Teaching Nature of Science by Explicit Approach to the Preservice Elementary Science Teachers

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the development of elementary science
teachers’ understandings of the nature of science as they were taught with an explicit approach. Qualitative
research methodologies were used to design the study. Data collection took place during the “Science
Teaching Methods” course. Twenty-nine preservice elementary science teachers participated in the study.
During the first five weeks of the course Nature of Science (NOS) activities developed by Lederman and
Abd-el-Khalick (1998) were administered by the first researcher. Classroom discussions were held after
each activity to determine and develop preservice elementary science teachers’ perception of the nature of
science. The participants’ perceptions of the NOS were evaluated with Views of Nature of Science
Questionnaire form C (VNOS-C) before and after the intervention. Data was analyzed basing on the
interpretivist approach. Results of the study indicated that the majority of the participants held naive views
of the targeted NOS aspects at the beginning of the study. Postintervention assessments showed that the
participants made substantial gains in their views of some of the targeted aspects of NOS. More substantial
gains were evident in the aspects of the subjective, and social and cultural NOS. Less substantial gains were
evident in the subject of the difference between the structure and function of scientific theories and laws