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Philpot, Cindy J. "Science Olympiad students' nature of science understandings." unrestricted, 2007. http://etd.gsu.edu/theses/available/etd-03282007-213459/.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Georgia State University, 2007.Title from file title page. Lisa Martin-Hansen, committee chair; Geeta Verma, Olga Jarrett, Michael Dias, committee members. Electronic text (147 p. : ill.) : digital, PDF file. Description based on contents viewed Nov. 16, 2007. Includes bibliographical references (p. 131-143).
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Philpot, Cindy Johnson. "Science Olympiad Students' Nature of Science Understandings." Digital Archive @ GSU, 2007. http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/msit_diss/20.
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Recent reform efforts in science education focus on scientific literacy for all citizens. In order to be scientifically literate, an individual must have informed understandings of nature of science (NOS), scientific inquiry, and science content matter. This study specifically focused on Science Olympiad students’ understanding of NOS as one piece of scientific literacy. Research consistently shows that science students do not have informed understandings of NOS (Abd-El-Khalick, 2002; Bell, Blair, Crawford, and Lederman, 2002; Kilcrease and Lucy, 2002; Schwartz, Lederman, and Thompson, 2001). However, McGhee-Brown, Martin, Monsaas and Stombler (2003) found that Science Olympiad students had in-depth understandings of science concepts, principles, processes, and techniques. Science Olympiad teams compete nationally and are found in rural, urban, and suburban schools. In an effort to learn from students who are generally considered high achieving students and who enjoy science, as opposed to the typical science student, the purpose of this study was to investigate Science Olympiad students’ understandings of NOS and the experiences that formed their understandings. An interpretive, qualitative, case study method was used to address the research questions. The participants were purposefully and conveniently selected from the Science Olympiad team at a suburban high school. Data collection consisted of the Views of Nature of Science – High School Questionnaire (VNOS-HS) (Schwartz, Lederman, & Thompson, 2001), semi-structured individual interviews, and a focus group. The main findings of this study were similar to much of the previous research in that the participants had informed understandings of the tentative nature of science and the role of inferences in science, but they did not have informed understandings of the role of human imagination and creativity, the empirical nature of science, or theories and laws. High level science classes and participation in Science Olympiad did not translate into informed understandings of NOS. There were implications that labs with a set procedure and given data tables did not contribute to informed NOS understandings, while explicit instruction may have contributed to more informed understandings. Exploring these high achieving, Science Olympiad students’ understandings of NOS was a crucial step to understanding what experiences formed these students’ understandings so that teachers may better their practices and help more students succeed in becoming scientifically literate citizens.
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Daigle, Cheryl Perusse. "A Portfolio of Science and Nature Writing." Fogler Library, University of Maine, 2002. http://www.library.umaine.edu/theses/pdf/DaigleCP2002.pdf.
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Jones, William I. "Examining Preservice Science Teacher Understanding of Nature of Science: Discriminating Variables on the Aspects of Nature of Science." The Ohio State University, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1284776708.
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Zakatistovs, Atis. "Hume's science of human nature." Thesis, University of Ottawa (Canada), 1996. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/9839.
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In my thesis I propose a new interpretation of Book I of A Treatise of Human Nature by David Hume. I claim that this Book must be read in the light of the Introduction to the Treatise. Thus, my interpretation revolves around Hume's intention of creating a new system of the sciences on the basis of his science of man. In this thesis I pay close attention to the following subjects: the analysis of the 'vulgar'; Hume's discussion about the impact of predispositions on our ideas; the distinction between the concept of causation and the process of causation. Finally, I discuss Hume's position on the question of the simplicity and complexity of ideas.
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Yamak, Yeliz. "Exploring Representation Of Nature Of Science Aspects In Science Textbooks." Master's thesis, METU, 2009. http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/2/12610447/index.pdf.
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The aim of this study was to examine middle school science textbooks according to some criteria in terms of nature of science (NOS). A total of three middle school science textbooks in 6th, 7th and 8th grade and two biology units were analyzed in each textbook. In the 6th grade science textbooks, Reproduction, Development and Growth in Living Beingsand Systems in Our Body units, in the 7th grade science textbook, Systems in Our Body and Human and Environment units, in the 8th grade science textbook, Cell Division and Heredity and Livings and Energy Relationships units were analyzed by using Nature of Science Criteria, adapted from Gunckel’
s (2004) study. The instrument consists of 3 categories, 9 criteria and 28 indicators. The categories are: Science as Authoritative Knowledge, Science as Understanding Phenomena and Science as the Social Construction of Knowledge. A qualitative oriented approach was performed and content analysis method was used to assess the science textbooks. Data were analyzed by percentage and frequency analysis. Reliability was calculated by Cohen&
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s Kappa and the value 0,71 which was found is reliable. The results of this study revealed that the three science textbooks inadequately presented the nature of science categories. It was also found that the percentages of almost all the indicators were under fifty. The textbooks presented the science as authoritative knowledge category relatively higher than the other two categories. The science as the sociocultural construction of knowledge category was portrayed less than the other two categories.
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Karakas, Mehmet. "College science professors' understanding and use of nature of science." Related electronic resource: Current Research at SU : database of SU dissertations, recent titles available full text, 2006. http://proquest.umi.com/login?COPT=REJTPTU0NWQmSU5UPTAmVkVSPTI=&clientId=3739.
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Kim, Sun Young. "Genetics instruction with history of science nature of science learning /." Columbus, Ohio : Ohio State University, 2007. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc%5Fnum=osu1186971775.
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PEDRAS, LUCIA RICOTTA VILELA PINTO BRANDO. "THE ENCHANTRESS NATURE: NATURE, SCIENCE AND ART IN ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT." PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIRO, 2002. http://www.maxwell.vrac.puc-rio.br/Busca_etds.php?strSecao=resultado&nrSeq=9023@1.
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COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DO PESSOAL DE ENSINO SUPERIORO objetivo dessa tese foi verificar o uso da linguagem literária nas obras científicas Ansichten der Natur e Kosmos de Alexander von Humboldt (1769- 1859). A hipótese consistiu em salientar a importância do tratamento estético da linguagem para a configuração de certa noção e prática de ciência. Considerando a permanente preocupação de Humboldt em nunca reduzir a ciência ao seu caráter descritivo e tecnicamente operacional, constatamos o predomínio de um conhecimento antropologicamente fundamentado. Isso nos permite considerar, a partir do aproveitamento estético-simbólico dos assuntos científicos, os vários colapsos que irão sendo instaurados entre consciência/imaginação, ciência/magia, conceito/intuição, conhecimento/mistério, aparência física/significado ideal, real/ideal, subjetivo/objetivo. Argumentamos ainda que as condições de percepção e experiência transformam, aqui, os resultados das apreensões. As prerrogativas do Standpunkt da cosmovisão e outras formas de mediação, como a viagem, a saída e o retorno a si, resguardam a impressão de totalidade, num mundo cada vez mais desintegrador. Em suma, a ciência de Humboldt sendo linguagem e estando, portanto, preservada na forma de seu efeito moral, revela a possibilidade de reintegração de espírito e Natureza, sem contudo transformá-los numa unidade indissolúvel. Considerado como ciência poética, e em virtude da harmonia que promove, o conhecimento de Humboldt confere ao empírico um começo, uma direção que vai precisamente significar a retomada idealista/ transcendental do mundo.
