The Effects of Socioscientific Inquiry on Nature of Science (NOS) Conceptions

• In Event: Roundtable Session 20
  In Roundtable Session: Deepening Conceptual Understandings in STEM Preservice Teacher Education

Abstract

Exploring epistemological views of students within socio-scientific inquiry (SSI) has led to an increasing emphasis on the nature of science (NOS) as a way of knowing that calls attention to the underlying, and often implicit, principles embedded in scientific knowledge. Our study explored the question: In what ways is pre-service teachers’ understanding of NOS linked to perceptions of their experience within an SSI? Insights from this study to add to the on-going discussions about the relationship of SSI and NOS included 1) the importance of open inquiry and 2) NOS as foundational for including students in the process of SSI investigations.

Authors

• Kristin Leigh Cook, Bellarmine University

• Gayle A. Buck, Indiana University