Interviews of (n=96) high school students from Canada, the United States, and Australia on their views of scientific facts, theories, and laws revealed two relatively vague views of the nature of science, with American students holding to a mechanistic, traditional scientific method. (15 references) (Author/MKR)

In this technologically expanding world it is important for teachers and other educators to be aware of students' existing conceptions of technology and to provide appropriate avenues for change. This study interviewed high school students (n=26) in Newfoundland, Canada, about their beliefs of science and technology. Questions were asked regarding…

Randomly selected high school seniors (n=32) were interviewed to assess their understanding of the nature of science. Views held by 10% or more of the students are reported in the categories of general views, scientific facts, scientific theories, and scientific laws. Reports how students differentiate between scientific facts, laws, and theories.…

Explores high school students' (N=26) understanding of the meaning of technology and the differences between science and technology. Reports that most students had a good understanding of the general purposes of both science and technology but were less clear about differences between the products of these fields. Contains 15 references.…

The substantial interest exhibited in the last decade in the identification of students' misconceptions of a wide range of scientific concepts has not extended to identification of students' misconceptions of the nature of science itself. This study examined the attitudes of 32 secondary school students, each from Canada, the United States, and…