Teaching Nature of Science Through the Different Contexts: History of Science, Scientific Inquiry, and Socioscientific Issues

Abstract

Research underscores the importance of understanding Nature of Science (NOS) to developing students’ scientific literacy. This report specifically addresses the gaps identified by McComas et al. (2020) who argued that the main contributor to inadequate understanding of NOS aspects is due to scarcity of effective NOS-focused instructional material. In response, this report focuses on designing six lesson plans tailored to facilitate effective teaching of NOS. The framework for designing the lesson plans is guided by a reflective, explicit, and contextualized approach that was extensively researched to be an effective approach to enhance students understanding of NOS. Accordingly, the lesson plans written were framed in different contexts: history of science (HOS); scientific inquiry (SI); and socioscientific issues (SSI). Lastly, a conclusion and recommendations that feed into a successful implementation of the lesson plans were discussed.