Student Understanding of Scientific Hypotheses, Theories & Laws: Exploring the influence of a non-majors college introductory Biology course

Abstract

Keywords

• -

References

1. Abd-El-Khalick, F. (2001). Embedding nature of science instruction in preservice elementary science courses: Abandoning scientism, but…. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 12(3), 215-233.
2. Abd-El-Khalick, F., & Lederman, N.G. (2000a). Improving science teachers’ conceptions of the nature of science: A critical review of the research. International Journal of Science Education, 22(7), 665-701.
3. Abd-El-Khalick, F., & Lederman, N.G. (2000b). The influence of history of science courses on students’ conceptions of the nature of science. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 37(10), 1057-1095.
4. Abd-El-Khalick, F., Bell, R.L., & Lederman, N.G. (1998). The nature of science and instructional practice: Making the unnatural natural. Science Education, 82(4), 673-699.
5. Aikenhead, G.S., & Ryan, A.G. (1992). The development of a new instrument: “Views on science-technology- society” (VOSTS). Science Education, 76(5), 477-491.
6. Aikenhead, G.S., Fleming, R.W., & Ryan, A.G. (1987). High school graduates’ beliefs about science- technology- society. I. Methods and issues in monitoring student views. Science Education, 71(2), 145-161.
7. Akerson, V.L., Buzzelli, C.A., & Donnelly, L.A. (2010). On the nature of teaching nature of science: Preservice early childhood teachers’ instruction in preschool and elementary settings. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 47(2), 213-233.
8. Ameny, G.M. (1999). College biology students’ conceptions related to the nature of biological knowledge: Implications for conceptual change (Doctoral dissertation). Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA.

