The effect of explicit embedded reflective instruction on nature of science understandings in advanced science students

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of explicit-embedded-reflective (EER) instruction in nature of science (NOS) understandings of ninth-grade advanced science students. This study was conducted with 71 students, who were divided into three groups, by using non-equivalent quasi-experimental design. In the treatment groups, the EER teaching was conducted, while in the comparison group NOS instruction was carried out in the same time interval by lecturing, demonstration and questioning strategies. Views on Nature of Science Questionnaire-Form C and follow-up interviews were used for data collection. Categorisation of the participants’ profiles on aspects of the NOS was used for data analysis. According to the results, participants had misunderstandings about ‘scientific methods’, ‘laws and theories’ and ‘observation and inference’, while they had expert views on ‘the role of creativity and imagination’ in the beginning of the study. For changing naive NOS understandings, the EER approach was found to be effective.

Keywords:

• nature of science
• explicit-embedded-reflective instruction
• biology education
• advanced science students
• cell unit

Notes

This study is a part of a PhD study conducted in Middle East Technical University, Natural and Applied Science Institute, Turkey.