From 'Science in the Making' to Understanding the Nature of Science : An Overview for Science Educators Hardback

The Nature of Science is highly topical among science teacher educators and researchers.

Increasingly, it is a mandated topic in state curriculum documents.

This book draws together recent research on Nature of Science studies within a historical and philosophical framework suitable for students and teacher educators.

Traditional science curricula and textbooks present science as a finished product.

Taking a different approach, this book provides a glimpse of “science in the making” — scientific practice imbued with arguments, controversies, and competition among rival theories and explanations.

Teaching about “science in the making” is a rich source of motivating students to engage creatively with the science curriculum. Readers are introduced to “science in the making” through discussion and analysis of a wide range of historical episodes from the early 19th century to early 21st century.

Recent cutting-edge research is presented to provide insight into the dynamics of scientific progress.

More than 90 studies from major science education journals, related to nature of science are reviewed.

A theoretical framework, field tested with in-service science teachers, is developed for moving from ‘science in the making’ to understanding the Nature of Science.