The purpose of this study was to analyze seven widely used high school biology textbooks in order to assess the nature of science knowledge (NOS) and scientific inquiry (SI) aspects they, explicitly or implicitly, conveyed in the Mendelian genetics sections. Textbook excerpts that directly and/or fully matched our statements about NOS and SI were…

Experiments are essential for both doing science and learning science. The aim of the German youth science fair, "Jugend forscht," is to encourage scientific thinking and inquiry methods such as experimentation. Based on 57 interviews with participants of the competition, this study summarises students' conceptions and steps of learning…

High school biology teachers (N=18), and one 10th-grade class of each teacher, were given the Nature of Scientific Knowledge Scale at the beginning and end of a school year to determine their conceptions of the nature of science. Results (such as students not possessing "adequate" conceptions of science) are reported and discussed. (JN)

Discusses the implications of Wallis Suchting's comprehensive search for a definition of the nature of scientific thought for helping students develop scientific thinking skills and an adequate understanding of the nature of science. Discusses implications that relate specifically to the science education community's current conceptions of science…

Delineates the factors that mediate the translation of preservice teachers' conceptions of the nature of science into instructional planning and classroom practice. Few references to the nature of science are found in the data. Contains 44 references. (DDR)

Science educators often assume and expect that students who are actively engaged in scientific inquiry should develop more accurate understandings of science and the construction of scientific knowledge. However, this assumption, while intuitive, has not been validated. This paper reports on a study that sought to determine the impact of an 8-week…

Discusses the influence of a reflective, explicit, activity-based approach to nature of science (NOS) instruction used in an elementary science methods course on preservice teachers' views of some aspects of the nature of science. Finds that participants made substantial gains in their views of some of the target NOS aspects. Advocates a…

Reports on a study to test the validity of the assumption that a teacher's conception of the nature of science directly influences his/her classroom behavior. Recommends a redirection in science education to promote more adequate conceptions of the nature of science in secondary schools. (TW)