Knowledge Beyond the Facts: Does Teaching the Nature of Science Help Undergraduates Understand Science Content? (Poster 19)

• In Event: AERA Poster Session Saturday 5:10 p.m.
  In Poster Session: Advances in STEM Learning and Educational Psychology

Abstract

Understanding the nature of science (NoS) is a core component of scientific literacy, but does NoS knowledge help students learn science content? We test whether NoS understanding can act as a schema to facilitate comprehension of science content. In Study 1, undergraduates watched a NoS lesson about theory change. This improved their NoS understanding but not their understanding of a subsequent psychology lesson involving theory change compared to control. In Study 2, three NoS lessons were experimentally integrated into a college psychology course, complementing content lessons in which theories change. This intervention did not improve learning, but several relationships were found between science beliefs and learning. This study contributes to a framework for the role of NoS in science education.

Authors

• Rian Drexler, University of California - San Diego

• Celeste Pilegard, University of California - San Diego