Nature of Science in Preservice Science Teacher Education–Case Studies of Irish Pre-service Science Teachers

Abstract

Understanding Nature of Science (NOS) is a requisite for improving scientific literacy, and as such, it is increasingly being included in science curricula worldwide. It is now therefore important that teachers understand NOS so that intended learning outcomes become visible in the classroom. Pre-service teachers also need an opportunity to develop an understanding of NOS. As a result of a national curriculum change in the Republic of Ireland, which saw the explicit inclusion of NOS in the school for the first time, the study was designed to develop pre-service teachers (PSTs) understanding of NOS. To aid PSTs understanding, workshops were designed around the theoretical perspective of the Family Resemblance Approach to Nature of Science. The framework is also referred to some authors by the Reconceptualized Family Resemblance Approach or RFN. The article presents case studies to illustrate how the PSTs navigated the ideas presented to them during NOS workshops and how they translated their understanding from the workshops into their lesson preparation. Data were collected over a calendar year, and findings were drawn from interviews, lesson plans, and assessment tools. The results indicate that although the two case-studies in the study had similar attendance and engagement, their understanding of what constituted NOS incorporation differed. The case studies presented are useful for illustrating how PSTs react to courses designed using the RFN framework and for showing evidenced implications for pre-service teacher education during a time of curricular reform.