Developing teaching with an explicit focus on scientific thinking

This article describes an attempt to integrate teaching about an aspect of science ‘content’ with an aspect of the nature of science (NOS), through the development of a practical research-informed teaching module for use in key stage 3 (ages 11–14). The module concerned electrical circuits, and the NOS aspect focused on the role of models and analogies in scientific work. The module offers one example of a general approach that may be adopted in developing curricular schemes of work that build synergy between teaching about NOS and specific science topics. This article reports the outcomes of an evaluation of teachers using the module for the first time, and reflects on the limitations of randomised field trials for determining the efficacy of pedagogic innovations. Developing teaching with an explicit focus on scientific thinking This article discusses the design and initial ‘field’ evaluation of a secondary science teaching module for key stage 3 (ages 11–14). The first part describes how a module on electrical circuits was developed that integrated learning objectives relating to the nature of science (NOS) with physics content objectives, according to a pedagogic model incorporating research-informed principles for designing effective teaching. The second part reports the findings from an evaluation of the module in its first administration by teachers who had received limited professional development support, and considers some of the challenges of using ‘experimental’ designs to evaluate pedagogic innovations. School departments are invited to access and use the module in their courses but are warned that successful learning outcomes are likely to depend on the degree to which teachers are able to engage with the teaching approach built in to the module and to develop the skills to apply it. Teaching about the nature of science Science educators around the world have long argued that an authentic science education does not simply present students with some of the outcomes of science – the products, in terms of the current canonical theories, laws and models; rather, it has to give learners insight into the processes by which science proceeds, that is, the nature of science (NOS) (Matthews, 1994). Students who are taught a catalogue of accepted scientific ideas may consider science to be a largely complete subject where most things are known – a subject about facts. In reality, however, science is a highly theoretical subject which seeks to develop explanatory models that make sense of, fit with observations of, and support the development of predictions about, the natural world. While some younger students may be highly motivated by collecting facts (e.g. about dinosaurs or comets, or the maximum observed speed of different land mammals), a subject that seems to be largely about learning existing information is unlikely to inspire older adolescents when they come to choose advanced studies or career options. In particular, the most gifted learners in science subjects (some, but not all, of whom may have an exceptional capacity for learning facts) are more likely to be challenged by a subject where there is room for dialogue, debate, interpretation and a need to cope with complexity and incomplete evidence (Taber, 2007). That is, the most able learners are likely to be engaged by science teaching that gives them a taste of the messy uncertainty of science in the making, and all students will benefit from seeing science as an open, ongoing, process with manifold career opportunities for making real contributions.