This qualitative study compares the views about nature of science (NOS) between students enrolled in a traditional lecture and laboratory course and students in an inquiry-based class to the view of the scientists who taught the course. We administered the Views of Nature of Science Form C (VNOS-C) to identify students' views after partaking in…

Recommendations for enhancing scientific literacy, inclusivity, and the ecosystem for innovation call for transitioning from teacher-centered to learner-centered science classrooms, particularly at the introductory undergraduate level. Yet little is documented about the challenges that undergraduates perceive in such classrooms and the students'…

Epistemological views characterise how individuals view the certainty, source and organization of knowledge. Previous research has demonstrated some relationships between epistemological views and nature of science (NOS) views. These relationships may be particularly interesting for biology students who are learning about topics such as evolution…

Hundreds of articles have explored the extent to which individuals accept evolution, and the Measure of Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution (MATE) is the most often used survey. However, research indicates the MATE has limitations, and it has not been updated since its creation more than 20 years ago. In this study, we revised the MATE using…

The study consisted of three articles. Article one aimed to determine if there were any significant difference in science graduate students' (SGSs') conceptions of the "consensus tenets" of the nature of science (NOS) with respect to demographic factors -- the SGSs' academic and research characteristics. The participants were SGSs from…

There is worldwide agreement that the understanding of the Nature of Science (NOS) is a critical component of scientific literacy. However, evidence indicates that both pre-service and in-service science teachers hold naïve views about NOS. Even so, the characteristics of pre-service teachers that influence their learning of NOS are not fully…

Research in teacher education has given increasing attention to pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) as a theoretical construct that describes necessary knowledge for teachers to teach specific content. This research study aims to examine whether an understanding about the nature of science (NOS) correlates with orientation to teaching science…

In England, both Religious Education (RE) and science are mandatory parts of the school curriculum throughout the 5-16 age range. Nevertheless, there remain concerns that, as in many countries, students do not have a good understanding about the scope of each subject nor about how the two subjects relate. This article reports on a study that…

Epistemology plays an important role in detecting learning difficulties in a given field of knowledge and in directing strategies to eliminate them. This quantitative study aimed to get to know the perceptions of 624 students, related to the nature of science and science teaching and learning. The cross-sectional survey, based on the Inventory of…

In this study we designed, implemented, and evaluated an outreach programme for high-school biology students rooted in the 'science as inquiry' approach. Accordingly, students learn about science from experts in the field, as well as through in-class exposure to the history and philosophy of science. Our sample consisted of 11th graders (n = 497),…

Nature of science (NOS) is considered an important aspect of scientific literacy. Despite efforts in guiding school students to develop more adequate NOS views, little is known about the long-term retention of students' post-intervention views. Retention of adequate NOS views is needed for functioning as scientifically literate citizens. Moreover,…

Within the scope of this study, a cooperative learning method is implemented in a genetics unit, which has an important place in the high school curriculum in the Turkish education system. The Human Genome Project, cloning, genetically modified organisms, preconceptional sex selection, and developments in cancer diagnosis and treatment are some of…

Too many students reject the theory of evolution because they view it as incompatible with their religious beliefs. Some have argued that abandoning religious belief is the only way to help religious individuals accept evolution. Conversely, our data support that highlighting faith/evolution compatibility is an effective means to increase student…

Achieving widespread scientific literacy has been a longstanding goal of US science standards, requiring that students and teachers possess contemporary nature of science (NOS) conceptions. However, NOS conceptions are repeatedly found to be wide-ranging or 'naive', resulting in regular efforts by science education researchers to hone, or…

In the context of what are often highly compartmentalised curriculum requirements, this article considers the cyclical nature of the acquisition and transfer of knowledge in the education system in relation to those questions that transcend individual subjects as set out in traditional curriculum divisions. It also considers the detrimental…