"The Nature of Science is seen as a concomitant of the conceptual understanding of science and if made explicit, primary students can learn and apply them" (Lui and Lederman 2007)
THE NATURE OF SCIENCE
What is the nature of science? Can primary students understand aspects of the nature of science (NOS)? The NOS now constitutes an integral component of many primary school curricula. To be able to teach NOS explicitly, one would need to have some understanding of it.
So what exactly is the "nature of science?". We need to stop and consider this 'big' question not just for the above reason but more because our views on it, shapes and influence our day-to-day decision-making process, even down to the very words we use in class or in how we communicate to our students (Park and Lee 2009). Many grown ups would have their own conceptions of NOS formed from their previous experiences with school science, media and other sources of influence. As you continue to engage with this text and other materials and resources in your day-to-day life, your conceptions are bound to change further. At this stage, recognizing your existing views and discussing them with another colleague may be a good starting point for later refinement in your thinking. Some questions to get you all started can come from the Activity 1.1 below.
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Activity 1.1
The nature of science and your current views
Your current conceptions of the NOS should become clearer as you respond to the following:
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What characteristics of science (ie. how something 'works' and 'how scientists work') do you think should be evident as you teach primary science? [Try identifying at least three if you can].
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Justify your responses and then share this with your colleagues. Modify your response in the light of what you have learnt from your colleagues.
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Think back of people in your lives, ie your teachers, parents, friends. What characteristics of science did they convey implicitly or explicitly?
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As an added challenge, using climate change as an example, what further characteristics of science and how scientists work in tacking issues pertaining to climate change, would you add to the above?