This dissertation s aim objective was to verify the use of literary language on the scientific works Ansichten der Natur and kosmos written by Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859). The hypothesis emphasized the importance of the aesthetic treatment on the language, resulting in a certain scientific notion and pragmatic. Considering the everlasting preoccupation of Humboldt in never reducing science to its descriptive character nor reducing it to its technically operational character, we´ve perceived an anthropological knowledge predominantly structured,. this allow us to consider, throughout the symbolicaesthetic utilization of scientific matters, many collapses that will be installed between imagination/conscience, magic/science, intuition/concept, mistery/ knowledge, ideal significance/physical appearance, ideal/real, objective/subjective. We then discuss that the conditions of perception and those of experiment transform, the result of the accomplishment. The prerogatives in the Standpunkt of cosmovision and other ways of mediation, like traveling , the exit and the return to oneself, preserve the sensation of totality, in a world growing in disintegration. In conclusion, Humboldt´s science being language and being preserved in its form from its moral effects reveals the possibility of reintegration of Nature and spirit, however it doesn´t change them into an indissoluble unity. Considered as poetic Science, and due to the harmony that it brings forth, Humboldt´s knowledge gives to the empirical a starting point, a direction that will precisely signify an idealistic/ transcending recover over of the world.
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Peters, Erin E. "The effect of nature of science metacognitive prompts on science students' content and nature of science knowledge, metacognition, and self regulatory efficacy." Fairfax, Va. : George Mason University, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/1920/2831.
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Thesis (Ph.D.)--George Mason University, 2007.Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Oct. 29, 2007). Thesis director: Anastasia Kitsantas. Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education. Vita: p. 183. Includes bibliographical references (p. 171-182). Also available in print.
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Ainsworth, Jonathan N. "Science, domination and the order of nature." Thesis, Lancaster University, 1998. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.264681.
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Tai, Chih-Che. "Nature of Science, Connections, Visions and Opportunities." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2011. https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works/3302.
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Wan, Zhihong, and 万志宏. "Chinese science teacher educators' conceptions of teaching nature of science to prospective science teachers." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2010. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B44749910.
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McDonald, Christine. "Exploring the influence of a science content course incorporating explicit nature of science and argumentation instruction on preservice primary teachers' views of nature of science." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2008. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/26330/1/Christine_McDonald_Thesis.pdf.
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There exists a general consensus in the science education literature around the goal of enhancing students. and teachers. views of nature of science (NOS). An emerging area of research in science education explores NOS and argumentation, and the aim of this study was to explore the effectiveness of a science content course incorporating explicit NOS and argumentation instruction on preservice primary teachers. views of NOS. A constructivist perspective guided the study, and the research strategy employed was case study research. Five preservice primary teachers were selected for intensive investigation in the study, which incorporated explicit NOS and argumentation instruction, and utilised scientific and socioscientific contexts for argumentation to provide opportunities for participants to apply their NOS understandings to their arguments. Four primary sources of data were used to provide evidence for the interpretations, recommendations, and implications that emerged from the study. These data sources included questionnaires and surveys, interviews, audio- and video-taped class sessions, and written artefacts. Data analysis involved the formation of various assertions that informed the major findings of the study, and a variety of validity and ethical protocols were considered during the analysis to ensure the findings and interpretations emerging from the data were valid. Results indicated that the science content course was effective in enabling four of the five participants. views of NOS to be changed. All of the participants expressed predominantly limited views of the majority of the examined NOS aspects at the commencement of the study. Many positive changes were evident at the end of the study with four of the five participants expressing partially informed and/or informed views of the majority of the examined NOS aspects. A critical analysis of the effectiveness of the various course components designed to facilitate the development of participants‟ views of NOS in the study, led to the identification of three factors that mediated the development of participants‟ NOS views: (a) contextual factors (including context of argumentation, and mode of argumentation), (b) task-specific factors (including argumentation scaffolds, epistemological probes, and consideration of alternative data and explanations), and (c) personal factors (including perceived previous knowledge about NOS, appreciation of the importance and utility value of NOS, and durability and persistence of pre-existing beliefs). A consideration of the above factors informs recommendations for future studies that seek to incorporate explicit NOS and argumentation instruction as a context for learning about NOS.
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McDonald, Christine. "Exploring the influence of a science content course incorporating explicit nature of science and argumentation instruction on preservice primary teachers' views of nature of science." Queensland University of Technology, 2008. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/26330/.
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There exists a general consensus in the science education literature around the goal of enhancing students. and teachers. views of nature of science (NOS). An emerging area of research in science education explores NOS and argumentation, and the aim of this study was to explore the effectiveness of a science content course incorporating explicit NOS and argumentation instruction on preservice primary teachers. views of NOS. A constructivist perspective guided the study, and the research strategy employed was case study research. Five preservice primary teachers were selected for intensive investigation in the study, which incorporated explicit NOS and argumentation instruction, and utilised scientific and socioscientific contexts for argumentation to provide opportunities for participants to apply their NOS understandings to their arguments. Four primary sources of data were used to provide evidence for the interpretations, recommendations, and implications that emerged from the study. These data sources included questionnaires and surveys, interviews, audio- and video-taped class sessions, and written artefacts. Data analysis involved the formation of various assertions that informed the major findings of the study, and a variety of validity and ethical protocols were considered during the analysis to ensure the findings and interpretations emerging from the data were valid. Results indicated that the science content course was effective in enabling four of the five participants. views of NOS to be changed. All of the participants expressed predominantly limited views of the majority of the examined NOS aspects at the commencement of the study. Many positive changes were evident at the end of the study with four of the five participants expressing partially informed and/or informed views of the majority of the examined NOS aspects. A critical analysis of the effectiveness of the various course components designed to facilitate the development of participants‟ views of NOS in the study, led to the identification of three factors that mediated the development of participants‟ NOS views: (a) contextual factors (including context of argumentation, and mode of argumentation), (b) task-specific factors (including argumentation scaffolds, epistemological probes, and consideration of alternative data and explanations), and (c) personal factors (including perceived previous knowledge about NOS, appreciation of the importance and utility value of NOS, and durability and persistence of pre-existing beliefs). A consideration of the above factors informs recommendations for future studies that seek to incorporate explicit NOS and argumentation instruction as a context for learning about NOS.
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McGoey, Jonathan P. "The nature of science portrayed in ecological webspace." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1999. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/ftp03/MQ39854.pdf.
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Perinetti, Dario. "Hume, history and the science of human nature." Thesis, McGill University, 2002. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=38509.
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This thesis sets out to show that a philosophical reflection on history is, in the strongest possible way, an essential feature of Hume's project of a science of human nature: a philosophical investigation of human nature, for Hume, cannot be successful independently of an understanding of the relation of human beings to their history. Hume intended to criticize traditional metaphysics by referring all knowledge to experience. But it is almost always assumed that Hume means by "experience" the result of an individual's past sense perception or personal observation. Accordingly, Hume's criticism of traditional metaphysics is taken to lead to an individualistic conception of knowledge and human nature. In this thesis I claim that this picture of Hume's "empiricism" is simply wrong. He is not a philosopher who reduces "experience" to the merely private happenings within a personal psychology. On the contrary, Hume has a wider notion of experience, one that includes not only personal observation and memory, but, fundamentally, one that includes implicit knowledge of human history. Experience, so understood, brings about what I term a historical point of view, namely, the point of view of someone who seeks to extend his experience as far as it is possible in order to acquire the capacity to produce more nuanced and impartial judgments in any given practice. It is precisely this historical point of view that enables us to depart from the individualistic perspective that we would otherwise be bound to adopt not only in epistemology but, most significantly, in politics, in social life, in religion, etc.Chapter 1 presents the historical background against which Hume elaborates his views of history's role in philosophy. Chapter 2 discusses and criticizes the individualist reading of Hume by showing that he had a satisfactory account of beliefs formed via human testimony. Chapter 3 presents a view of Hume on explanation that underscores his interest in practical and informal explanations as those of history. Chapter 4 provides a discussion of Hume's notion of historical experience in relation both to his theory of perception and to his project of a "science of man."
