Developing Understanding of the Nature of Science Within a Professional Development Program for Inservice Elementary Teachers: Project Nature of Elementary Science Teaching

Abstract

Establishing literacy in science is often linked to building knowledge about the Nature of Science (NOS). This paper describes and evaluates an inservice program designed to build elementary teachers’ understanding of NOS and an awareness of how NOS impacts science classroom instruction. Data sources consisted of surveys, action research plan documentation and classroom observations. Program participants tended to demonstrate some gains in understanding more about NOS and they linked positive experiences in the program to the explicit and activity-based NOS instruction provided. Yet, participation in the professional development project might not have been equally beneficial for all teachers. The understanding of NOS may have been restricted to certain NOS aspects, and the demonstration of the participants’ understanding of NOS may have been short-lived with a somewhat limited impact on sustainable, long-term NOS-based classroom instruction. Implications for designing NOS related professional development programs and suggestions for improvements to further develop teacher understanding of NOS are discussed.

Appendices

Appendix 1

See Table 2.

Table 2 Program components

Appendix 2

See Table 3.

Table 3 VNOS-C scoring rubric

Appendix 3

Representative Rubric Data Sources and Scores

Science is a way of thinking and doing things in an orderly manner. Science has true resolution, a definite answer that is proven over and over and over.

Score = 1 (pre)

Science is a study of a scientific discipline that involves research (collecting data), analyzing, and forming a collective result or summation of that data. The difference between science and other disciplines of inquiry is that science has a step-by-step process of study that is based on more than theory and is the results are totally based on the facts of the data, not philosophical views or reflections or beliefs or thoughts.

Score = 1 (pre)

The atom has been around for a very long time. I think that scientists have studied the atom for many, many years; everything that needs to be known about the atom has been written.

Score = 1 (pre)

A scientific theory is a statement of belief based on present information or evidence. A scientific law is a statement of the “known”. Gravity could be considered a scientific law, we can demonstrate gravity and are able to predict how gravity will affect objects.

Score = 2 (pre)

The different conclusions differ based on the scientist’s interpretations of the results. These interpretations should lead the scientists to develop further theories and provide focus to further investigations and study that will either support a specific conclusion or force the scientists to reinterpret the data

Score = 2 (post)

Science reflects social and cultural values because the questions that are looked at as well as the way results are interpreted are going to always be affected by what’s important to the individual conducting the experiment. Science is affected by the level of development intellectually that humans have reached. Although scientific ideas/laws/theories such as gravity or the earth being round are universally accepted those ideas can change when new information is found. Just who found it, why they found it and how they use the information they found is subject to biases. So what is chosen to study, that is, finding the cure for AIDS is dictated by what’s happening at the moment and whether certain advances are made or made available can be controlled by the FDA for example so these outside circumstances do effect the direction of science as well as the results or availability of results.

Score = 3 (post)

Scientists definitely need to use their creativity and imaginations during investigations. Creativity plays a very important role in planning and designing an investigation-all the way from determining how to approach a problem to the results you imagine or predict will be gained during the investigation. Creativity can be used in determining how to collect data, but would not necessarily be used in the actual data collection. You could also use a certain amount of creativity and imagination to interpret the data, or predict changes that would evolve if elements of your investigation were changed.

Score = 3 (post)