Integrating Scientific Methods and Knowledge into the Teaching of Newton鈥檚 Theory of Gravitation: An Instructional Sequence for Teachers鈥?and Students鈥?Nature of Science Education
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- 作者：Maria Develaki (1) develaki@otenet.gr
- 关键词：Science education – ; Philosophy of science – ; Nature of science teaching units – ; Teacher education – ; Physics teaching – ; Newton’ ; s theory of gravitation
- 刊名：Science Education
- 出版时间：June 2012
- 出版年：2012
- 期刊代码：109_09267220
- 类别：bio
- 卷：21
- 期：6
- 页码：853-879
- 数据来源：sp
摘要
The availability of teaching units on the nature of science (NOS) can reinforce classroom instruction in the subject, taking into account the related deficiencies in textbook material and teacher training. We give a sequence of teaching units in which the teaching of Newton’s gravitational theory is used as a basis for reflecting on the fundamental factors that enter into the cognitive and evaluative processes of science, such as creativity, empirical data, theorising, substantiating and modelling tactics. Distinguishing phases in the evolution of a theory (initial conception and formation, testing, scope and limits of the theory) helps show how the importance of these factors varies from phase to phase, while they continue to interact throughout the whole process. Our concept of how to teach NOS is based on the introduction of such special units, containing direct instruction in NOS elements incorporated into curricular science content, thus giving an initial theoretical basis with which epistemological points of other course material can be correlated during the usual classroom teaching of the subject throughout the school year. The sequence is presented in the form of teaching units that can also be used in teachers’ NOS education, extended in this case by more explicit instruction in basic philosophical views of the nature of science and how they relate to and impact on teaching.