STEM-based contextualized nature of science activities are developed during the 4 weeks study. The sample of this study consists of eighteen 7th grade students. The data are collected the views of nature of science questionnaires (VNOS-D), follow-up interviews, and classroom observations. All data are analyzed holistically to create a profile of students’ views for the targeted aspects of nature of science with using content analysis. The analysis showed that 7th grade students have generally naive views of the targeted nature of science aspects before participating in the 4-week study. After STEM-based nature of science teaching, all students improved their views of nature of science. STEM-based explicit-reflective nature of science teaching may be an alternative approach to improve students’ nature of science views, and it is recommended to use this approach in the future studies.

Developing Student Teachers’ Conceptions of the Nature of Science: An Assessment of a Pre-service Science Teacher Programme in Tanzania

The importance of enabling student-teachers to acquire informed conceptions of the Nature of Science (NOS) is widely emphasised. Hence, this study investigated the effectiveness of a science pre-service teacher education programme of one university in Tanzania in enabling student-teachers to acquire informed conceptions of NOS as stages in a Learning Progressions model. We employed a comparative impact study design where NOS conceptions were compared resulting from two interventions—science student-teachers trained in inquiry-based learning (IBL) (N = 154) and those trained in IBL plus a NOS course (N = 86). The first teacher education programme emphasises learning through IBL, thus assuming that students will automatically acquire NOS conceptions through experiencing IBL. The additional NOS course targets explicit instruction of three NOS aspects, i.e. the tentative nature of scientific investigations, the scientific method and scientific theories and laws. Moreover, non-science student-teachers were used as a baseline control group (N = 106). Findings indicated that generally student-teachers had limited conceptions of NOS, implying serious gaps in NOS learning progression. Neither experiencing IBL nor being trained in an additional NOS course had significant impact on student-teachers’ understanding of NOS. Largely, our findings imply that the pre-service science teacher programmes are not sufficiently enabling student-teachers to acquire informed conceptions of NOS, a condition that calls for immediate intervention. We recommend a comprehensive review of the NOS progression. In the meantime, for the pre-service education programme we recommend a stand-alone and compulsory NOS course that explicitly addresses all of the aspects of NOS.

Saudi Arabian secondary school students’ views of the nature of science and epistemological beliefs: gendered differences

ABSTRACT Background Understanding students’ views of the nature of science (NOS) has become one of the most discussed topics of science education in Saudi Arabia. Insights therein could inform curricular inform, preservice, and inservice teacher education and the national discourse around science in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Purpose This study examined Saudi secondary school students’ views of the NOS and their epistemological beliefs by gender. Sample The convenience sample comprised 592 Saudi male (66%) and female (44%) grade 10–12 students from boys’ and girls’ schools (N = 8) in one major city in the KSA’s Eastern Province. Design and Methods A quantitative research design entailed the administration of two self-report instruments in winter 2018: Scientific Epistemological Views (SEVs) instrument (measured NOS) and the Epistemological Belief Inventory (EBI). Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results Gendered profiles of Saudi secondary students’ views of the NOS and epistemological beliefs were developed. Female students’ NOS mean scores were significantly higher than males. Male students presented more naive epistemological beliefs than females. All respondents scored highest on the role of Social Negotiation when creating scientific knowledge revealing it as a key element of their scientific epistemological beliefs. All respondents scored highest on Omniscient Authority intimating they believed that scientific knowledge comes from authority. For all respondents, Cultural Impacts was a significant predictor of more sophisticated epistemological beliefs. Conclusions The NOS and epistemological beliefs of Saudi secondary students were affected by gendered differences, religious Islamic teachings, and culture. These insights are important, because Saudi students’ understandings of NOS affect their perceptions of science and how it can become part of their epistemological belief system. Religious beliefs, culture, and gender must be considered when designing Saudi science curricula and preservice and inservice teacher education.

Quantitatively Investigating Inservice Elementary Teachers’ Nature of Science Views

Many nature of science (NOS) studies have demonstrated that teachers can improve their understandings of NOS with explicit and reflective instruction; however, the field has relied heavily on qualitative methods. Because qualitative studies can be difficult to compare across studies and contexts, our study sought to determine if a quantitative instrument, Students’ Understanding of Science and Scientific Inquiry (SUSSI) (Liang et al., 2008), could detect differences in NOS understandings that might make large studies and comparisons across studies easier. This study investigated changes in 60 elementary teachers’ NOS views during a year-long extensive science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) professional development program designed for elementary teachers. We found four NOS constructs (Social and Cultural, Collaborative, Creative and Imagination, and Scientific Method) out of the eight on the SUSSI had an acceptable Cronbach’s alpha values and we found that quantitative assessment could detect interesting differences in participants’ NOS views from pre- to post-assessment.