There is substantial research in science education about students', teachers', and scientists' views of nature of science (NOS). Many studies have used NOS frameworks that focus on particular ideas such as tentativeness of scientific knowledge and cultural embeddedness of science. In this paper, we investigate NOS from the perspective of the…

Using the social media platform Twitter, this study explores public reference to "scientific method(s)" in tweets specifically pertaining to COVID-19 posted between January and June 2020. The study focuses on three research questions: When did reference to scientific methods peak, which aspects of nature of science (NOS) do these tweets…

The emergence of the Family Resemblance Approach (FRA) to nature of science (NOS) has prompted a fresh wave of scholarship embracing this new approach in science education. The FRA provides an ambitious and practical vision for what NOS-enriched science content should aim for and promotes evidence-based practices in science education to support…

The purpose of this commentary on Hodson and Wong's (2017, this issue) article is to clarify the merits of the expanded family resemblance approach (FRA) to science education, briefly alluded to in their article, and to discuss the implications of this approach relative to the question of demarcation they raise. In clarifying the merits of the…

Two fundamental questions about science are relevant for science educators: (a) What is the nature of science? and (b) what aspects of nature of science should be taught and learned? They are fundamental because they pertain to how science gets to be framed as a school subject and determines what aspects of it are worthy of inclusion in school…

Using Mendel's laws as a case in point, the purpose of this paper is to bring historical and philosophical perspectives together to help students understand science as a human endeavor. Three questions as addressed: (1) how did the Mendelian scheme, principles, or facts become labeled as laws, (2) to what extent do Mendel's laws exhibit…

The Irish national discourse on curriculum and assessment reform at the Junior Cycle level has been fraught with controversy in the past two years. The introduction of the new curriculum and assessment framework in 2012 by the then Minister of Education, Ruairi Quinn has led to significant media coverage and teacher union response. In this paper,…

This study explores college students' representations about the nature of theories during their enrollment in a large astronomy course with instruction designed to address a number of nature of science issues. We focus our investigation on how nine students represent their understanding of theory, how they distinguish between scientific theories…

Describes a study providing evidence of how students' talk and writing about the nature of science differs depending on the particular scientific topic under discussion. Describes the relationship between theory and evidence, warrants for belief, and nature of observation. (Contains 25 references.) (Author/YDS)

Examines the growth in students' understanding about the nature of astronomy in a one-semester college course. Discusses how students respond to instruction with regard to the extent to which they demand and examine evidence used for justifying claims, integrate scientific and religious views, and distinguish between scientific and nonscientific…

The goal of this study is to analyze the images of science and scientists in science biographies written for children. We examined 12 biographies of historic and contemporary scientists written for primary/middle school children in relation to three dimensions: characteristics of scientists, nature and process of scientific knowledge, and social…