Session Information
10 SES 05 B, Research on Values, Beliefs and Understandings in Teacher Education
Paper Session
Contribution
The preparation of scientifically literate students is a continuing goal of science education, and an adequate understanding of nature of science (NOS) is a central component of scientific literacy (Lederman, 1992). Although there is no agreement on the meaning of NOS, it refers to the values and assumptions inherent to development of scientific knowledge (Lederman, 1992). Scientific knowledge has been introduced following agreed characteristics: tentative; empirically-based, theory-laden and socially and culturally embedded (Abd-El-Khalick & Lederman, 2000a). Four other aspects of NOS that have been emphasized are the distinction between observation and inferences, the relationship between theories and laws, the myth of the scientific method, and the social dimension of scientific knowledge (Akerson & Abd-El-Khalick, 2000).
Research studies have consistently shown that both students and teachers hold naïve conceptions about NOS (e.g. Abd-El Khalick & Lederman, 2000). Therefore, it is important for inservice and preservice science teachers to develop informed NOS understandings, because they are the key factors that not only help students to develop their conceptual understandings and integrated skills but also to internalize understandings of NOS. Researchers categorize NOS instruction as being either implicit or explicit (Abd-El-Khalick & Lederman, 2000b). Abd-El-Khalick and Akerson (2004) found that an explicit reflective approach to NOS instruction plays an important role in improving elementary teachers’ views of NOS when it is considered as a key point of learning as conceptual change. At this point; metacognition is one of the most important factors which enhance this effectiveness (Abd-El-Khalick & Akerson, 2009). Abd-El-Khalick and Akerson (2009) claimed that elementary teachers with a deep processing orientation to learning were able to develop more accurate conceptions about NOS than their peers. Research indicates that use of metacognitive strategies help students improve conceptual understanding (Babkie & Provost, 2002). In their study, Abd-El-Khalick and Akerson (2004) reported that the teachers used metacognitive strategies to monitor the development of their understandings, as they negotiated ideas about NOS that were very different from their own.
The aim of the present study is to investigate the effects of training in metacognitive strategies on the preservice elementary science teachers’ (PST) NOS views. The following research question guided the present study: What is the effectof using metacognitive strategies embedded in explicit–reflective NOS instruction on the development of PSTs’ understandings of NOS?
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
Abd-El-Khalick, F., & Akerson, V. L. (2009). The influence of metacognitive training on preservice elementary teachers' conceptions of nature of science. International Journal of Science Education. DOI: 10.1080/09500690802563324 Abd-El-Khalick, F., & Akerson, V.L. (2004). Learning as conceptual change: Factors that mediate the development of preservice elementary teachers’ views of nature of science. Science Education, 88(5), 785–810. Abd-El-Khalick, F., & Lederman, N. G. (2000a). The influence of history of science courses on students' views of nature of science. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 37(10), 1057-1095. Abd-El-Khalick, F. & Lederman, N. G. (2000b). Improving science teachers’ conceptions of nature science: a critical review. International Journal of Science Education, 22, 665-701. Babkie, A.M., & Provost, M.C. (2002). Select, write, and use metacognitive strategies in the classroom. Intervention in School and Clinic, 37(3) 173–177. Lederman, N. G. (1992). Students' and teachers' conceptions about the nature of science: A review of the research. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 29, 331-359. Lederman, N. G., & Abd-El-Khalick, F. (1998). Avoiding de-natured science: Activities that promote understandings of the nature of science. In W. McComas (Eds.), The nature of science in science education: Rationales and strategies (pp. 83-126). Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers. Lederman, N.G., Abd-El-Khalick, F., Bell, R.L., & Schwartz, R. (2002). Views of nature of science questionnaire (VNOS): Toward valid and meaningful assessment of learners’ conceptions of nature of science. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 39, 497-521. Schraw, G., & Dennison, R. S. (1994). Assessing metacognitive awareness. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 19, 460-475.
Search the ECER Programme
- Search for keywords and phrases in "Text Search"
- Restrict in which part of the abstracts to search in "Where to search"
- Search for authors and in the respective field.
- For planning your conference attendance you may want to use the conference app, which will be issued some weeks before the conference
- If you are a session chair, best look up your chairing duties in the conference system (Conftool) or the app.