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Brotherton, Peter Nigel. "The nature and teaching of science process skills." Thesis, University of Exeter, 1993. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.333456.
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Stanistreet, Paul J. "Hume's scepticism and the science of human nature." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 1999. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/7007/.
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The difficulty of reconciling Hume's use and endorsement of sceptical arguments and conclusions with his constructive project of founding 'a science of man' is perhaps the central interpretive puzzle of A Treatise of Human Nature. Hume has been interpreted as an entirely unmitigated sceptic about induction, causation, personal identity and the external world. His sceptical arguments emerge as apart of a naturalistic programme to explain fundamental human beliefs, but seem to call into serious question the viability of this programme. This work is an attempt to understand the relationship between Hume's sceptical arguments and his Newtonian ambition of founding a science of human nature. It defends two main theses: that Hume's sceptical arguments appear as steps in a more general and systematic argument the conclusion of which involves a causal explanation of scepticism itself; and that the scepticism of Book One of the Treatise is to be seen not as unmitigatedly destructive but as a part of the necessary preparation for the more robustly Newtonian investigations of Books Two and Three. Hume's sceptical arguments support the general conception he has of philosophy, and of its role and value, which emerges in the conclusion to the first book. I show that Hume's exposition of this conception is the conclusion of a complex and systematic dialectic. The work is divided into four chapters. In Chapter One, I examine Hume's commitment to the experimental method of reasoning and formulate a number of general theoretical principles which, I argue, guide the Newtonian investigations of the Treatise. I also assess Hume's understanding of what constitutes a good or adequate explanation in science. Chapter Two considers Part III of Book One. Here I emphasise the reflexiveness of Hume's extended account of the causal relation, acknowledging the constructive programme which leads Hume to formulate a set of normative rules for telling what is the cause of what. The remaining two chapters deal with Hume's main sceptical arguments concerning the attribution of identity over time to bodies and persons.
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Leung, Shuk-ching Jessica, and 梁淑貞. "Understanding of nature of science and evaluation of science in the media among non-science majors." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2013. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B50162627.
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Scientific literacy has been recognized internationally for its importance as a goal of science education. Lying at the core of scientific literacy is understandings of nature of science (NOS). A desired outcome from a scientifically literate populace is – critical evaluation of reports and discussions about science in the media. It is generally assumed that an informed conception of NOS will lead to this desired outcome of scientific literacy. Yet this assumption remains untested.
The purpose of this research study was to examine the relationship, if any, between NOS understandings and the quality of evaluating science in the media. Sixty-four non-science majors from a local community college participated in the study. Participants were asked to evaluate on three health-related news articles reporting scientific claims by completing the Health News Evaluation Questionnaire. Their NOS understandings were assessed by the Views about Science Questionnaire. Participants were invited for a follow-up interview to further probe their NOS conceptions and quality of evaluating science news articles. The quality of evaluation, and the application and prioritization of criteria by each participant were analyzed. These were compared with the level of NOS understandings. Reasons for applying or not applying and for prioritizing or not prioritizing the NOS-related criteria were also examined in the follow-up interview.
No correlation was identified between the non-science majors’ understanding on the targeted aspects of NOS and their frequency of application of these concepts in evaluating the science news except the followings where significant correlations, though weak, were identified. These include understanding of the peer view process and its frequency of application in evaluating (i) Article 2 on the effect of calorie on body weight and memory (r=0.325, p<0.05), (ii) Article 3 on cell phone controversies (r=0.326, p<0.05) and (iii) all the 3 news articles as a whole (r=0.381, p<0.05). Correlations are also identified between understanding of the peer review process and the level of sophistication with its application in the evaluation of Article 2 (r=0.345, p<0.05) and all the three articles as a whole (r=0.39, p<0.05). Another intriguing finding was that understanding of the tentative NOS was found to be correlated with the stance adopted in the evaluation of Article 3 (r=0.434, p<0.05). The poor performance of the participants in evaluating science in the media was attributed to the lack of awareness for the important role of NOS understandings, unfamiliarity with the application of NOS understandings, and compartmentalization among various NOS aspects. These were possible culprits for successful transformation of NOS understandings to critical evaluation of science in the media.
Based on the findings, it is argued that NOS understandings are a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for critical evaluation of science in the media. Three additional conditions are suggested: (1) awareness towards the importance and the need in making reference to NOS understandings, (2) ability to apply NOS understandings, and (3) understanding the interconnectedness among various NOS aspects would aid successful transformation of NOS understandings to critical evaluation of science in the media.published_or_final_version
Education
Doctoral
Doctor of Philosophy
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Khaldi, Mousa M. M. "An exploratory study of Palestinian science teachers' views of the nature of science." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2010. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/13380/.
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This mixed methods study investigates Palestinian science teachers' views of the nature of science (NOS), with an in-depth exploration of the nature, causes and context of these views, and the possible reasons why teachers hold such views. The research provides suggestions of possible ways to improve Palestinian science teachers' views of NOS, and the factors within the Palestinian context that might either facilitate or hamper efforts to promote teachers' understanding of NOS. Quantitative data were collected during the first phase of the study from a sample of 277 teachers working in three areas in Palestine. Twelve teachers were randomly selected for the second qualitative phase. In line with the regional and global literature, the results of the closed NOS survey, the open-ended questionnaire and the individual semi-structured interviews revealed that Palestinian science teachers hold relatively naive, traditional views of most of the main tenets of NOS. During the qualitative phase, a series of semi-structured interviews was also carried out with ten Palestinian academics to explore in depth their views and suggestions concerning the nature, causes and context of teachers' views of NOS. They identified possible factors responsible for this apparent naivete in teachers' views and suggested ways to improve their understanding of NOS. The analysis of academics' responses revealed eight main factors that might explain the naivete of teachers' views of NOS: Palestinian socio-cultural background, education policy, teachers' own personal values, teaching approaches at school and university levels, science textbooks, teacher training programmes, educational supervision and school resources. Possible ways to improve teachers' views of NOS could be grouped in six main areas: tertiary science teaching and teacher preparation programmes, teaching as a well-resourced profession, Palestinian science textbooks, education supervision and in-service teacher training, educational leadership and administration system, and public scientific literacy and critical awareness. Finally, there is a consideration of the possible implications of these findings for teaching and teacher education in Palestine, for policy making bodies in the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, for methodology, and for future research in the area.
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Lau, Kwok–chi. "Knowledge and skills that science teachers need for teaching the nature of science." Thesis, University of Leicester, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/2381/9172.
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Nature of science (NOS) has long been a highly valued element of science education, but it remains largely ignored in science classrooms despite decades of efforts in promoting it. Past research mostly focuses on curricular efforts and NOS understanding of teachers and students to the exclusion of in depth examination of NOS teaching in actual classrooms. The studies targeting NOS teaching, however, often put heavy emphasis on the intentions and beliefs of teachers to account for whether or not NOS aspects are addressed in the classrooms. These types of studies still treat NOS teaching as a black box without addressing the complex interplays between teachers and students in class, and also fail to address the issues pertaining to the competence of teachers in NOS teaching. This study seeks to delineate and understand the complex dynamics of NOS teaching in actual classroom contexts in order to shed light on the knowledge and skills that science teachers need to teach NOS. The study employed a multiple case study design, examining in depth the NOS teaching attempts of eight science teachers in Hong Kong. Data were collected mainly through class observations, interviews, and analysis of teaching plans. The NOS understandings and constructivist pedagogy of the teachers were assessed with quantitative instruments. A framework for the key characteristics of NOS teaching is established based on the literature and empirical findings of this study. Three knowledge bases are found connected with these characteristics: knowledge of NOS, pedagogical knowledge and skills to teach NOS in a constructivist and dialogic manner, and knowledge of the contexts for NOS teaching, such as history of science. The implications of the findings to teacher training and curriculum development pertinent to NOS were discussed.
