Improving 7th Grade Students’ Understanding of Force and Motion through History of Science Stories: A Glimpse at an Ongoing Effort

Year 2023, Volume: 10 Issue: 2, 195 - 215, 30.03.2023

Feray Kahraman Erdoğan , Faik Özgür Karataş

https://doi.org/10.17275/per.23.36.10.2

Cited By: 1

Abstract

The integration of history of science (HOS) into science teaching plays a crucial role to address many shortcomings of traditional science teaching in middle schools, due to its close relationship to the nature of science (NOS) and to its ability to reveal the interconnectedness of science to other disciplines. The purpose of this study is to improve seventh grade students’ course engagement and motivation and their understanding of scientific concepts within the unit of “Force and Motion” through the use of history of science-based stories. The study was conducted according to an action research approach. Five stories based on the history of science were developed and administered by one of the researchers in their 7th grade science class. The iterative reflective practice took place over seven weeks with 15 students who met twice a week for two consecutive forty-minute sessions. Throughout this process, researcher journals, semi-structured interviews and a survey were employed for data collection. Teaching with history of science-based stories was found to be effective for students’ understanding of concepts related to “force and motion.” The results of the study were also positive with respect to the students’ engagement and motivation. Based on the findings, it is suggested that the nature of science should be addressed explicitly through stories in future research.

Keywords

history of science, force and motion, student engagement, understanding science, story, action research

