Search

Inquiry-based learning model relies on the idea that individuals are able to learn by researching real problems and questions. It promotes science as a way of thinking and an attitude of mind. It is a multifaceted activity that involves making observations, posing hypothesis, making experiments to test it, and giving explanations. This study is in the field of science teacher education. It was conducted to investigate pre-service primary teachers’ difficulties regarding the implementation of the inquiry-based teaching. The sample consists of 74 pre-service teachers’ teaching scenarios for electromagnetism; they were collected in the context of an Introductory Didactics of Science Laboratory course in which participants experienced inquiry-based teaching and learning. Content analysis of the teaching scenarios was followed in order to analyze the data. The results show that pre-service teachers have some difficulties in implementing inquiry-based teaching. Their difficulties mainly focus on the formulation of the research hypothesis and the designing of the corresponding experiment in order to test the hypothesis. The findings implied that although pre-service teachers recognize experimentation as an important part of science teaching, they had difficulties designing experiments that test particular hypotheses related to the teaching objectives. These findings contribute to the field of science teacher education, shedding light to the difficulties pre-service primary teachers have in implementing inquiry-based teaching model. Particularly, pre-service primary teachers should be offered a much bigger amount of opportunities to engage in authentic inquiries before they are ready to implement inquiry-base teaching in their classes.

Static electricity is the introductory chapter to electricity in all high school and university Physics textbooks. The interpretations of static electricity phenomena are not obvious, even in higher education. This research was conducted to identify the major difficulties which pre-service primary teachers encounter in explaining static electricity. They conducted electrostatic experiments focused on different types of electricity, in the context of an Introductory Physics Laboratory Course. The data were collected through the reports they wrote at the end of the course. The qualitative content analysis method was used in order to analyze the data. The sample, which was a convenient one, consisted of 200 pre-service primary teachers, 170 females and 30 males. The analysis showed that pre-service primary teachers have considerable difficulty conceptualizing the microscopic processes – more specifically, charging by induction – that explain these phenomena. The different roles electrons play in conductors and insulators seemed to pose difficulties for pre-service primary teachers. The findings implied an emphasis on microscopic models during macroscopic experimental processes. This could help pre-service primary teachers to understand the role of electrons in conductors and insulators and the different mechanisms involved in different types of charging. Keywords: conceptual difficulties, content analysis, static electricity.

In this paper, the inclusion of History and Philosophy of Science in non-formal and informal science education is proposed in order to provide students with the opportunity to grasp some aspects of Nature of Science with which they are not familiarized in the context of formal education. The cultural aspects of science, which is an important component of scientific literacy, are presented in an informal education context: in this case, a Science Festival. An interactively narrative inspired by Galileo’s Dialogue is used in order to engage junior high school students with History of Science and to enhance their conceptual understanding of cultural aspects of science.

In this paper the findings from research conducted with primary education students (K-6) are presented, explicitly focusing on students’ views concerning how Science was taught through distance learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic during the school year 2020-21. The sample of 378 students was not satisfied by the distance teaching and learning of Science except for the increased use of supporting audiovisual resources. Some of the results that occurred due to this transition were technical connection problems, a lack of communication between classmates and their teacher, a lack of concentration by students, their limited personal participation and the absence of face-to-face experimentation. Consequently, the limited understanding of scientific concepts shaped the students’ preference for learning Science in real classroom conditions.

The present study investigated the relationship between student science teachers’ views on Nature of Science and their views on the importance of teaching Nature of Science. It is a case study in which qualitative methods and descriptive statistics are used. The sample consisted of 23 student science teachers who attended a faculty course on Didactics of Physics and participated voluntarily. Preliminary findings showed a moderate relationship between students’ views on Nature of Science issues and their classroom practice, particularly regarding “tenets” such as the tentative character of science and sociocultural milieu. When it comes to more epistemological issues, such as the difference between a theory and a law, then student teachers have considerable conceptual difficulties and they also find the particular “tenets” less important for a school science context.

The subjectivity and objectivity of science are strongly associated to the nature of science, which is part of science education curricula worldwide. The issue under research is how an epistemological issue, like objectivity and subjectivity in science, could be introduced in science classes, so as to reflect the most realistic image of science. Following this line in the present study, concepts were related to what students and teachers should know, science education research and policy documents were explored, and current views within the philosophy of science were briefly summarized. We propose a distinction between the partially subjective scientific process and the rather objective end result of scientific inquiry as a schema promoting better understanding in science education. Intersubjectivity and critical transformation are then proposed as concepts which can enhance this schema. The history of science provides a suitable framework for teaching these ideas in science classes.

The present study investigated the relationship between student science teachers’ views on Nature of Science and their views on the importance of teaching Nature of Science. It is a case study in which qualitative methods and descriptive statistics are used. The sample consisted of 23 student science teachers who attended a faculty course on Didactics of Physics and participated voluntarily. Preliminary findings showed a moderate relationship between students’ views on Nature of Science issues and their classroom practice, particularly regarding “tenets” such as the tentative character of science and sociocultural milieu. When it comes to more epistemological issues, such as the difference between a theory and a law, then student teachers have considerable conceptual difficulties and they also find the particular “tenets” less important for a school science context.

Nature of Science is an integral part of scientific literacy which researchers and international policy-making institutions highlight as the purpose of science education. The notions of scientific law, theories and models are crucial for understanding the Nature of Science. These notions are better grasped in the historical context of Nature of Science. For this purpose, appropriate instructional sequences, based on semi-structured interviews, were designed and implemented to investigate whether and how the student teachers of Primary Education can perceive these concepts. The study revealed that after particular difficulties were confronted, student teachers were able to grasp firmly the notions of scientific law, theories, models and the relationships among them.

In most countries it is generally accepted that science has a legitimate place in the secondary school curriculum. In contemporary aims of science education, there is an increasing interest in the “nature of science” (NOS). A scientifically literate person should also develop a functional understanding of the nature of science (Abd–EI Khalick et al, 1997). It is commonly accepted that scientific literacy includes not only scientific knowledge but knowledge about science, its history, philosophy, social and cultural aspects of science. However research has shown that this aim has not been fulfilled (Lederman, 1992).