Teaching Nature of Science by Explicit Approach to the Preservice Elementary Science Teachers

Year 2012, Volume: 11 Issue: 1, 118 - 136, 26.06.2012

Pelin Yalçinoğlu , Şengül S. Anagün

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the development of elementary science
teachers’ understandings of the nature of science as they were taught with an explicit approach. Qualitative
research methodologies were used to design the study. Data collection took place during the “Science
Teaching Methods” course. Twenty-nine preservice elementary science teachers participated in the study.
During the first five weeks of the course Nature of Science (NOS) activities developed by Lederman and
Abd-el-Khalick (1998) were administered by the first researcher. Classroom discussions were held after
each activity to determine and develop preservice elementary science teachers’ perception of the nature of
science. The participants’ perceptions of the NOS were evaluated with Views of Nature of Science
Questionnaire form C (VNOS-C) before and after the intervention. Data was analyzed basing on the
interpretivist approach. Results of the study indicated that the majority of the participants held naive views
of the targeted NOS aspects at the beginning of the study. Postintervention assessments showed that the
participants made substantial gains in their views of some of the targeted aspects of NOS. More substantial
gains were evident in the aspects of the subjective, and social and cultural NOS. Less substantial gains were
evident in the subject of the difference between the structure and function of scientific theories and laws.

Keywords

nature of science, preservice science teacher, explicit approach

Teaching Nature of Science by Explicit Approach to the Preservice Elementary Science Teachers

Abstract

Bu çalışmanın amacı fen bilgisi öğretmen adaylarının bilimin doğasına ilişkin algılarını doğrudan yaklaşım yöntemine dayalı bir öğretim süresince incelemektir. Araştırmanın desenlenmesinde nitel araştırma yöntemleri kullanılmıştır. Araştırma için veri toplama süreci Fen Bilgisi Öğretmenliği Programındaki Öğretim Yöntem ve Teknikleri-I dersi kapsamında gerçekleşmiştir. Araştırmaya 29 fen bilgisi öğretmen adayı katılmıştır. Bahsi geçen dersin ilk beş haftalık süresince Lederman ve Abd-elKhalick (1998) tarafından geliştirilmiş Bilimin Doğası (Nature of Science-NOS) etkinlikleri birinci araştırmacı tarafından uygulanmıştır. Öğretmen adaylarının bilimin doğasına ilişkin algılarını tespit etmek ve geliştirmek üzere her etkinlikten sonra sınıf içi tartışmalar yürütülmüştür. Öğretmen adaylarının bilimin doğasına ilişkin algıları öğretim sürecinin başında ve sonunda Views of Nature of Science Questionnaire-C (VNOS-C) ile değerlendirilmiştir. Veriler yorumlayıcı yaklaşıma göre analiz edilmiştir. Araştırma sonuçları uygulanan öğretim sürecinin başında fen bilgisi öğretmen adaylarının çoğunun bilimin doğasına ilişkin algılarının yetersiz olduğunu göstermiştir. Öğretim sürecinin sonuda ise öğretmen adaylarının bilimin doğasına ilişkin geliştirilmesi hedeflenen algılarında gelişme olduğu gözlenmiştir. Öğretmen adaylarının en fazla gelişme gösterdikleri alanlar bilimin öznel yapısı ve sosyo-kültürel doğası olmuştur. Bilimsel teoriler ve kanunlar arasındaki fark ise öğretmen adayları tarafından en az düzeyde algılanan konudur

Keywords

bilimin doğası, fen bilgisi öğretmen adayları, doğrudan yaklaşım

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