Examining High School Students' Views on Nature of Science in a University Internship

• In Event: 14.045 - Roundtable Session 2
  In Roundtable Session: 14.045-20 - Exploring the Nature of Science: Student Understanding and Teachers' Practices

Abstract

The knowledge of Nature of Science (NOS) is essential for students to be able to critically examine scientific claims and results. However, current education efforts are limited in their abilities to improve student’s NOS conceptions. The purpose of the study is to examine the impacts of a university internship on high school students’ NOS views. We interviewed 33 students twice before and after the internship (experiment group) and interviewed 20 students twice, who took the Advanced Physics class at school, before and after the class (control group) to respond five important NOS questions. The results show the experiment group obtained more informed views after the university internship comparing to the control group. Further discussion and suggestions for research are provided.

Authors

• Pei-Ling Hsu, University of Texas - El Paso

• Gabriel Hayes, The University of Texas at El Paso