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Nature of Science in Science Instruction

Rationales and Strategies

  • Book
  • © 2020

Overview

Editors:
  1. William F. McComas

    1. College of Education & Health Professions, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, USA

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  • Is the most complete and accessible one-source work available on nature of science instruction
  • Combines scholarly background with rationales to inform and update readers
  • Is designed for all of those involved in science teaching
  • Suggests ways to communicate nature of science content to various audiences

Part of the book series: Science: Philosophy, History and Education (SPHE)

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Table of contents (39 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xxiv
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  3. Nature of Science Instruction: Foundation Knowledge for Nature of Science Instruction

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 113-113
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    2. Beyond Experiments: Considering the Range of Investigative and Data-Collection Methods in Science

      • Sandra Sturdivant West, Susan Schwinning, Alexis D. Denn
      Pages 115-125

    3. Exchanging the Myth of a Step-by-Step Scientific Method for a More Authentic Description of Inquiry in Practice

      • Rebecca Reiff-Cox
      Pages 127-139

    4. Exploring the Challenges and Opportunities of Theory-Laden Observation and Subjectivity: A Key NOS Notion

      • William F. McComas
      Pages 141-157

    5. Distinguishing Science, Engineering, and Technology

      • Gerald Rau, Allison Antink-Meyer
      Pages 159-176

  4. Teaching About Nature of Science: Generalized Instructional Perspectives

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 177-177
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    2. The Use of Metacognitive Prompts to Foster Nature of Science Learning

      • Erin E. Peters-Burton, Stephen R. Burton
      Pages 179-197

    3. Teaching Nature of Science Through a Critical Thinking Approach

      • Hagop A. Yacoubian
      Pages 199-212

    4. The Nature of Science Card Exchange: Introducing the Philosophy of Science

      • William W. Cobern, Cathleen Loving
      Pages 213-222

    5. Reflecting on Nature of Science Through Philosophical Dialogue

      • Lynda Dunlop, Jelle de Schrijver
      Pages 223-237

    6. Preparing Science Teachers to Overcome Common Obstacles and Teach Nature of Science

      • Michael P. Clough, Benjamin C. Herman, Joanne K. Olson
      Pages 239-251

    7. Perspectives for Teaching About How Science Works

      • Fred Janssen, Hanna Westbroek, Ilse Landa, Britt van der Ploeg, Jacqueline Muijlwijk-Koezen
      Pages 253-269

    8. Framing and Teaching Nature of Science as Questions

      • Michael P. Clough
      Pages 271-282

    9. Using Real and Imaginary Cases to Communicate Aspects of Nature of Science

      • David Boersema
      Pages 283-294
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Keywords

About this book

This book offers a comprehensive introduction to Nature of Science (NOS), one of the most important aspects of science teaching and learning, and includes tested strategies for teaching aspects of the NOS in a variety of instructional settings. In line with the recommendations in the field to include NOS in all plans for science instruction, the book provides an accessible resource of background information on NOS, rationales for teaching these targeted NOS aspects, and – most importantly – how to teach about the nature of science in specific instructional contexts. The first section examines the why and what of NOS, its nature, and what research says about how to teach NOS in science settings. The second section focuses on extending knowledge about NOS to question of scientific method, theory-laden observation, the role of experiments and observations and distinctions between science, engineering and technology. The dominant theme of the remainder of the book is a focus on teaching aspects of NOS applicable to a wide variety of instructional environments.

Editors and Affiliations

  • College of Education & Health Professions, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, USA

    William F. McComas

About the editor

William F. McComas is a Distinguished Professor and the inaugural holder of the Parks Family Endowed Professorship in Science Education at the University of Arkansas. He is editor of The Language of Science Education and co-author of a new account of The Scopes Monkey Trial.McComas was a Fulbright Fellow at Dublin City University, has been elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and currently serves as the Editor of the American Biology Teacher. He is the recipient of accolades such as the ASTA Outstanding Mentor and Outstanding Science Teacher Educator awards, and the Ohaus Award for innovations in college science teaching.  Bill is particularly proud of the students whose dissertations he chaired, 15 of whom are now professors of science education.

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Nature of Science in Science Instruction

  • Book Subtitle: Rationales and Strategies

  • Editors: William F. McComas

  • Series Title: Science: Philosophy, History and Education

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-57239-6

  • Publisher: Springer Cham

  • eBook Packages: Education, Education (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-57238-9Published: 25 August 2020

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-57241-9Published: 25 August 2021

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-57239-6Published: 24 August 2020

  • Series ISSN: 2520-8594

  • Series E-ISSN: 2520-8608

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XXIV, 748

  • Number of Illustrations: 71 b/w illustrations, 27 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: Science Education, Teaching and Teacher Education, Philosophy of Science, Education, general

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