9. American Association for the Advancement of Science. (1994). Science for all Americans. New York: Oxford University Press.
10. Bell, R.L., Matkins, J.J., & Gansneder, B.M. (2011). Impacts of contextual and explicit instruction on preservice elementary teachers’ understandings of the nature of science. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 48(4), 414-436.
11. Blanco, R., & Niaz, M. (1997). Epistemological beliefs of students and teachers about the nature of science: From ‘baconian inductive ascent’ to the ‘irrelevance’ of scientific laws. Instructional Science, 25(3), 203-231.
12. Botton, C., & Brown, C. (1998). The reliability of some VOSTS items when used with preservice secondary science teachers in England. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 35(1), 53-71.
13. Bradford, C.S., Rubba, P.A., & Harkness, W.L. (1995). Views about science-technology-society interactions held by college students in general education physics and STS courses. Science Education, 79(4), 355- 373.
14. Brickhouse, N.W., Dagher, Z.R., Letts, W.J., & Shipman, H.L. (2000). Diversity of students’ views about evidence, theory, and the interface between science and religion in an astronomy course. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 37(4), 340-362.
15. Clough, M.P. (2006). Learners’ responses to the demands of conceptual change: Considerations for effective nature of science instruction. Science Education, 15(5), 463-494.
16. Dagher, Z.R. & Boujaoude, S. (2005). Students’ perceptions of the nature of evolutionary theory. Science Education, 89(3), 378-391.
17. Dagher, Z.R., Brickhouse, N.W., Shipman, H., & Letts, W.J. (2004). How some college students represent their understanding of the nature of scientific theories. International Journal of Science Education, 26(6), 735-755.
18. Dass, P.M. (2005). Understanding the nature of scientific enterprise (NOSE) through a discourse with its history: The influence of an undergraduate ‘history of science’ course. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 3(1), 87-115.
19. DeBoer, G.E. (2000). Scientific literacy: Another look at its historical and contemporary meanings and its relationship to science education reform. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 37(6), 582-601.
20. DeCoito, I. (2009). Improving teachers’ and students’ nature of science conceptions: Using reading and writing activities to reflect on the nature of science. Germany: Lambert Academic Publishers.
21. Dobzhansky, T. (1973). Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution. The American Biology Teacher, 35(3), 125-129.
22. Driver, R., Leach, J., Millar, R., & Scott, P. (1996). Young people’s images of science. Buckingham, UK: Open University Press.
23. Duschl, R.A. (1988). Abandoning the scientistic legacy of science education. Science Education, 72(1), 51-62.
24. Edmondson, K.M., & Novak, J.D. (1993). The interplay of scientific epistemological views, learning strategies, and attitudes of college students. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 30(6), 547-559.
25. George, M.D., Bragg, S., de los Santos, A.G. Jr., Denton, D.D., Gerber, P., Lindquist, M.M., Rosser, J.M., Sanchez, D.A. & Meyers, C. (1996). Shaping the future: New expectations for undergraduate education in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology. Arlington, VA: National Science Foundation.
26. Halyard, R.A. (1993). Introductory science courses: The SCST position statement. Journal of College Science Teaching, 23(1), 29 – 31.
27. Hashweh, M.Z. (1996). Effects of science teachers’ epistemological beliefs in teaching. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 33(1), 47-63.
28. Johnson, M., & Pigliucci, M. (2004). Is knowledge of science associated with higher skepticism of pseudoscientific claims? The American Biology Teacher, 66(8), 536-548.
29. Kenyon, L.O. (2003). The effect of explicit, inquiry instruction on freshman college science majors’ understanding of the nature of science (Doctoral dissertation). University of Houston, Houston, TX.
30. Kimball, M.E. (1967-1968). Understanding the nature of science: A comparison of scientists and science teachers. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 5(2), 110-120.
31. Laugksch, R.C. (2000). Scientific literacy: A conceptual overview. Science Education, 84(1), 71-94.
32. Lederman, N.G. (1992). Students’ and teachers’ conceptions of the nature of science: A review of the research. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 29(4), 331-359.
33. Lederman, N.G. (1999). Teachers’ understanding of the nature of science and classroom practice: Factors that facilitate or impede the relationship. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 36(8), 916-929.
34. Lederman, N.G., & Druger, M. (1985). Classroom factors related to changes in students’ conceptions of the nature of science. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 22(7), 649-662.
35. Lederman, N.G., & Zeidler, D.L. (1987). Science teachers’ conceptions of the nature of science: do they really influence teaching behavior? Science Education, 71(5), 721-734.
36. Lord, T. & Marino, S. (1993). How university students view the theory of evolution. Journal of College Science Teaching, 22(6), 353 – 357.
37. Marra, R.M. & Palmer, B. (2005). University science students’ epistemological orientations and nature of science indicators: How do they relate? Science Education International, 18(3), 165-184.
38. Matthews, M.R. (1994). Science teaching: The role of history and philosophy of science. London: Routledge
39. McComas, W.F. (1997). 15 myths of science. Skeptic, 5(2), 88-96.
40. McComas, W.F. (2003). A textbook case of the nature of science: Laws and theories in the science of biology. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 1(2), 141-155.
41. McComas, W.F. (2004). Keys to teaching the nature of science. The Science Teacher, 71(9), 24-27.
42. McDonald, C.V., (2010). The influence of explicit nature of science and argumentation instruction on preservice primary teachers’ views of nature of science. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 47(9), 1137- 1164.
43. McErlean, J. (2000). Philosophies of science: From foundations to contemporary issues. Stamford, CT: Wadsworth/Thompson Learning.
44. Meyling, H. (1997). How to change students’ conceptions of the epistemology of science. Science & Education, 6(4), 397-416.
45. Miller, J.D. (2004). Public understanding of, and attitudes toward, scientific research: What we know and what we need to know. Public Understanding of Science, 13, 273-294.
46. Munby, A.H. (1976). Some implications of language in science education. Science Education, 60(1), 115-124.
47. National Research Council. (1996). National science education standards. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
48. National Science Teachers Association. (1992 – 1993). National Science Teachers Association Handbook. Washington, DC: Author.
49. Palmquist, B.C., & Finley, F.N. (1997). Preservice teachers’ views of the nature of science during a postbaccalaureate science teaching program. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 34(6), 595-615.
50. Patton, M.Q. (2002). Qualitative research & evaluation methods (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
51. Pomeroy, D. (1993). Implications of teachers’ beliefs about the nature of science: Comparison of the beliefs of scientists, secondary science teachers, and elementary teachers. Science Education, 77(3), 261-278.
52. Rubba, P.A., & Anderson, H. (1978). Development of an instrument to assess secondary school students’ understanding of the nature of scientific knowledge. Science Education, 62(4), 449-458.
53. Rubba, P.A., Bradford, C.S., & Harkness, W.J. (1996). A new scoring procedure for the views on science- technology-society instrument. International Journal of Science Education, 18(4), 387-400.
54. Ryan, A.G., & Aikenhead, G.S. (1992). Students’ preconceptions about the epistemology of science. Science Education, 76(6), 559-580.
55. Ryder, J., Leach, J., & Driver, R. (1999). Undergraduate science students’ images of science. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 36(2), 201-219.
56. Sandoval, W.A., & Morrison, K. (2003). High school students’ ideas about theories and theory change after a biological inquiry unit. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 40(4), 369-392.
57. Schwartz, R.S., & Lederman, N.G. (2002). “It’s the nature of the beast”: The influence of knowledge and intentions on learning and teaching nature of science. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 39(3), 205-236.
58. Shen, B.S.J. (1975). Scientific literacy and the public understanding of science. In Day, S, editor. Communication of Scientific Information (p. 44-52). Basel: Karger.
59. Slaughter, J.B. (1993). Science and social consciousness. Journal of College Science Teaching, 22, 204 – 205.
60. Smith, C.L., & Wenk, L. (2006). Relations among three aspects of first-year college students’ epistemologies of science. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 43(8), 747-785.
61. Solomon, J., Scott, L., & Duveen, J. (1996). Large-scale exploration of pupil’s understanding of the nature of science. Science Education, 80(5), 493-508.
62. Songer, N.B., & Linn, M.C. (1991). How do students’ views of science influence knowledge integration? Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 28(9), 761-784.
63. Southerland, S.A., Gess-Newsome, J., & Johnston, A. (2003). Portraying science in the classroom: The manifestation of scientists’ beliefs in classroom practice. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 40(7), 669-691.
64. Trumbull, D.J., Scrano, G., & Bonney, R. (2006). The relations among two teachers’ practices and beliefs, conceptualizations of the nature of science, and their implementation of student independent inquiry projects. International Journal of Science Education, 28(14), 1717–1750.
65. Tsai, C.C. (2002). Nested epistemologies: Science teachers’ beliefs of teaching, learning and science. International Journal of Science Education, 24(8), 771-783.
66. Tsai, C.C. (2006). Teachers’ scientific epistemological views: The coherence with instruction and student views. Science Education, 91(2), 222-243.
67. Waterman, M.A. (1982). College biology students’ beliefs about scientific knowledge: foundation for study of epistemological commitments in conceptual change (Thesis). Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.
68. Yalvac, B., Tekkaya, C., Cakiroglu, J., & Kahyaoglu, E. (2007). Turkish pre-service science teachers’ views on science-technology-society issues. International Journal of Science Education, 29(3), 331-348.
69. Zeidler, D.L. & Lederman, N.G. (1989). The effects of teachers’ language on students’ conceptions of the nature of science. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 26(9), 771-783.
70. Zeidler, D.L., Walker, K.A., Ackett, W.A., & Simmons, M.L. (2002). Tangled up in views: Beliefs in the nature of science and responses to socioscientific dilemmas. Science Education, 86(3), 343-367.