The Nature of Science and Technology in Teacher Education

Abstract

This chapter is about the Nature of Science (NOS) and the Nature of Technology (NOT) in education. Science includes the systematic study of the structure and actions of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment, and technology is the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes. NOS and NOT have been used to refer to the epistemology of science, science as a way of knowing, or the values and beliefs inherent to the development of scientific knowledge. These characterizations, nevertheless, remain general, and philosophers of science, historians of science, and the same goes for NOT. Subsequently, an individual’s understanding that observations are constrained by our perceptual apparatus and are characteristically theory-laden is part of that individuals understanding of the NOS and NOT. In general, NOS and NOT refers to principles and ideas which provide a description of science and technology as a way of knowing, as well as characteristics of scientific knowledge. Many of these intrinsic ideas are lost in the everyday aspects of a science classroom, resulting in students learning misaligned ideas about how science is conducted. Understanding how technology relates with science and society is critical for individuals to make informed personal and societal decisions. Nevertheless, in most STEM education contexts, learning about technology typically only means learning how to be an efficient user or, perhaps, an informed competent designer of. A meaningful technology education stresses that science education efforts also teach students about NOT. Essential questions like what technology is, how it is related to, yet distinct from, science, how it shapes and is shaped by society, and perhaps most importantly, how technologies impact the way individuals think and act.