Investigates the effects of instruction and achievement on science question level for high and low science topic interests. Finds that students who received instruction in researchable questioning outperformed those who were not instructed, and that high achievers in mathematics, reading, or science outperformed low achievers. (Contains 41…

Examines the effects of adding a prediction/discussion phase at the beginning of a three-phase learning cycle involving exploration, term introduction, and concept application. Finds that the instructional innovation produced significant gains relative to the use of process skills, logical thinking skills, science concepts, and scientific…

Presents stories that illustrate how children learned lessons about the nature of science. These lessons include such ideas as observing closely and keep records, accessing resources, and collaborating with each other. Describes the use of a classroom bird station and nature walks in accomplishing the goals. (DDR)

Reform efforts emphasize teaching science to promote contemporary views of the nature of science (NOS) and scientific inquiry. Within the framework of situated cognition, the assertion is that engagement in inquiry activities similar to those of scientists provides a learning context conducive to developing knowledge about the methods and…

In this paper, we report work undertaken with a group of 11 UK teachers over a period of a year to teach aspects of the nature of science, its process, and its practices. The teachers, who taught science in a mix of elementary, junior high, and high schools, were asked to teach a set of "ideas-about-science" for which consensual support…

School science students can benefit greatly from participation in student-directed, open-ended scientific inquiry projects. For various possible reasons, however, students tend not to be engaged in such inquiries. Among factors that may limit their opportunities to engage in open-ended inquiries of their design are teachers' conceptions about…

This article describes the development and field test of an instrument, the Views on Science and Education Questionnaire, designed to measure participants' concepts of the nature of science (NOS) and relevant teaching attitudes. The questionnaire includes 15 questions, each followed by several items representing different philosophical positions.…

Teacher education programs have met with limited success in improving teachers' understanding of the nature of science (NOS). Research suggests that such efforts could be enhanced by addressing NOS in preservice teachers' science courses. We planned NOS instruction in a physical science content course for preservice elementary teachers. Our first…

The objectives of this study are: (a) elaboration of a history and philosophy of science (HPS) framework based on a reconstruction of the development of the periodic table; (b) formulation of seven criteria based on the framework; and (c) evaluation of 57 freshman college-level general chemistry textbooks with respect to the presentation of the…

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the nature of a first-year elementary teacher's specialized practices and knowledge for giving priority to evidence in science teaching and to explore the possible sources from which this knowledge was generated. Data included three audiotaped interviews, six videotaped classroom…

This article discusses how soap bubbles can be used to teach scientific principles such as phases of matter and the reflection of light. The study of soap bubbles addresses the National Science Education Standards for grades 5-8 related to the properties and changes of properties in matter. The exercises suggested here can be flexible in terms of…

This study examined the views, and the retention of these views, of 19 preservice elementary teachers as they learned about nature of science (NOS). The preservice teachers participated in a cohort group as they took a science methods course during which they received explicit reflective instruction in nature of science. Through Views of Nature of…

Counseling psychologists generally agree that science-practice integration is a good thing. However, most discussions of this topic are less clear about how to actually apply scientific findings to an individual client case. In this article, the author attempts to describe a philosophy for applying research to practice in counseling psychology…

Despite claims that STS(E) science education promotes ethical responsibility, this approach is not supported by a clear philosophy of ethics. This paper argues that the work of Emmanuel Levinas provides an ethics suitable for an STS(E) science education. His concept of the face of the Other redefines education as learning from the other, rather…

When we refer to scientific knowledge, we, implicitly or explicitly, refer to its three components, namely its conceptual framework, its methodological principles and its cultural aspects. The pendulum is a topic of science teaching and learning where all three of these aspects can be examined with the aim of gaining a holistic appreciation of the…