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Vaughan, William S. "Investigation of preservice science and mathematics teachers' beliefs about the nature of science /." The Ohio State University, 2000. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1488202678776226.
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Talbert, Bradford N. "Development of the Characteristics of Science Questionnaire (CSQ): Assessing Student Knowledge of the Utah State Secondary Science Core Intended Learning Outcome 6 on the Nature of Science." Diss., CLICK HERE for online access, 2007. http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/ETD/image/etd2107.pdf.
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Ngwenya, Nkosinathi Hezekia. "Pre-service science education students’ epistemological beliefs about the nature of science and science teaching and learning." Thesis, University of Zululand, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10530/1377.
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Submitted to the Faculty of Education in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE EDUCATION in the Department of Mathematics, Science and Technology (MSTE) at the University of Zululand, 2015.This study set out to investigate beliefs held by pre service Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) students about the nature of science and science teaching and learning. The research sample comprised one hundred and eighty four (184) third and fourth year (B.Ed) students majoring in mathematics and physical sciences. Data on students’ epistemological beliefs about the nature of science and science teaching and Learning were collected using two questionnaires: The Nature of Science as Argument Questionnaire (NSAAQ) and Beliefs About Reformed Science Teaching and Learning (BARSTL). Furthermore the study sought to find out if those beliefs cohered with the beliefs espoused by the National Curriculum Statement (NCS) for Physical Sciences grades 10-12. The conceptual framework of this study was framed upon the preponderance of literature that carried the view that a teacher’s classroom practices are a consequence of two main dialectic influences: (a) the teacher’s epistemological beliefs about the nature of science, which may be either naïve or sophisticated; and (b) the teacher’s beliefs about teaching and learning, which may be either traditional or reformed. Accordingly, the conceptual framework guiding the study opined that teachers holding naïve beliefs about the nature of science, and those holding traditional notions of teaching and learning will be characterized by teacher-centred instructional approaches, while those holding sophisticated beliefs of the nature of science and a reformed view of teaching and learning will be associated with learner-centred instructional approaches. This study was a case study conducted at a South African university, and involved one hundred and eighty-four third and fourth year students registered for a four-year Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) degree for the Senior and Further Education and Training phase. During these two final years of the programme students are engaged in science enquiry practices in their Methods modules. The participants were registered in physical science and mathematics education. Intact groups were used, so there was no sampling undertaken to select participants. Data were collected by the use of (a) the Nature of Science as Argument Questionnaire (NSAAQ), to determine epistemological beliefs held by the participants about the nature of science, as well as the concurrence of those beliefs with the views about science teaching and learning espoused by the NCS; and (b) the Beliefs about Reformed Science Teaching and Learning (BARSTL) questionnaire, to determine the beliefs held by preservice education students about science teaching and learning. Data analysis involved the use of both descriptive statistical methods to decipher patterns and general trends regarding the epistemological beliefs about science held by participants, and their beliefs about science teaching and learning, as well as inferential statistics to test both a priori and a posteriori hypotheses. Similarly, statistical analysis was carried out to determine whether or not third- and fourth-year pre-service science education students held beliefs about science teaching and learning that were in agreement with the pedagogical content beliefs about science teaching and learning espoused by the NCS. The study found that pre service students held significantly more sophisticated epistemological beliefs about the nature of science at fourth year than at third year level. The results also showed that fourth year students demonstrated a significantly higher level of ‘reformed oriented teaching and learning beliefs’ about science than did the third year students. The results however showed that third and fourth year students held beliefs that were not in line with the beliefs espoused by the National Curriculum Statement (NCS). These results support studies which have found that student teachers become more sophisticated in their epistemological beliefs towards graduation. The findings also showed that the B.Ed programme is succeeding in developing both epistemological beliefs about the nature of science and teaching and learning. The degree to which the programme succeeded in developing these beliefs was however quite small. This study recommends that further investigations be done to determine whether students who hold sophisticated epistemological beliefs about the nature of science and ‘reformed beliefs about science teaching and learning’ also demonstrate superior science teaching skills
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Weisend, Ausma Skerbele. "Poetry, nature and science : romantic nature philosophy in the works of Novalis and E.T.A. Hoffmann /." Connect to resource, 1994. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view.cgi?acc%5Fnum=osu1249485965.
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Ozdem, Yasemin. "The Nature Of Pre-service Science Teachers'." Master's thesis, METU, 2009. http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/3/12611154/index.pdf.
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The purpose of this study is to explore pre-service science teachers&rsquo(PST) argumentation in the context of inquiry-oriented laboratory work. Specifically, this study investigated the kinds of argumentation schemes PSTs use as they perform inquiry-oriented laboratory tasks, and how argumentation schemes generated by PSTs vary by tasks as well as by experimentation and critical discussion sessions. The participants in this study were 35 pre-service elementary teachers, who will teach middle school science from 6th through 8th grade students after graduation. In this study, participants were engaged in six inquiry-oriented laboratory tasks. The performance of laboratory tasks consisted of two stages. Through the experimentation stage, PSTs planned and developed their own hypotheses, carried out an experiment and collected data, and processed their data to verify their hypotheses. Through the critical discussion stage, one of the research groups presented their hypotheses, methods, and results orally to the other research groups. Each presentation was followed by a class discussion of weak and strong aspects of the experimentation. The data of this study were collected through video- and audio-recording. The data were the transcribed from video- and audio-recordings of the PSTs&rsquo
discourse during the performance of the laboratory tasks. For the analysis of PSTs&rsquo
discourse pre-determined argumentation schemes by Walton (1996) were employed. The results illustrated that PSTs applied varied premises rather than only observations or reliable sources, to ground their claims or to argue for a case or an action. The interpretation of the frequency data and the kind of the most frequent argumentation schemes can be seen as a positive indication that the inquiry-oriented laboratory tasks that were employed in this study are effective toward promoting presumptive reasoning discourse. Another result of this study, which is worthy of notice is the construction and evaluation of scientific knowledge claims that resulted in different number and kinds of arguments. Results of this study suggest the following implications for improving science education. First, designing inquiry-oriented laboratory environments, which are enriched with critical discussion, provides discourse opportunities that can support argumentation. Second, both the number of arguments and the use of various scientific argumentation schemes can be enhanced by specific task structures. Third, &ldquo
argumentation schemes for presumptive reasoning&rdquo
is a promising analysis framework to reveal the argumentation patterns in scientific settings. Last, pre-service teachers can be encouraged to support and promote argumentation in their future science classrooms if they engage in argumentation integrated instructional strategies.
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Cochrane, D. Brian. "Grade six students' understanding of the nature of science." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 2000. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape3/PQDD_0016/NQ57346.pdf.
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Mezey, Eva. "The Nature and Role of Experiment in Science Education." Thesis, Malmö högskola, Lärarutbildningen (LUT), 2006. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-33990.
