Explicit-reflective nature of science (NOS) instruction has demonstrated a positive impact on student learning. Although explicit-reflective NOS instruction often consists of questions that draw students' attention to NOS ideas, there are few recommendations in the science education literature about how the form of these questions might inform NOS…

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…

Nature of science (NOS) is a global conception of the infrastructure of science and, therefore, forms the foundation for teaching and learning science, especially for preservice teachers who are expected to have the proper understanding of NOS to thoughtfully emphasize NOS within their instruction to students. However, studies investigating UAE…

This article synthesizes Paul Feyerabend's controversial contributions to 20th-century philosophy of science through the synthesis of his works and the secondary literature, with specific foci on current trends in educational foundations and the potentials and pitfalls for applying Feyerabendian logics to our work. First, I situate his strains of…

This study explores Bhutanese in-service science teachers' conceptions of the nature of science (NOS) by using the Understanding Nature of Science (UNOS) questionnaire. The 15, two-tiered items focus on the five aspects of NOS: (1) scientific knowledge; (2) scientific theories and laws; (3) scientific method; (4) scientists' work; and (5)…

In this study, the experience of prospective science teachers, who watched a cinema film adapted from the life story of a well-known scientist for the first time in an informal environment, was examined. Answers of two questions were sought in the study: (1) What aspects of the nature of science did the prospective science teachers experience…

The purpose of this commentary on Hodson and Wong's (2017, this issue) article is to clarify the merits of the expanded family resemblance approach (FRA) to science education, briefly alluded to in their article, and to discuss the implications of this approach relative to the question of demarcation they raise. In clarifying the merits of the…

To improve the teaching and learning materials for a curriculum it is important to incorporate the findings from educational research. In light of this, we present creative exercises and experiments to elicit, confront and resolve misconceptions in geometrical optics. Since ray diagrams can be both the cause and the solution for many…

After seeing several reports in newspapers making claims about the cause of death after children had swallowed button batteries, a team of students decided to try to establish which (if any) claims were true. The findings were reported in the Schools Exhibition at the ASE Annual Conference 2018 in Liverpool and are shared in detail here. (A…

This paper discusses the relationships between the terms "hypothesis," "prediction," "theory," and "law." In so doing, it addresses some misconceptions found in the literature and suggests that the only interpretation of the term "hypothesis" needed is that of a causal hypothesis. A more valid…

There is a gap between the facts learned in a science course and the higher-cognitive skills of analysis and evaluation necessary for students to secure scientific knowledge and scientific habits of mind. Teaching science is not just about how we do science (i.e., focusing on just "accumulating undigested facts and scientific definitions and…

This study aims to investigate the views of Saudi Science Teachers in Najran district about the nature of science (NOS). A questionnaire of fourteen items was developed and administered to a sample of 83 science teachers. The questionnaire covers five aspects of the nature of science which are: scientific theories and models; role of scientists;…

A didactic sequence is proposed for the teaching of chemical equilibrium law. In this approach, we have avoided the kinetic derivation and the thermodynamic justification of the equilibrium constant. The equilibrium constant expression is established empirically by a trial-and-error approach. Additionally, students learn to use the criterion of…

This paper describes the results achieved by high school seniors on an item which involves translation of the equation P = kT into a corresponding pictorial external representation. The majority of students (the classes of 2011, 2012 and 2013) did not give the correct answer to the multiple choice part of the translation item. They chose pictorial…

This article presents a tangible model used to help students tackle some misconceptions about enzyme actions, particularly the induced-fit model, enzyme-substrate complementarity, and enzyme inhibition. The model can simulate how substrates induce a change in the shape of the active site and the role of attraction force during enzyme-substrate…