High School Students’ Understanding of Nature of Science

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate students' understanding of the Nature of Science (NOS). 108 high school students at a secondary school in the Secondary Educational Service Area Office 36 participated in this preliminary study. An open-ended questionnaire was adapted from the View of Nature of Science questionnaire (VNOS-form C) of Lederman et al. (2002) and it was applied to data collection. For the content analysis, students' responses were categorized into 4 groups including informed, transitional, naïve, and no understanding. The results showed that most students held a naive understanding about scientific inquiry that it is a step by step scientific method, The developed scientific knowledge must used only experimental. Furthermore 80.56 % of students' understanding of scientific knowledge is tentative, the human subjectivity in science, science is a social activity, science technology and social affected each other. But they could not give more reason for supported their understanding. In addition they held misunderstand that scientist use creativity and imagination for plan and design inquiry especially. However 75.93 % of students could not explain about scientific knowledge constructed from observation and inference. Include science different from the other subjects because science constructed from logics with creativity and imagination and science demands evidence. The study suggestion that in science teaching and learning the teacher must enhance student's explicit and reflective thought about the nature of science from the scientific inquiry activity and the history of science. This includes using the students' prior understanding as a bases to develop effective

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Author Information
Khuanruethai Thiangchanthathip, Science Education Center of Srinakharinwirot University, Thailand
Pinit Khumwong, Science Education Center of Srinakharinwirot University, Thailand
Kamonwan Kanyaprasith, Science Education Center of Srinakharinwirot University, Thailand
Suthida Chamrat, Chiangmai University, Thailand

• Category: ACEID2016, Oral Presentation, Paper Available
• Tag: Learner Experiences and Learner Diversity, Student Learning

Posted by James Alexander Gordon

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