INQUIRY AND TEACHING ABOUT NATURE OF SCIENCE IN COLLEGE GEOSCIENCE COURSES (Invited Presentation)

In the U.S., developing an understanding of nature of science (NOS) has been a core component of scientific literacy for close to seven decades. Yet, research shows that most K-12 and college students continue to ascribe to more naïve views of NOS. This also is the case among a majority of K-12 science teachers. Most recently, lack of understanding among the populace of how scientists develop and validate claims to scientific knowledge became glaringly evident in the course of a range of responses to the COVID–19 pandemic. In addition to inducting students into the disciplinary knowledge and practices of a particular scientific field of study, college science courses – particularly, introductory courses – can play a major role in enabling future citizens and prospective science teachers to develop their NOS understandings. In the latter case, NOS understandings are necessary for enabling teachers to design and deliver instruction in K-12 science classroom that would transform students’ understandings of how science works and how we come to trust claims to scientific knowledge—while fully aware that some of these claims are likely to change in the future. This talk will discuss the explicit-reflective approach for teaching about NOS in the context of inquiry instruction undertaken in college-level courses. Empirical evidence supporting the effectiveness of this approach will be summarized. Additionally, practical examples of activities that orient students to NOS will be presented, as well as how NOS understandings could be developed by spiraling NOS instruction across a course of study through multiple pedagogical devices and structured student reflections.