References

• Abraham, M. R., Grzybowski, E. B., Renner, J. W., & Marek, E. A. (1992). Understandings and misunderstandings of eight graders of five chemistry concepts found in textbooks. Journal of Research in Science Teaching. 29(2), 105-106. Alcantara, M.C. and Braga, Margo and Heuvel, C. (2020). Historical networks in science education a case study of an experiment with network analysis by high school students. Science & Education (2020). 29,101–121. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11191-019-00096-4
• Arıcı, A. F. (2007). Masal, fabl, fıkra” eğitim fakülteleri için çocuk edebiyatı [“Fairy Tale, fable, anecdote” children's literature for education faculties], Istanbul: PegemA Publishing.
• Atasoy, Ş., & Akdeniz, A. R. (2007). Newton’un hareket kanunları konusunda kavram yanılgılarını belirlemeye yönelik bir testin geliştirilmesi ve uygulanması [Development and implementation of a test to identify misconceptions about Newton's laws of motion]. Turkish Journal of Science Education, 4(1), 45 – 59.
• Avcı, D. E., Kara, I., & Karaca, D. (2012). Fen bilgisi öğretmen adaylarının iş konusundaki kavram yanılgıları [Science teacher candidates' misconceptions about work]. Pamukkale University Journal of Education Faculty, 31, 27-39.
• Bertiz, H. (2005). Attitudes of pre-service science teachers towards creative drama and their views on storytelling (Unpublished master's thesis). Abant Izzet Baysal University.
• Candaş, B., Kıryak, Z., & Unal, S. (2021). Bilim tarihi temelli hikâyelerle fen öğretimi: Tesla ve Volta örneği [Teaching science with stories based on the history of science: The case of Tesla and Volta]. Journal of Van Yüzüncü Yıl University Faculty of Education, 18(1), 405-435.
• Capobianco, B. M., (2007). Science teachers’ attempts at integrating feminist pedagogy through collaborative action research. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 44(1), 1-32.
• Capobianco, B.M. & Feldman, A. (2006). Promoting quality for teacher action research: lessons learned from science teachers’ action research. Educational Action Research, 14(4),497-512.
• Czerneda, E. (2010). Imagine that: The power of science fiction in science education, National Science Teachers Association Reports, p. 3-5.
• Dedes, C. (2005). The mechanism of vision: conceptual similarities between historical models and children’s representations, Science & Education, 14, 699–712.
• Demir, M. (2010). The effect of conceptual change texts enriched with metaconceptual activities on pre-service science teachers' understanding of force and motion (Unpublished master's thesis). Gazi University.
• Dincel, M. (2005). The effect of narration and experiment technique on students' conceptual understanding and success in science lesson (Unpublished master's thesis). Marmara University.
• Erdaş, E., Doğan, N. & Irez, S. (2016). Bilimin doğasıyla ilgili 1998-2012 yılları arasında Türkiye’de yapılan çalışmaların değerlendirmesi [Evaluation of the studies conducted in Turkey between 1998-2012 on the nature of science]. Kastamonu Journal of Education, 24(1), 17-36.
• EU, (2008). Young people and science, Flash eurobarometer series 239. European Commission.
• Fleming, D.S. (2000). The AEL guide to action research, Washington: Office of Educational Research and Improvement.
• Frisch, J. K. (2010). The stories they’d tell: pre-service elementary teachers writing stories to demonstrate physical scientific concepts, Journal Science Teacher Education, 21, 703–722.
• Gamito-Marquez, D. (2020). In praise of a historical storytelling approach in science education. The University of Chıcago Press Journals, 111, no 3, 582-587.
• Henriksen, E. K., Dillon, J., & Ryder, J. (2015). Understanding student participation and choice in science and technology education. Dordrecht: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7793-4
• Hırça, N., Çalık, M. & Seven, S. (2011). 5E modeline göre geliştirilen materyallerin öğrencilerin kavramsal değişimine ve fizik dersine karşı tutumlarına etkisi: “İş, Güç ve Enerji” ünitesi örneği [The effect of the materials developed according to the 5E model on the students' conceptual change and their attitudes towards the physics lesson: an example of the unit "work, power and energy"] Journal of Turkish Science Education , 8(1), 139 – 152.
• Hill, C. & Baumgartner, L. (2009). Stories in science: the backbone of science learning, The Science Teacher, p. 60-66.
• Hu, J., Gordon, C., Yang, N., & Ren, Y. (2021). “Once Upon a Star”: A science education program based on personification storytelling in promoting preschool children’s understanding of astronomy concepts. Early Education and Development, 32(1), 7-25.
• Isabelle, A. (2007). Teaching science using stories: The storyline approach. Science Scope, 31(2), 16-25.
• Irwin, A. R. (2000). Historical case studies: Teaching the nature of science in context, Science Education, 84, 5–26.
• Irzik, G. (2015). History and philosophy of science-based approach to science teaching at its best, Science & Education, 24:1001–1008.
• Jacobs, J., & Simpkins, S. (Eds.). (2006). Leaks in the Pipeline to math, science, and technology careers, Vol. 110: Jossey-Bass.
• Jardim, W.T., Guerra, A. & Schiffer, H. (2021). History of science in physics teaching possibilities for contextualized teaching? Science & Education, 30, 609–638.
• Kahraman, F. (2012). The effect of stories based on the history of science on the level of 7th grade students' understanding of the concepts of "force and motion unit" (Unpublished Master's Thesis), Karadeniz Technical University.
• Kahraman, F. & Karataş, F.Ö. (2015). Story telling: research and action to improve 6th grade students’ views about certain aspects of nature of science, Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, 16(1), 1-25.
• Karataş, F. Ö., Köse, S. & Coştu, B. (2003). Two-tier tests: Diagnosing students’ misconceptions and understanding, Pamukkale University Journal of Education, 13(1), 54-69.
• Karataş, F. Ö., Micklos, A., & Bodner, G. M. (2011). Sixth-grade students’ views of the nature of engineering and images of engineers. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 20(2), 123-135.
• Klassen, S. (2009). The construction and analysis of a science story: A proposed methodology, Science & Education, 18(3-4), 401 – 423.
• Klassen, S. & Klassen, C.F. (2014). The role of interest in learning science through stories, Interchange 45:133–151 doi 10.1007/s10780-014-9224-4.
