Pixel International Conferences

Nowadays, one of the primary purposes of science education is the formation of scientifically literate citizens (e.g., Holbrook & Rannikmae, 2009). One required element to achieve scientific literacy is that students understand the nature of science (NOS) (e.g., Roberts & Bybee, 2014). Knowing how prospective teachers conceive this topic is essential because it influences how their students will learn science (Lederman & Lederman, 2014). This research aims to analyze the NOS conceptions that students of Alternative Teacher Certification Programs from scientific disciplines (Biology, Physics, and Chemistry) have and how they change through time. Phenomenographic interviews were carried out with 36 first-semester students from six ATCPs at three moments: at the beginning and the end of the ATCP and during the first year of the professional practice. Through the interviews, it is sought that the subjects reflect on their conceptions -meanings that people give to the experienced phenomenon- (Marton & Booth, 1997) about NOS. The results obtained from the analysis of the interviews conducted at the beginning (1^st moment) and end (2^nd moment) of the ATCP are presented here. At the beginning of their studies, the participants have essentialist conceptions of the NOS. Science is seen as an entity apart from the human being by conceiving science as inherent to nature or as an entity in itself. On the other hand, at the end of their studies, the subjects’ conceptions move away from the essentialist visions, and the conception of the NOS as a way of generating knowledge is deepened. Although there are similarities among some conceptions of the beginning and the end of their studies, in the latter case, the conceptions are more elaborated and specific, providing examples of what they learned about the NOS in the ATCP. These results provide information that can contribute to the decision-making of the ATCPs regarding the design and implementation of a curriculum that promotes the understanding of the NOS, not only during the training process of prospective teachers but also during professional practice.

Keywords: Nature of Science, Conceptions, Alternative Teacher Certification Programs

References

• Holbrook, J. y Rannikmae, M. (2009). The meaning of scientific literacy. International Journal of Environmental & Science Education, 4(3), 275-288.
• Roberts, D. & Bybee, R. (2014). Scientific literacy, science literacy, and science education. In N. Lederman and S. Abell (Eds.), Handbook of Research on Science Education. Volume 2 (pp. 559-572). Routledge.
• Lederman, N. G. & Lederman, J. (2014). Research on teaching and learning of the nature of science. In N. Lederman and S. Abell (Eds.), Handbook of research on science education, Volume 2 (pp. 600-620). Routledge.
• Marton, F. & Booth, S. (1997). Learning and Awareness. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.