Browse > Article
http://dx.doi.org/10.5467/JKESS.2020.41.3.273

Investigation into Tenth Graders' Understanding of the "Nature of Scientific Inquiry"  

Cho, Eunjin (Department of Science Education, Seoul National University)
Publication Information
Journal of the Korean earth science society / v.41, no.3, 2020 , pp. 273-290 More about this Journal
Abstract
This study aims to investigate tenth graders' understanding of the nature of scientific inquiry (NOSI). A total of 100 public school students participated. A questionnaire of Views about Scientific Inquiry was used to assess their understanding of the NOSI, and data were collected using qualitative research methods such as open-ended questionnaires and, when necessary, semi-structured interviews. By employing a constant comparison method to analyze their responses, five students were consistently categorized as the group with informed views regarding all the eight aspects of the NOSI. The rest of the students showed different levels of understanding regarding each aspect. A large portion of the students represented a group with mixed views about four aspects and informed views about three aspects, whereas naive views about one aspect prevailed among them. The results showed that many students comparatively lacked understanding of the aspect related to the scientists' process of constructing explanations and formulating theories. This study discusses the relationship between its results and the current science curriculum and presents implications for the overall enhancement of students' understanding of the NOSI. Finally, it encourages the acquisition of scientific inquiry ability and makes suggestions to promote further studies.
Keywords
high school students; views about scientific inquiry; scientific inquiry ability;
Citations & Related Records
Times Cited By KSCI : 1  (Citation Analysis)
연도 인용수 순위
1 Abd-El-Khalick, F., 2012, Examining the sources for our understandings about science: enduring conflations and critical issues in research on nature of science in science education. International Journal of Science Education, 34(3), 353-374.   DOI
2 American Association for the Advancement of Science [AAAS], 1990, Science for all Americans. Oxford University Press, New York, USA.
3 American Association for the Advancement of Science [AAAS], 1993, Benchmarks for scientific literacy. Oxford University Press, New York, USA.
4 Baykara, H., Yakar, Z., and Liu, S.Y., 2018, Preservice Science Teachers' Views about Scientific Inquiry. European Journal of Education Studies, 4(10), 128-143.
5 Chen, S., 2006., Development of an instrument to assess views on nature of science and attitudes toward teaching science. Science Education, 90(5), 803-819.   DOI
6 Chinn, C.A. and Malhotra, B.A., 2002, Epistemologically authentic inquiry in schools: A theoretical framework for evaluating inquiry tasks. Science Education, 86(2), 175-218.   DOI
7 Driver, R., Leach, J., Millar, R., and Scott, P., 1996, Young People's Images of Science. Open University Press, Buckingham, UK.
8 Lederman, N.G., Antink, A., and Bartos, S., 2014, Nature of science, scientific inquiry, and socio-scientific issues arising from genetics: A pathway to developing a scientifically literate citizenry. Science and Education, 23(2), 285-302.   DOI
9 Lederman, N.G. and Lederman, J.S., 2014, Research on Teaching and Learning of Nature of Science. In Abell, S.K. and Lederman, N.G. (eds.), Handbook of Research on Science Education. Routledge, New York, USA, 1739-1815.
10 Council of Ministers of Education of Canada, 1997, Common Framework of Science Learning Outcomes, K to 12: Pan-Canadian Protocol for Collaboration on School Curriculum for Use by Curriculum Developers. Council of Ministers of Education, Toronto, Canada.
11 Dudu, W.T., 2014, Exploring South African high school teachers' conceptions of the nature of scientific inquiry: a case study. South African Journal of Education, 34(1), 1-19.   DOI
12 Dudu, W.T. and Vhurumuku, E., 2011, Exploring learners' understandings of the nature of scientific inquiry (NOSI): The validation of a research Instrument. International Journal of Learning, 18(2), 67-84.   DOI
13 Dunbar, K., 2001, What scientific thinking reveals about the nature of cognition. In Crowley, K., Shunn, C., and Okada, T. (eds.), Designing for science: Implications from everyday classroom and professional settings. Lawrence Associations, Inc., Mahwah, USA, 115-140.
14 Duschl, R.A., 1994, Research on the history and philosophy of science. In Gabriel, D.L. (ed.), Handbook of research on science teaching and learning. MacMillan, New York, USA, 443-465.
15 Lee, Y., 2014, What do scientists think about the nature of science?-exploring views of the nature of science of korean scientists related with life science area. Journal of the Korean Association for Science Education, 34(7), 677-691. (in Korean)   DOI
16 Lederman, N.G. and Lederman, J.S., 2019, Teaching and Learning of Nature of Scientific knowledge and scientific inquiry: building capacity through systematic research-based professional development. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 30(7), 737-762.   DOI
17 Lederman, J.S., 2009, Teaching scientific inquiry: Exploration, directed, guided, and open-ended levels. In National geographic science: Best practices in science education. Retrieved from http://www.ngspscience.com/profdev/Monographs/SCL22-0439A_SCI_AM_Lederman_lores.pdf [Google Scholar]
18 Lederman, J.S., Lederman, N.G., Bartos, S.A., Bartels, S.L., Meyer, A.A., and Schwartz, R.S., 2014, Meaningful assessment of learners' understandings about scientific inquiry-The views about scientific inquiry (VASI) questionnaire. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 51(1), 65-83.   DOI
19 Mathews, M.R., 2012, Changing the focus: From nature of science (NOS) to features of science (FOS). In Khine, M.S. (ed.), Advances in nature of science research: Concepts and methodologies. Springer, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, 3-26.
