Over And Over And Over Again: College Students' Views Of Nature Of Science

Abstract

Helping students develop informed conceptions of nature of science (NOS) has been, and continues to be, a central goal for science education (American Association for the Advancement of Science [AAAS], 1990; Central Association for Science and Mathematics Teachers, 1907; National Research Council [NRC], 1996). Indeed, for the past 50 years, assessing and attempting to enhance K-12 students’ and teachers’ views of NOS have been the focus of intensive and wide-ranging research efforts (Abd-El-Khalick & Lederman, 2000; Lederman, 1992). However, relative to K-12 students’ NOS views, less attention has been accorded to college science students’ conceptions, which have been addressed only by a few studies (i.e., Bezzi, 1998; Fleming, 1988; Gilbert, 1991; Ryder, Leach, & Driver, 1999). Also, with the exception of Kimball (1967-68), attention to college students’ NOS views has been relatively recent.