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Experimentets art och roll i naturvetenskaplig undervisning är ett fundamentalt och omfattande ämne. I föreliggande litteraturstudie görs ett försök att sätta in frågan i ett historiskt, pedagogiskt och vetenskapligt sammanhang. Innan experimentets roll diskuteras, ställs dock frågan vad naturvetenskap är, varför och hur det skall undervisas, och vad som kännetecknar praktiskt arbete och experimentell verksamhet i skolan. Med denna bakgrund refereras några forskares och lärares erfarenheter och åsikter. Det visar sig, föga överraskande, att formerna för och avsikterna med experiment i undervisningen är skiftande. Studien får därför ses som ett försök till kartläggning av frågeställningen, med avsikten att lyfta fram några representativa exempel. Slutsatsen måste bli, att titelns fråga har många möjliga svar. Den gemensamma nämnaren förefaller vara, att praktiskt arbete och experiment är önskvärda inslag i naturvetenskaplig undervisning, trots oenighet och osäkerhet beträffande deras mål och effektivitet.The nature and role of experiment in science education is a fundamental and extensive subject. In the present literature survey, the subject is considered in a historical, pedagogical and scientific context. However, previous to discussing the role of experiment, we ask what science is, why and how we should teach it, and what characterizes practical and experimental work in school. Bearing this in mind, the experiences and opinions of some researchers and teachers are accounted for. We realize, not very surprisingly, that the methods and intentions for using experiment in science teaching are diverse. This work is consequently an attempt to map the subject and to bring forward some representative examples. The conclusion must be, that the question we have posed in the title has many possible answers. These appear to have in common, that practical and experimental work are considered desirable in science teaching, in spite of disagreement and doubt concerning their goal and efficiency.
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Abe, Satoshi. "Remaking Nature in Iran: Environmentalism, Science, and the Nation." Diss., The University of Arizona, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/311450.
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In the last 30 years, Iran has experienced mounting environmental problems, such as air and water pollution, that are perceived as in need of redress. In order to address and confront these problems, Iran has recently adopted the language and framework of ecological science. Subsequently, the prestige of science in the country has been growing through extensive applications of ecological science at various levels of Iranian society. Viewing this development as a socio-cultural process of modernity in Iran, this dissertation addresses two major issues: First, it investigates the discursive historical conditions of Iran in which modern science, including ecological science, has been developed and practiced since the nineteenth century. Second, it explores the cultural dimensions of environmentalism in Iran through examining its reception by Iranian environmentalists, researchers, and non-expert citizens in Tehran and their attitudes toward it. The analyses of the genealogies of science in Iran show that modern science has provided Iranians with a conceptual framework through which to govern the objects that state authorities, with accuracy and efficiency, wish to identify, analyze, and organize. I argue that the "population" has been a prominent object in the governance of Iran in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and that, more recently, "the environment" has become such an object. Scientific knowledge and management have played a vital role in establishing these mechanisms of governance, thereby the status of science is kept intact in Iran. Drawing on thirteen months of fieldwork in Tehran, I also examine the recent development of environmentalism in urban Iran through changing conceptions of "nature." With Iran's utilization of ecological science, a new conception of nature is recently introduced to society: a scientific formulation of nature. I demonstrate how this notion of nature has become influential along with growing environmental discourses in Iran, and yet, argue that another conception of nature--relating to Iranian nationhood--also makes a key contribution to Iranian environmentalism. In particular, I engage the anthropological perspectives of "materiality" and "heteroglossia" to highlight this point.
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Suzuri-Hernandez, Luis Jiro. "Exploring school students' views of the nature of science." Thesis, University of York, 2010. http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/1222/.
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This study aimed to develop, validate, and use a fixed-response test to assess in a quick manner the views of the nature of science (NoS) of groups of secondary school students and to explore the issues involved in developing such tests. The Nature of Science Test (NoST) used episodes from the history of science as contexts for questions. For each aspect of the NoS probed, three options were presented, using a cartoon format: a "desired" position and more positivist and relativist alternatives. The NoST was validated by an international expert panel and trialled with students in England (n=168). Only 50-60% of respondents gave a consistent response to the same question presented in different contexts. To explore this further, parallel forms of the test - with different contexts - were administered several weeks apart to English students (n=169), while a test-retest trial using the same form of the NoST twice was conducted with a smaller sample (n=49). A sample of Mexican students (n=185) also completed one form of the test, to explore culture and language effects. Two focus groups in England and twelve in Mexico (n=6 and 36 students, respectively) probed the reasons behind students' views and checked the interpretation of their written responses. Almost all students had mixed profiles, where desired views of some aspects of the NoS coexisted with alternative ones. Again, only 50-60% of respondents gave a consistent response to the same question across contexts, and test-retest variability was similar. In the focus groups, most students engaged adequately with the central issue raised by each question, justifying their responses coherently. English students selected slightly more "desirable" views than Mexican students, but differences in reasons for choices were negligible. Together, these findings suggest that students may posses an incoherent and unstable understanding of the NoS. A single administration of one form of the NoST does not appear reliable enough for the summative assessment of individuals, but can provide more reliable data at the population level. The quality of focus group discussions suggests that this technique could be used effectively for formative assessment within the classroom.
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Lunn, Stephen Andrew. "Primary teachers' understandings of the nature of science and the purposes of science education." Thesis, [n.p.], 2000. http://library7.open.ac.uk/abstracts/page.php?thesisid=51.
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Butt, Nasim Sahar. "Muslim science teacher perceptions of the nature of science and their impact on science teaching in secondary schools." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 1997. http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/10020285/.
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The aim of this thesis is to find out about the nature of science views held by British Muslim science teachers teaching in Muslim secondary schools, and whether or not these views have any impact on how they teach the National Curriculum. In the course of the study the views of a sample of non-Muslim science teachers and Muslim teachers teaching in state schools were elicited. The instrument used was the philosophy of science questionnaire based on systemic networks developed by Koulaidis and Ogborn (1989). The results were processed on the SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) database, and followed by interview with a sample of Muslim science teachers and classroom observations of some selected lessons. The central finding was that the differences between Muslim teachers (in my sample) in their perceptions of science were not sufficiently clear to merit categorisation in an absolute sense. Predominantly, teachers (both Muslims and non-Muslims in my sample) tended to hold eclectic or mixed views about the nature of science, adhering to a diversity of elements taken from different philosophical positions. For Muslim science teachers teaching in Muslim schools, the teaching of science was driven by the principle of glorifying the Creator. In one sense, the science was taken as read, in that the focus of science teachers was not to explore how scientific knowledge was gained or to question its validity, but to display the authority of the Quran and its predictive power. Finally, some recommendations are made for improving the awareness amongst Muslim science teachers of nature of science issues. Further research that needs to be conducted in this area is also discussed.
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Brannan, Gary Eugene. "An Interdisciplinary Course for Non-Science Majors: Students' Views on Science Attitudes, Beliefs, and the Nature of Science." [Tampa, Fla.] : University of South Florida, 2004. http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/SFE0000476.
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Dickerson, Daniel Lee. "Understanding the Relationship between Science and Faith, the Nature of Science, and Controversial Content Understandings." NCSU, 2003. http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/theses/available/etd-07102003-140855/.
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This study examines the views of the relationship between science and faith and the understandings of biological evolution, geologic history and the nature of science, with emphasis on the use of evidence, held by United Methodist ministers, pre-service science teachers, and pre-service language arts/social studies teachers. By completing a nineteen and a twenty-item, combination multiple-choice/open-ended questionnaire and individual interviews, participants demonstrated a wide array of scientific understandings and articulated in some cases how those understandings inform their views of the relationship between alternative ways of knowing. Findings included little disparity overall between participant groups' scientific understandings, although slightly more ministers demonstrated more informed understandings of the concepts assessed. Additionally, findings indicated that pre-service science teachers viewed scientific literacy as less important than other participant groups and few participants reported any change in their views of science as a result of formal post-secondary instruction. Almost all participants considered evidence to be used in faith but little to no distinction was made between scientific, historical, and faith-based types of evidence. Recommendations are included regarding curriculum development for science teacher and religious education, as well as implications for potential partnerships between the science educators and clergy.