20 Ministry of Education [MOE], 2015, National science curriculum. No. 2015-74. Ministry of Education, Sejong, Korea. (in Korean)
21 Hodson, D., 2014, Nature of science in the science curriculum: Origin, development, implications and shifting emphases. In Matthews, M.R. (ed.), International handbook of research in history, philosophy and science teaching, Springer, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, 911-970.
22 Duschl, R.A. and Grandy, R.E., 2011, Demarcation in science education: Toward an enhanced view of scientific method. In Taylor, R.S. and Ferrari, M. (eds.), Epistemology and Science Education: Understanding the Evolution. Springer, Routledge, The Netherlands, 3-19.
23 Erduran, S. and Dagher, Z.R., 2014, Reconceptualizing the nature of science for science education: Scientific knowledge, practices and other family categories. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer.
24 Gaigher, E., Lederman, N.G., and Lederman, J.S., 2014, Knowledge about inquiry: A study in South African high schools. International Journal of Science Education, 36(18), 3125-3147.   DOI
25 Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, 2009, A Handbook of Science Curriculum for High School Students. No. 2009-41. Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Seoul, Korea. (in Korean)
26 Gall, M.D., Borg., W.R., and Gall, J.P., 1996, Educational research: An introduction. Longman, White Plains, USA.
27 Grandy, R.E. and Duschl, R.A., 2008, Consensus: Expanding the scientific method and school science. In Duschl, R.A. and Grandy, R.E. (eds.), Teaching scientific inquiry: Recommendations for research and implementation. Sense Publishers, New Milford, USA, 304-325.
28 Hodson, D., 2009, Teaching and learning about science: Language, theories, methods, history, traditions and values. Sense Publishers, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
29 Hodson, D. and Wong, S.L., 2017, Going beyond the consensus view: Broadening and enriching the scope of NOS-oriented curricula. Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education, 17(1), 3-17.   DOI
30 National Academy of Sciences, 2002, National Science Education Standards. National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC, USA.
31 National Research Council [NRC], 1996, National Science Education Standards. National Academy Press, Washington, DC, USA.
32 National Research Council [NRC], 2000, Inquiry and the national science education standards. National Academy Press, Washington, DC, USA.
33 Next Generation Science Standards [NGSS] Lead States, 2013, Next generation science standards: For states, by states. National Academies Press, Washington, DC, USA.
34 OECD, 2017, PISA 2015 Assessment and Analytical Framework: Science, Reading, Mathematic, Financial Literacy and Collaborative problem Solving. OECD Publishing, Paris, France.
35 Park E.W. and Lee, Y.H., 2016, The analysis of inquiry activities in high school science textbooks for the 2009 revised curriculum. Journal of Learner-Centered Curriculum and Instruction, 16(8), 419-438. (in Korean)
36 Park, W., Yang, S., and Song, J., 2020, Eliciting students' understanding of nature of science with text-based tasks: insights from new Korean high school textbooks. International Journal of Science Education, 42(3), 426- 450.   DOI
37 Song, J., Kang, S.-J., Kwak, Y., Kim, D., Kim, S., Na, J., ..., and Son, Y.A., 2018, A development of Korean science education standards [KSES] for the next generation. KOFAC, Seoul, Korea.
38 Sung, H.S., Shim, J., and Chun J., 2016, Pre-service Biology Teachers' Understanding about Nature of the Scientific Inquiry-The Views about Scientific Inquiry (VASI) QuestIonnaire-. Biology Education, 44(2), 191-209. (in Korean)   DOI
39 Kim, H.-K. and Na, J., 2018, A study on high school teachers' perception on the field application of 2015 revised science curriculum. Journal of Learner-Centered Curriculum and Instruction, 18(10), 565-588. (in Korean)
40 Jho, H., 2018, An Analysis of Elements of Scientific Inquiry Presented in 2015 Revised National Science Curriculum: Focusing on Scientific Inquiry Experiment. Journal of Research in Curriculum and Instruction, 22(3), 208-218. (in Korean)   DOI
41 Knorr-Cetina, K., 1999, Epistemic cultures: How the sciences make knowledge. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, USA.
42 Latour, B. and Woolgar, S., 1979, Laboratory life: The social construction of scientific facts. Sage, London, UK.
43 Wong, S.L. and Hodson, D., 2010, More from the horse's mouth: What scientists say about science as a social practice. International Journal of Science Education, 32(11), 1431-1463.   DOI
44 Thompson, I., 2015, Introduction: tasks, concepts and subject knowledge. In Thompson, I. (ed.), Designing Tasks in Secondary Education: Enhancing subject understanding and student engagement. Routledge, Abingdon, UK, 3-12.
45 United Kingdom Department for Education. 2015. National curriculum in England: Science programmes of study. Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nationalcurriculum-in-england-science-programmes-of-study.
46 Wong, S.L. and Hodson, D., 2009, From the horse's mouth: What scientists say about scientific investigation and scientific knowledge. Science Education, 93(1), 109-130.   DOI
47 Yang, I.H., Park, S.W., Shin, J.Y., and Lim, S.M., 2017, Exploring korean middle school students' view about scientific inquiry. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 13(7), 3935-3958.
48 Zeidler, D.L., Walker, K.A., Ackett, W.A., and Simmons, M.L., 2002, Tangled up in views: Beliefs in the nature of science and responses to socioscientific dilemmas. Science Education, 86(3), 343-367.   DOI
49 Schwartz, R.S., Lederman, N.G., and Crawford, B.A., 2004, Developing views of nature of science in an authentic context: An explicit approach to bridging the gap between nature of science and scientific inquiry. Science Education, 88(4), 610-645.   DOI
50 Senler, B., 2015, Middle School Students' Views of Scientific Inquiry: An International Comparative Study. Science Education International, 26(2), 166-179.