Strategies

1
Strategies Challenges for Facilitating Nature
of Science in the High School Classroom

• Catherine Koehler
• 1University of Connecticut

2
Goals of Science Education

• Scientific Literacy (NRC, 1996)
• the knowledge and understanding of science
  concepts and processes required for personal
  decision making, participation in civic
  cultural affairs, and economic productivity
• Nature of Science (NOS) promotes scientific
  literacy (NRC, 1996 AAAS, 1989, 1993)
• Inquiry promotes an understanding of the
  scientific endeavor critical thinking skills
  (NRC, 1996, Pugliese, 1973 Schwab, 1962)

3
Theoretical Framework Literature

• Four Related but distinct lines of research in
  NOS (Lederman, 1992)
• Assessment of Students conceptions
• Development assessment of curricula
• Improvement assessment of teachers conceptions
• Relationship between teachers conceptions,
  classroom practice student conceptions

4
Theoretical Framework Literature

• Preservice teachers and student teaching NOS is
  rare in planning lessons barriers exist
• (Abd-El-Khalick, Bell, Lederman 1998)
• Physics NOS differing contexts for learn NOS
  and teaching NOS
• (Abd-El-Khalick, 2001)
• Teaching NOS course NOS - a content area
• (Moss Koehler, in preparation)

5
Theoretical Framework Literature

• NOS must be explicit
• (Moss, Abrams Robb, 2001 Abd-El-Khalick, Bell,
  Lederman, 1998 )
• Teachers role in NOS important
• (Lederman, 1992, Abd-El-Khalick Lederman, 2000
  )
• Teachers conceptions of NOS do not translate
  into classroom practice
• (Brickhouse, 1990, Lederman Zeidler, 1987)

6
Research Question

• Provided with a strategy (The Model for Teaching
  NOS) for fostering NOS understandings
• What are the challenges facing experienced
  teachers in facilitating NOS understandings in
  the high school classroom?

7
Participants

• Three Experienced Biology Teachers
• Masters Degree Students
• Enrolled in SCI 580 Teaching the NOS
• Interested in learning new ways to teach science

8
Methodology

• SCI 580 Teaching the Nature of Science (Fall
  2004)
• VNOS C Questionnaire (x3)
• (Lederman, Abd-El-Khalick, Bell, Schwartz, 2002)
• Written Directive Define NOS (pre post x2)
• Curriculum Project based on NOS Model
• Other artifacts (reflective journals, classroom
  observations, lesson plans)

9
SCI 580 Teaching the NOS

• Classic Literature from Kuhn, Popper, McComas
• Conceptual Change Model (Posner, Strike, Hewson,
  Gertzog, 1982)
• Discussion - What is NOS?
• Activities explicitly directed toward NOS
  understandings
• Curriculum Projects Using NOS model

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Shifting the Paradigm- What is NOS?

• There is no single definition of NOS
• Defined by researchers
• Additional tenets may include
• There is no one scientific method of inquiry
• Dynamic
• Demand evidence

• VNOS (Lederman, Abd-El-Khalick, Bell, Schwartz,
  2002)
• Tentative
• Empirically based
• Theory-laden
• Social cultural
• Humanistic/Interpretative
• Creative Imaginative
• Distinction between
• Laws Theories
• Inferences Observations

11
Strategy Model for Teaching NOS
Inquiry Scenario
NOS
Process
Content
12
Inquiry Scenario

• Context of Lesson
• (Brown, Collins, Duguid, 1989 Schwartz,
  Lederman, Crawford, 2004)
• Relevance to Students Lives
• Socially Culturally Based
• STS, SSI
• Teacher initiates the Inquiry Scenario students
  can develop own questions

13
Content Element

• Embedded in one or more disciplines of science
  (Earth/Space, Biology, Chemistry, Physics)
• Supports the Inquiry Scenario
• History of Science

14
Process Element

• Skill base to do science
• Experimentation, Data collection, Analysis
• Problem Solving Decision making
• Includes Mathematics as it applies to science

15
Tying It All Together NOS

• Must be explicitly addressed throughout lesson
• Ideal for teaching NOS
• Must be assess as one outcome objective
• Meets objectives of scientific literacy movement

16
Murder on The Hill Who Did It?

• Crime Scene Investigation
• At 1200 pm on Thursday May 26th, 2005 a male
  body was found with a stab wound in the storage
  closet of Room 103 at The School on the Hill. A
  knife has been observed to be protruding out of
  the victims abdomen
• All students of the Anatomy and Physiology
  class are to remain in the room during the
  investigation until the perpetrator is found.
  WHO, IN THIS ROOM, DID IT??????

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Example Murder on the Hill! Who Did It?

• Inquiry Scenario Context of Lesson
• Murder in Storage Closet
• Knife protruding from victims abdomen
• Blood on victim floor
• Students task Who Did It?

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Process Doing A Science Investigation

• Collecting evidence from crime scene
• Process the blood
• Analyze The Blood
• Determine Who Did It?

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Content Objectives

• Immune Responses
• Blood Analysis
• Anti-body Antigen
• Rh factor
• Transfusion of Blood

20
NOS Where does it fit in?

• Tenets of NOS Addressed in Lesson
• Decisions based on evidence
• Tentative dynamic
• No one method to do science
• Interpretative
• Assessment Reflection piece
• Closure NOS explicitly addressed

21
Results

• Implementation of NOS activities in classroom
• Student Reactions
• Hurdles encountered
• Students want the right answer
• Students want instant gratification
• Reluctance to work collaboratively
• Perceived lack of content taught
• Some students need more structure
• Time constraints
• Evolving Conceptions of NOS

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Implications for Science Education

• Provides a methodology for fostering NOS in the
  classroom
• Demonstrates that NOS is not a content objective
• Defines hurdles encountered when fostering NOS
  understandings
• Defines a progressive approach for teaching
  science