To be able to form and develop competencies with regard to the nature of science (NOS) for students, the teachers must have appropriate conceptions about NOS. Therefore, this study explored levels of conceptions about the nature of science of future physics teachers who have experienced two different physics teachers-education curricula using the…

The present study investigates how Greek in-service secondary education biology teachers understand the unique features of school biology and physics when considering the biological theoretical edifice and method. Our theoretical framework focuses on important differences that exist between the neo-Darwinian and Newtonian worldviews, while our…

The article analyses teachers' learning on the use of multiple representations (MRs) in the teaching of Ohm's law, examining them in a lesson study, structured in 18 meetings of 2.5 hours each, that addressed this physics curricular topic for the 3rd grade of high school. The qualitative research involved four teachers who teach physics in…

Culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP) described in Ladson-Billings' framework has three conceptions: "conceptions of self and others," "conceptions of knowledge," and "conceptions of social relations." Instructors can support students with positive learning experiences when they are cognizant of all three conceptions. In…

The objective of this study was to examine the effectiveness of blended physics laboratory experimentation on pre-service physics teachers' (PSPTs') understanding of the nature of science (NOS) during an electricity and magnetism laboratory course. The study used a non-equivalent comparison group using a pre-test-post-test quasi-experimental…

This study considers the short list of Nature of Science (NOS) features frequently published and widely known in the science education discourse. It is argued that these features were oversimplified and a refinement of the claims may enrich or sometimes reverse them. The analysis shows the need to address the range of variation in each particular…

Although laboratory work is considered a significant factor in helping students develop their science process skills and cultivate alternative knowledge construction, there are still gaps in the selection, integration, and implementation of the basic elements in physics laboratories. In this study, three modified guided discovery and conventional…

This chapter provides several examples of early activation of a critical attitude during a discussion of questionable explanations. One concerns the use of the survival blanket to protect against the cold, a theme which leads to discussion of a compromise between two imperatives: that of returning as much energy as possible to oneself (by putting…

The mystery tube is a fairly well known activity among science teachers for illustrating the nature of science. A variety of procedures have been presented for carrying out this activity, such as Scott Miller's method based on the BCSE 5E Instructional Model. Mystery tubes and other "black box" activities allow the students to engage in…

Numerous studies have been published about instruments intended to quantitatively measure students' epistemic beliefs about science; however, as this researcher would discover, developing an instrument to accurately measure epistemic beliefs about physics knowledge is not always as straightforward as the literature would make it seem. Given a lack…

Science teacher's self-efficacy has been at the center of many investigations on students' achievement in science, teacher burnout, and teacher performance. While overly studied, this construct has not been examined with scientific literacy in depth. Thus, this study aims to identify the influence of science teacher's scientific literacy on their…

Over the past half century, researchers and curriculum developers studying physics education have created dozens of innovative curricula and educational tools, broadly referred to as research-based instructional strategies (RBIS), to fit almost any classroom situation. However, the rate of adoption of RBIS remains relatively low. A national survey…

It has long been argued that nature of science (NOS) is an important part of science teaching. In the literature, many different approaches to NOS have been suggested. This article focuses on a storytelling approach, and builds on data from audio recordings from three middle-school (school year 6) classrooms. The three science classes are run by…

The present study describes the development and field testing of a simple apparatus-based diagnostic instrument (SABDI) that examines undergraduate students' understanding of the underlying physics principles that explain how simple acoustic apparatuses work. SABDI comprises 13 items. Based on previous research studies and the history of science,…

At universities where introductory physics labs are taught by graduate student teaching assistants (TAs), there is a need for specialized professional development for those TAs. This paper presents a specific instantiation of a model for lab TA professional development that uses a combination of cognitive apprenticeship and expectancy-value…