Discusses professional development in the context of the current reforms in science education from the perspective of developing teacher knowledge. Points out the unsuccessful reform movement due to lack of considering teachers' existing knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. Concludes that long-term professional development programs are needed to…

Applies Kuhn's model of the structure of scientific revolutions, Popper's hypothetic-deductive model of science, and Lakatos' methodology of competing research programs to a historical biological episode. Suggests using Kuhn's model (emphasizing the nonrational basis of science) and Popper's model (emphasizing the rational basis of science) in…

Reports on 18 months of action research that examined the effectiveness of using the history of science to promote British students' understanding of the nature of science. Both quantitative and interview data offer substantial evidence of a strategic movement away from serendipitous empiricism and toward an appreciation of the interactive nature…

A model to illuminate and relate various twentieth-century philosophical perspectives on key questions about the nature of scientific theories and, therefore, aspects of the structure and development of postmodern science is described. The Scientific Theory Profile model then forms the basis for a course for science teachers in perspectives on the…