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Fung, Yuk-ling, and 馮玉玲. "Junior secondary students' understanding of the nature of science through their study of science stories." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2003. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B42576908.
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Kim, Young-Soo. "A study of concept maps regarding the nature of science by preservice secondary science teachers /." free to MU campus, to others for purchase, 1998. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/mo/fullcit?p9901250.
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Fung, Yuk-ling. "Junior secondary students' understanding of the nature of science through their study of science stories." Click to view the E-thesis via HKUTO, 2003. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record/B42576908.
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Blühdorn, Ingolfur. "The abolition of nature : nature and ecology in German social theory." Thesis, Keele University, 1998. http://opus.bath.ac.uk/14473/.
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Daraghma, Anis. "Constructions of Nature and Environmental Justice in Driftsands nature reserve, South Africa." Doctoral thesis, University of Cape Town, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/4841.
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This thesis provides an analysis of the discourses of nature conservation in South Africa and Driftsands provincial nature reserve from constructionist and environmental justice perspectives. At the outset I examine the theoretical framework on the social construction of nature and that of environmental justice. I then discuss the history of nature conservation in South Africa. Finally I analyse the discourse (nature conservation and local communities) surrounding the Driftsands Provincial Nature Reserve (DNR). This nature reserve is located one kilometre east of Cape Town International Airport, in the Western Cape, South Africa. My analysis of the first theoretical framework (the social construction of nature) confirms that a) the idea of nature is constructed over time; b) nature, as a concept and a phenomenon, is complex; c) nature discourses reveal, hide, and create 'truths' about nature which are accepted as being truthful yet are a question of social struggle and power politics; d) humans have amassed countless definitions of the word 'nature'. Those definitions are categorised by Castree and Braun (2001) into three groups: external, intrinsic, and universal. My analysis of the second theoretical framework (environmental justice) suggests that the idea of nature can be used constructively or negatively depending on who uses it and why. The link between both theoretical frameworks suggests that nature is bound up with agendas. Humans construct natures to pursue individual, social or political agendas. From this standpoint the focus of the thesis shifts from debating whether or not nature is socially constructed to examining what type of agendas were pursued to achieve those 'natural' constructions, and what their consequences were for local communities living in and around protected areas. In order to achieve this, I employed four interlinked analytical methods (stakeholder, discourse, critical and ideological analysis). My analysis of the case study of DNR and that of the history of nature conservation in South Africa suggests ideological similarities. First, in both cases nature conservation is inspired by external environmental views. In the colonial period of South Africa, nature conservation policies and practices were shaped by English and Afrikaner protectionist ideas and aimed also to address the demand of their naturalists, sportsmen, and explorers for hunting and exploiting wild animals. In post-apartheid South Africa, nature has been 12 constructed in protected areas according to universalised environmental views and to some extent has been proactive, meaning that it aimed to address some of the social challenges. Likewise, at DNR, nature conservation was adopted in the early 1980s by the white government to pursue political agendas. In the late 1980s nature conservation began to be influenced by universalised environmental views. Second, the ideological nexus of both discourses regarding nature and local communities suggests conformity with global environmental models. Under these models the normal course is: a) to fence local communities from protected areas or to fence protected areas from local communities, b) to maximise the boundaries of protected areas, or to minimise the settlements of local communities in protected areas, c) to regulate local communities' access to protected areas and natural resources, d) to promote persuasive concepts of ecotourism to achieve nature conservation goals through community participation, co-benefiting local communities from protected areas, co-managing protected areas with local communities, and local socio-economic development, e) to aim for the removal of the on-site communities from protected areas. The impoverishment of the DNR on-site communities has been effected by means of three ideological principles. Since 1990, DNR's on-site communities have been labouring under a state of emergency - the state of living below the flood line; the state of high level of house robbery and a worrying level of rape and child abuse. Their dispossession has led to the spaces of temporality - a state of informality and limited public services and hopelessness (there is no hope of sustaining settlements on the site). Currently, these communities are cornered between two choices. Either they voluntarily relocate their shacks into the surrounding townships or they live with the state of emergency, hopelessness and temporality. Local communities of other protected areas in South Africa have been similarly impoverished by these states of emergency, temporality and hopelessness. During the colonial period, South Africa's conservation discourses were predominantly white-based. Whites constructed the common sense among themselves that they own the land and wildlife. Constructing the idea that they are the people of the land meant also suppressing the non-white sovereignty over land and natural resources. For example, Until late in the twentieth century [South African children's literature in English] 13 usually endorsed the assumption held by whites that they had exclusive ownership of the land and wildlife' (Jenkins, 2004: 107). While whites were protecting South Africa's wildlife, they also alienated blacks from nature. It is just recently, after 1994 that, 'English-Language children's writers and translators of indigenous folktales for children have begun to explore traditional beliefs about and practices in conservation (Jenkins, 2004: 107). These statements do not state or imply that English literature on humannature discourse begun to explore the idea of harmony where indigenous people live and depend on wildlife. In South Africa, it is typical for non-white communities living in or around protected areas to be relocated voluntarily or by force from their land or their settlements, and to be denied resources they had traditionally used within protected areas. Finally, both contemporary discourses continue to be in line with various universalised conservation models. Although both discourses have evolved over time, the status quo of local communities has remained the same: impoverished by exclusion from protected areas, permitted participation in only insignificant co-management models and recipients of intangible benefits. Although the contemporary discourse on nature conservation appears to be more considerate of local communities, I suggest that it is early days for this young discourse to achieve harmony between people and nature. It is up to local and national governmental and non-governmental agencies to modify global environmental views rather than fully adopting them, in order to be more respectful and accommodating of local communities.
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Svanberg, Kerstin. "Nature of Science (NOS) som innehållsbärande idé i gymnasieskolans biologiundervisning." Thesis, Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för naturvetenskap, NV, 2011. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-11725.
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Med en ständigt ökande stoffmängd inom gymnasieskolans biologiämne är det en nyckeluppgift för läraren att prioritera undervisningsinnehåll för att ge utrymme/möjlighet till fördjupning och progression. Styrdokumenten anger att eleverna förutom ämneskunskap av faktakaraktär även ska tillägna sig kunskap om "naturvetenskapens karaktär", Nature of science (NOS). Syftet med mitt examensarbete är att utifrån skolans praktik belysa och diskutera förutsättningarna för att använda NOS som innehållsbärande idé där NOS-aspekter utgör ett instrument (bland flera) för stoffurval. Kvalitativa intervjuer har genomförts med fem gymnasielärare i biologi rörande deras uppfattningar om och värderingar av NOS i undervisningen samt om hur de ställer sig till NOS som innehållsbärande idé. Aktuella styrdokument har analyserats med avseende på skrivningar om NOS utifrån vedertagna NOS-aspekter. Genomgången av styrdokumenten har visat att de innehåller talrika skrivningar med koppling till NOS. I intervjuerna uppgav lärarna dock att explicit NOS-undervisning förekom endast i mycket begränsad omfattning. Möjliga underliggande faktorer som kan utgöra hinder för NOS i undervisning träder fram i lärarnas utsagor, exempelvis: • NOS tillmäts inte uppmärksamhet i nämnvärd omfattning vid tolkning av styrdokumenten. • Organisatoriska och administrativa hinder för att genomföra undervisning på ett alternativt sätt. • Brist på lättillgängligt undervisningsmaterial passande en undervisningsuppläggning med NOS. • Omedvetenhet hos lärarna om vad som är känt om NOS-undervisning. Utifrån resultaten i denna pilotstudie anser jag att det finns argument som talar för att vidare undersöka möjligheten att låta NOS bilda en struktur som likt en röd tråd får löpa genom undervisningsplaneringen. Examensarbetet har mynnat ut i ett diskussionsunderlag för fördjupad ventilering av NOS som möjlig innehållsbärande idé i biologiundervisningen samt i ett exempel på undervisningsplanering enligt denna idé.
