Nature of Science in the Science Curriculum

Introduction

The earliest example of nature of science (NOS) focus in school science education is Henry Armstrong’s heuristic approach, published in 1898, which involved students conducting the experiments, making the observations, and following the reasoning of the scientists who first generated the scientific knowledge being studied. It is important to note that Armstrong’s promotion of NOS was mainly pedagogical and motivational; the real purpose was to acquire and develop scientific knowledge. In contrast, John Dewey argued in Democracy and Education (published in 1916) that familiarity with scientific method is substantially more important than acquisition of scientific knowledge, particularly for those who do not intend to study science at an advanced level. Some 45 years later, similar rhetoric formed the basis of Schwab’s (1962) advocacy of a shift of emphasis for school science education in the United States away from the sole concern of learning scientific knowledge towards...