ERIC Number: EJ1221049
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019-Sep
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0031-9120
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Contemporary Science as Context for Teaching Nature of Science: Teachers' Development of Popular Science Articles as a Teaching Resource
Physics Education, v54 n5 Article 055008 Sep 2019
Most of the physics (as well as the other sciences) taught in school can be described as well-established or consensus science. This is the kind of science knowledge that was mostly developed over a century ago. The inclusion of contemporary science research in compulsory school science teaching could be justified from a variety of reasons: increasing students' interest and motivation; providing insights into modern research practice; and as a frame for teaching nature of science (NOS) perspectives. The present article focuses on the latter--contemporary science as a means to teach NOS. The article builds on data from an in-service teacher training course that focused on ways to include contemporary science in lower secondary physics education. Each course participant chose a research area, interviewed a scientist, and wrote a popular science article based on the interview. The article was written with secondary students (13-15 years old) as a target audience. By the end of the course the participants designed, implemented and evaluated a teaching unit which was based on the popular science article. The present article analyses what NOS perspectives that have been included in the popular science articles. The results show a high diversity of NOS aspects, which indicate a great potential for taking contemporary science research as a starting point for NOS teaching.
Descriptors: Scientific Principles, Journal Articles, Physics, Science Instruction, Scientific Research, Secondary School Science, Foreign Countries, Secondary School Teachers, Inservice Teacher Education
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Secondary Education
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Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Sweden
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Author Affiliations: N/A