• Kortam, N., Hugerat, M., & Mamlok-Naaman, R. (2021). The story behind the discovery: integrating short historical stories in science teaching. Chemistry Teacher International, 3(1), 1-8.
• Kurnaz, M. A. (2007). Analysis of the concept of energy at university level 1st year (Unpublished master's thesis). Karadeniz Technical University.
• Laçin Şimşek, C. (2019). What can stories on history of science give to students? thoughts of science teachers candidates. International Journal of Instruction, 12(1), 99-112.
• Lederman, N.G. (2006). Research on nature of science: reflections on the past, anticipations of the future. Asia-Pasific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, 7(1), 1.
• Leone, M., (2014). History of physics as a tool to detect the conceptual difficulties experienced by students: the case of simple electric circuits in primary education, Science & Education, 23, 923–953.
• Malamitsa, K., Kasoutas, M. & Kokkotas, P., (2009). Developing greek primary school students’ critical thinking through an approach of teaching science which incorporates aspects of history of science. Science & Education, 18, 457–468.
• Mantyla, T., (2013). Promoting conceptual development in physics teacher education: cognitive-historical reconstruction of electromagnetic induction law. Science & Education, 22, 1361–1387.
• Mc Comas, W.F. (1997). 15 Myths: Lessons of misconceptions and misunderstandings from a science educator. Skeptic, 5(2),88-95.
• Mısır, M.E. & Laçin Şimşek, C. (2018). Fen bilimleri öğretmenlerinin bilim tarihinin öğretimsel değeri üzerine görüşleri [Science teachers' views on the instructional value of the history of science]. Kocaeli University Journal of Education, 1(1), 1-12.
• Miles, M.B & Huberman, A.M. (1994). Qualitative Data Analysis (2nd Ed.) Thosand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
• Ministry of Education (MoNE), (2006). İlköğretim Fen ve Teknoloji Programı (6-8. sınıf) [Elementary Science and Technology Program (6th-8th grade)]. Publications of the Ministry of National Education.
• Mol, S.E.; Bus, A.G. & Jong, M.T. (2009). Interactive book reading in early education: a tool to stimulate print knowledge as well as oral language. Review of Educational Research, 79(2), 979–1007.
• Özsevgeç, T. (2007). Determining the effectiveness of the guide materials developed according to the 5e model for the primary school 5th grade force and movement unit (Unpublished doctoral dissertaion). Karadeniz Technical University.
• Peleg, R., Yayon, M., Katchevich, D., Mamlok-Naaman, R., Fortus, D., Eilks, I., & Hofstein, A. (2017). Teachers’views on implementing story telling as a way to motivate inquiry learning in high-school chemistry teaching. Chemistry Education Research and Practice, 18(2), 304–309.
• Paraskevopoulou, E., & Koliopoulos, D. (2011). Teaching the nature of science through the Millikan-Ehrenhaft dispute. Science & Education, 20, 943–960.
• Posner, G. J., Strike, K. A., Hewson, P. W., & Gertzog, W. A. (1982). Accommodation of a scientific conception: Toward a theory of conceptual change. Science Education, 66(2), 211-227.
• Rizaki, A. & Kokkotas, P., (2013). The use of history and philosophy of science as a core for a socioconstructivist teaching approach of the concept of energy in primary education. Science & Education, 22:1141–1165.
• Robertson, A. & Blake, K. (2011). Students gain a sense of place by learning about their local ecosystem. Science and Children, 48-54.
• Roca-Rosell, A. & Grapı´-Vilumara, P., (2010). Antoni quintana-marı´ (1907–1998): a pioneer of the use of history of science in science education. Science & Education,19, 925–929.
• Solbes, J. & Traver, M., (2003). Against a negative image of science: history of science and the teaching of physics and chemistry. Science & Education, 12, 703–717.
• Solomon, J., Duveen, J., Scot, L. & McCarthy, S. (1992). Teaching about the nature of science through history: action research in the classroom. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 29(4),409 - 421.
• Suzuki, W. A., Feliú-Mójer, M. I., Hasson, U., Yehuda, R., & Zarate, J. M. (2018). Dialogues: the science and power of storytelling. Journal of Neuroscience, 38(44), 9468-9470.
• Şimşek, A. (2006). İlköğretim sosyal bilgiler dersinde tarihsel hikâyeye yönelik öğrenci görüşleri [Student views on historical story in primary education social studies course]. Journal of Gazi Faculty of Education, 26(1), 187-202.
• Tayşi, E.K., (2007). Comparison of reading comprehension skills of 5th and 8th grade students in story and essay type texts (Kütahya province example) (Unpublished master's thesis). Gazi University.
• Uluay, G. & Aydın, A. (2018). Yedinci sınıf öğrencilerine kuvvet ve hareket ünitesinin öğretilmesinde argümantasyon odaklı öğrenme sürecinin akademik başarıya etkisi [The effect of argumentation-oriented learning process on academic achievement in teaching force and motion unit to seventh grade students]. Abant Izzet Baysal University Journal of the Faculty of Education, 18 (3), 1779-1799.
• Van Driel, J.H., De Vos, W. & Verloop, N., (1998). Relating students’ reasoning to the history of science: the case of chemical equilibrium. Research in Science Education, 28(2), 187-198.
• Viana, H.E.B. & Porto, P.A., (2010). The development of dalton’s atomic theory as a case study in the history of science: reflections for educators in chemistry, Science & Education,19, 75–90.
• Walan, S. (2019). Teaching children science through storytelling combined with hands-on activities–a successful instructional strategy? Education 3-13, doi: 10.1080/03004279.2017.1386228.
• Winrich, C., Garik, P. (2021). Integrating history of science in in‑service physics teacher education: impact on teachers’ practice. Science & Education, 30, 1099–1130, doi:10.1007/s11191-021-00219-w.
• Yıldırım, C. (2011). Bilim tarihi (14. Basım) [History of Science (14th Edition]. Istanbul: Remzi Bookstore.
• Yıldız, E. (2008). The effects of metacognition in teaching based on conceptual change in which the 5E model is used: An application for 7th grade force and movement unit (Unpublished doctoral dissertaion). Dokuz Eylul University.
• Yiğit, E. Ö. (2007). The effect of storytelling method on student achievement in our country's resources unit in the 6th grade social studies program (Unpublished master's thesis). Abant Izzet Baysal University.
• Yücel, M. (2009). The effectiveness of the use of interactive short historical stories in improving secondary school students' understanding of the nature of science (Unpublished master's thesis). Gazi University.