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Hipkins, Rosemary, and rose hipkins@nzcer org nz. "Ontological possibilities the rethinking teaching of the 'nature of science'." Deakin University. School of Education, 2006. http://tux.lib.deakin.edu.au./adt-VDU/public/adt-VDU20070801.154606.
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An extensive literature documents teachers failure to include ideas about the 'nature of science' (NOS) in their classroom programmes, despite widespread advocacy for this as an essential component of more inclusive science teaching. This thesis frames much of the existing NOS literature as a deficit literature that focuses on epistemology, while largely ignoring the ontological realities of the classroom and overestimating individual teachers agency to change their enacted curriculum. Epistemologically-focused NOS reforms are positioned as curriculum 'add-ons', which teachers are likely to ignore. A NOS focus on ontology would entail curriculum restructuring, attending first to the contexts in which scientific knowledge is produced, and the ways it acts in the world.
In any case, science itself has changed in recent years. Drawing from the sociology of science, in particular the work of Bruno Latour, the thesis compares traditional philosophical thinking about the ontology of science with more recent 'networked' views. Brent Davis explains the educational implications of key ideas from complexity science. Political philosopher Stephen White adds an ethical dimension. His ideas are used to argue for replacing 'strong' ontologies of realist science with more nuanced and actively tended 'weak' ontologies, as appropriate to the rapid sociological changes of the twenty-first century.
The thesis argues that epistemological uncertainties that could lead to the suspicion of relativism are potentially threatening in the classroom because of hegemonic pressures towards consensus and a certain, safe status for the knowledge taught. Seeking an alternative pathway to change, Daniel Listons conceptualisation of teaching as a passionate act informs the analysis of the empirical component of the thesis. Eight recipients of New Zealand Royal Society Science Teacher Fellowships were interviewed on four occasions over two years. They discussed their personal learning during a year-long sabbatical to carry out an extended science investigation and their thoughts and actions on returning to the classroom. Narrative methodology is used to explore the teachers stories, revealing both passion for their personal learning and an ethical concern for their students learning to care for both the natural world and science as a means of its investigation.
The thesis argues for the use of ontological approaches to the initial introduction of NOS ideas in school science, with epistemological concepts added only once a topic has been grounded in what Latour calls 'matters of concern'.Two potential teaching strategiesthe production of network diagrams and the use of Davis's 'bifurcations'as a critical inquiry toolare the focus of hypothetical experimentation. First in the context of global warming, and then addressing the challenges posed to teaching evolution by the proponents of 'intelligent design', these strategies are shown to have the potential to address some of science education s thornier issues, not just the NOS question.
However, when conflicting expectations create tensions for teachers in the classroom moment, it is difficult for them to introduce reflective, deeply philosophical changes to their representation of science. Their working realities need to be acknowledged, and the tensions ameliorated, if we expect substantive change in their current practice.
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Morphew, Jason Wade. "Effect of authentic research experiences on nature of science beliefs." Thesis, Wichita State University, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10057/6120.
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Beck, Adam. "Heidegger and science : nature, objectivity and the present-at-hand." Thesis, Middlesex University, 2002. http://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/6363/.
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Heidegger is commonly assumed to have been at first uninterested in science, and then later on positively hostile towards it. This thesis sets out to re-evaluate Heidegger's attitude towards science in general by carefully reconstructing an account of natural science that lies, I claim, at the heart of his major and early work, Being and Time. The existential conception of science articulated in this account revolves around three main issues: 1. ) The genesis of science from everyday pre-theoretical behaviour; 2. ) The structural necessity of crisis to the 'progress' of the sciences; 3. ) The transformation of the concept of scientific foundation in the light of the permanent necessity of scientific revolution. In the course of the reconstruction it becomes apparent that certain basic concepts of the existential analytic are in urgent need of reinterpretation. In particular, the concepts of objectivity and presence-at-hand need to be disentangled. Once separated, it becomes clear that Heidegger's work is not a critique of the notion of objectivity, but rather an attempt to salvage it from the wreckage of epistemology. Equally, the charge first levelled by Karl Löwith and then repeated by Paul Ricoeur that Heidegger 'forgets nature' proves premature. This rereading of fundamental ontology suggests, in addition, that Heidegger opens up a path largely not taken by 20th century philosophy of science. Heidegger's interpretation of relativity theory, taking its cue from Weyl's attempt to extend Einstein's thinking to electromagnetism, differs fundamentally from the response of figures such as Cassirer, Reichenbach, Carnap and Schlick. It offers a perspective on questions about the status of scientific theory outside of the usual three-cornered debate between empiricism, realism and constructivism. Finally, the recovery of a specifically Heideggerian conception of science, allows us to understand and evaluate Heidegger's claim that philosophy is the science of Being.
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賴晴 and Ching Lai. "Learning to teach nature of science: a video-based approach." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2012. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B48329836.
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Understanding nature of science (NOS) is an important learning objective of the science curricula in many countries. However, research shows that there is a large gap between the curriculum emphasis and classroom practice. There have been calls for more studies on how teachers can be better prepared for teaching NOS. This study examines what teachers have learned, how they have learned it and the factors affecting their learning in a teacher professional development (TPD) programme to prepare them to teach NOS. The study was conducted in 2008-10, when the new Hong Kong Senior Secondary Biology curriculum, with its emphasis on NOS, was introduced.
Three of the 18 teachers participating in the programme were chosen for in-depth case studies to illuminate their process of learning to teach NOS. Over a 20-month period, the teachers worked collaboratively to learn how to teach NOS in study group settings. Initially, the teachers were given curriculum materials designed for the explicit and reflective teaching of NOS. They selected, adapted and refined the curriculum materials to suit their own students. They then taught NOS to their students using the modified curriculum materials in their classroom, and the lessons were videotaped. These videos were later shared and analyzed collaboratively in study group meetings and workshops.
To monitor their learning, the teachers were asked to complete reflection tasks and follow-up interviews after participating in each of the TPD activities, including the trial teaching of NOS in their own classroom, reflecting on the lesson, reflecting on the lesson video, and discussing the lesson video with their peers. Using an interpretive approach, other data sources, including field notes from classroom observations, transcripts of teacher discussions in meetings and workshops, and interviews with individual teachers before and after the programme on their confidence and concerns about NOS teaching, were also collected for triangulation purposes, and for the production of individual case reports for each teacher.
It was found that the teachers had improved their NOS knowledge, NOS teaching skills, confidence as well as intention to teach NOS after participating in the programme. The process of learning to teach NOS can be characterized as lengthy, recursive and closely embedded in authentic classroom practices. Four major factors related to the TPD programme were identified as contributory to teachers’ learning to teach NOS. They are: (1) the formation of a community of practice with a shared goal to improve NOS teaching, (2) the provision of educative curriculum resources for explicit and reflective teaching of NOS, (3) first-hand experience of teaching NOS in authentic classroom settings, and (4) video-based discussions on NOS teaching in meetings and workshops. Based on the findings, an emergent model of effective use of video for learning to teach NOS was also proposed. The implications of the findings on the design of effective TPD programmes for learning to teach NOS were discussed.published_or_final_version
Education
Doctoral
Doctor of Philosophy
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ARAUJO, RODOLFO PETRONIO DA COSTA. "PHILOSOPHY OF NATURE AND SCIENCE: A NEW APPROACH AND COMPLEMENTARITY." PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIRO, 2008. http://www.maxwell.vrac.puc-rio.br/Busca_etds.php?strSecao=resultado&nrSeq=12026@1.
