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ERIC Number: EJ1400613
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0926-7220
EISSN: EISSN-1573-1901
Improving Preservice Primary Teachers' Understanding of the Nature of Methods of Science through Reflective Reading of News Articles
García-Carmona, Antonio
Science & Education, v32 n6 p1847-1867 2023
A study is presented that analyzed the pedagogical efficacy of reading opinion articles about methods of science, published in the media, in order to improve the meta-scientific understanding of 52 preservice primary teachers (PPTs) with regard to the topic. To this end, an activity was designed taking an explicit and reflective approach. The design of the activity required a short teaching intervention when being implemented in class in order to facilitate its integration into the program of the subject of science teaching. Before doing the activity, the PPTs' prior conceptions about the nature of methods of science were diagnosed using the "Opinions about Science, Technology and Society Questionnaire" (COCTS, in its Spanish acronym). The activity consisted of reading the articles, and then responding in small work groups to a series of questions for reflection and debate on the topic. The groups' responses were then shared and discussed in class. Once the activity had finished, the PPTs responded to the questionnaire again (post-test) in order to evaluate how their conceptions had progressed. There was an improvement in their understanding of various aspects of the nature of methods of science (e.g., scientists use a variety of methods in their research depending on the object of study, the context, and the resources available, or that "the scientific method" is an idealized, simplistic, and therefore poor representation of how scientists do research). These results show that the activity was effective in getting the PPTs to reflect and learn about the topic. Finally, the limitations of the study are discussed (e.g., the limited time frame to implement the activity and evaluate results), and some future research perspectives are given to improve the understanding of PPTs about the nature of methods of science.
Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, NY 10004. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-460-1700; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://link.springer.com/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A