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Using a Participatory Problem Based Methodology to Teach About NOS

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Nature of Science in Science Instruction

Part of the book series: Science: Philosophy, History and Education ((SPHE))

Abstract

Since 2011 we have been developing a participatory problem-based learning (PBL) methodology to teach about the nature of science (NOS) and, also, to foster the development of some practical and attitudinal dimensions of scientific practice. This methodology entails a participatory knowledge-centered approach where the teacher plays a key mediating role in the relationship between students and knowledge, with more guidance than usual in active methodologies, which employ a student-centered approach. Here we present a report on how we are using this methodology in higher education courses devoted to NOS, based on experiences in different teaching contexts: an undergraduate course on history and philosophy of science and a professional master course offering an introduction to scientific knowledge to environmental managers and decision-makers. We discuss some findings derived from teachers’ diaries and students’ problem-solving reports in order to indicate how the participatory PBL approach has been working as a basis for our teaching practice and how the students have been engaging in problem-solving and learning in the classroom.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    By “metacognitive questions,” we mean questions about their own thinking processes and practices. That is, rather than providing them with ready answers or readings, we will incite them to think through how they are looking for and reading the sources and how they are dealing with knowledge by themselves, among other aspects.

  2. 2.

    The excerpts from students’ works were freely translated by the authors.

  3. 3.

    For comments by Séralini and his team, see Séralini et al. (2013, 2014b, c). Several letters questioning the original study by Séralini et al. can be found in Food and Chemical Toxicology. The retraction note is found in FCT (2014). See also Hayes (2014).

  4. 4.

    The Brazilian Public Ministry is a federal or state organ responsible for representing and safeguarding the interests of society by investigating criminal facts denounced by citizens or organizations, for protecting victims and witnesses, and for carrying out public action against the investigated crimes.

  5. 5.

    We do not constrain the search for one of these categories in order to avoid the outcome that the students do more limited searches, say, neglecting the search for evidence instead of conceptual material.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biology, Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, Brazil

    Charbel N. El-Hani & Pedro Luís Bernardo da Rocha

  2. National Institute of Science & Technology in Interdisciplinary and Transdisciplinary Studies in Ecology and Evolution/INCT IN-TREE, Salvador-Bahia, Brazil

    Charbel N. El-Hani, Nei de Freitas Nunes-Neto & Pedro Luís Bernardo da Rocha

  3. School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Federal University of Grande Dourados, Dourados, Brazil

    Nei de Freitas Nunes-Neto

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  1. Charbel N. El-Hani
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  1. College of Education & Health Professions, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA

    William F. McComas

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El-Hani, C.N., de Freitas Nunes-Neto, N., da Rocha, P.L.B. (2020). Using a Participatory Problem Based Methodology to Teach About NOS. In: McComas, W.F. (eds) Nature of Science in Science Instruction. Science: Philosophy, History and Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-57239-6_26

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