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CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICOEsta investigação tem por objetivo apresentar um modelo de cooperação entre filosofia e ciência experimental, por meio de um domínio comum, a matemática, especialmente a álgebra. Essa coordenação entre dois domínios situados em níveis distintos de conhecimento da realidade natural chama-se filosofia da natureza, e havia sido proposta por Aristóteles nos oito livros da Física. Com o advento da ciência experimental moderna entre os séculos XVI e XVII, tal tipo de investigação passou a ter um caráter secundário, porquanto se entendeu que as teorias, especialmente as de base matemática, e o método experimental em conjunto seriam suficientes para dar conta da estrutura da realidade. No entanto, faz-se necessário -- e esta é nossa proposta --, em decorrência das questões de limite suscitadas pela própria ciência experimental, retomar uma investigação complementar à científica ou epistêmica, e coordenada com esta, de modo a prover um conhecimento integral, totalizante, da realidade natural. Portanto, analisa-se o alcance da ciência experimental quanto à compreensão científica da natureza da matéria, expondo certas limitações deste tipo de enfoque, tendo por base a epistemologia proposta pelo filósofo Jacques Maritain. Em seguida, analisa-se o estatuto metafísico ou ontológico da matéria, com base em vários textos de Tomás de Aquino, e propõe-se um modelo algébrico para a representação de elementos daquela ontologia. Por fim, apresentam-se algumas conseqüências que se podem extrair desse modelo, com vistas à compreensão de aspectos da realidade natural como espaço-tempo e movimento, não-localidade quântica, e uma proposta de visão totalizante da realidade física,denominada holomovimento, sugerida pelo físico David Bohm.
The main purpose of this enquiry is to provide a cooperative framework for philosophy and experimental science. This should be accomplished by means of a common domain, namely mathematics, specifically through algebra. Such a coordination between two different levels of knowledge of the natural world is named philosophy of nature, and had been proposed by Aristotle in his eight book Physics. As an outcome of the rise of modern science between 16th and 17th centuries, this kind of enquiry has been left aside as a secondary enterprise. For it has been a common understanding that modern scientific theories together with experimental methods would suffice to account for the structure of reality.However, I shall propose that it is necessary -- as a consequence of edge research on experimental sciences -- to resume a complementary enquiry to the scientific (epistemic) research, in such a coordinated way with this latter as to provide a whole knowledge of the natural world. Thus, I shall analyze the concept of matter as it is understood by experimental science, and based upon Jacques Maritain´s proposed epistemology I shall present some of the shortcomings of scientific approach to matter. Shortly afterwards, I shall analyze the metaphysical (ontological) status of matter based upon several writings from Thomas Aquinas, and I shall propose an algebraic model to represent some of the ontological elements that build up matter from a metaphysical point of view. Lastly, I shall present some of the consequences that can be obtained from that model in order to gain a metaphysical understanding of physical aspects such as space-time and movement, quantum non-locality, and also a whole perspective of physical reality as proposed by David Bohm which he called holomovement.
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Lanier-Shipp, Elizabeth. "Investigating Nature: John Bartram's Evolution as a Man of Science." Ohio University / OhioLINK, 2007. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1180703760.
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Tsai, Binghuan. "A museum of nature and science: the shaping of forms." Thesis, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1992. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/52126.
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Structures of perfect symmetry, order, and beauty exist in both discoveries of science and objects found in natures. With careful observation and analysis, creative applications of these interesting forms can be and have been applied in many architectural structures with great success.
In this project the utilization of these forms can not only bring out the purpose of this Museum of Nature and Science, but because these forms are derived from natural studies, they can also give viewers a sense of familiarity and peacefulness.Master of Architecture
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Cheng, QianQian. "Bridging divisions in Loren Eiseley's writings on science and nature." Thesis, Toulouse 2, 2017. http://www.theses.fr/2017TOU20007/document.
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Loren Eiseley (1907-1977) a été connu tour à tour comme archéologue, anthropologue, éducateur, philosophe, poète ou bien encore auteur d’études en sciences naturelles. Il remet en cause les thèses sur la science, la nature et l’homme qui avaient cours à son époque. Il unit les sciences et les humanités au travers de sa prose et de ses poèmes, anticipant le concept actuel d’humanités environnmentales. En tant qu’archéologue, il utilise la science, l’imagination et l’observation tels des outils dans le but de reconstruire le passé. Il a mis au point de nouveaux angles de vue permettant d’appréhender l’univers et la place de l’homo sapiens en son sein. Il pense que l’homme moderne s’est dénaturé en devenant le destructeur de la planète et, de ce fait, anticipe le point de vue éco-centrique qui s’est imposé dans la période qui a fait suite à la révolution industrielle, période de plus en plus désignée comme l’anthropocène. Les écrits de Eiseley pressent l’humanité de renouer avec notre passé animal de façon à respecter l’ordre naturel dont nous sommes issus. Son œuvre force le lecteur à participer à son projet de rénovation de notre univers mental et culturelLoren Eiseley (1907-1977) has been variously described as archaeologist, anthropologist, educator, philosopher, poet, and natural science writer. He challenges the views of science, nature, and man that were current at the time he wrote. He brings science and the humanities together by expressing his ecological, philosophical and metaphysical ideas in both prose and poems, anticipating the concept of environmental humanities nowadays. He is an archeologist who uses the tools of science, imagination and observation to reconstruct the past. Eiseley finds new angles from which to view the universe and homo sapiens’ place within it. He argues that modern man has fallen out of nature and become a planet destroyer. He anticipates the eco-centric position that is becoming necessary in the era following the Industrial Revolution that is increasingly being recognized as the Anthropocene. Eiseley’s writings urge that humanity reconnect with our animal past in order to respect the natural world from which we came. In bridging the nature and culture divide, his work forces readers to participate in the project of re-examining our own mental and cultural world
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Ibrahim, Bibi Bashirah. "The relationship between views of the nature of science and views of the nature of scientific measurements." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/8661.
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Includes bibliographical references (leaves 124-132).This study builds on the work started by a collaboration between researchers at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, and the University of York, UK, which focused or undergraduate physics students' understanding of measurement and uncertainty. The work led to the development of a paradigmatic model which has been found to be useful for classifying students' views on measurement during experimental work. In brief, in the "set" paradigm the ensemble of data is modelled by theoretical constructs from which a "best estimate" and the degree of dispersion (an interval) are reported. However, the majority of students who arrive at university operate within the "point paradigm". They subscribe to the notion that a perfect measurement is one which has no uncertainty associated with it. For many students, therefore, the ideal is to perform a single "correct" measurement with the utmost care. When presented with data that are dispersed, they often attempt to choose the "correct" value (for example the recurring value) from amongst the values in the ensemble. The present work explored the relationship between students' views on the nature of science (NOS) and the nature of scientific measurement. Modifying and supplementing existing diagnostic items in both areas of measurement and nature of science, the VASM (Views About Scientific Measurement) questionnaire was developed, piloted and administered to 179 first year physics students at the University of Cape Town. An analysis of the responses resulted in four profiles of students' views on the nature of science. It also revealed that students who view measurement according to the point paradigm generally have an objective view about science, perceive the purpose of scientific experiment to prove a phenomenon to be correct and use the ‘scientific method' to get a predicted answer in order to be consistent and successful in the scientific endeavour. Set paradigm students acknowledge the importance of human inference in science and scientific experiment is considered as a tool to understand the behaviour of nature. The consequences of this work for the teaching and learning of physics at a tertiary level are discussed.