More Interactive Historical Vignettes

Abstract

One of the main components of science education, science literacy, entails understanding the concept of the nature of science (NOS). One way of teaching the NOS is to make use of the history of science. Interactive historical vignettes (IHV) that are based on the history of science, through which students can find many opportunities for discussion and that use the life stories of scientists, can be used as an effective technique in teaching the NOS. The purpose of the current study is to see how effective enhanced concept cartoons and visuals are in teaching the NOS and in contributing to students’ scientific thinking and argumentation. IHV enhanced with concept cartoons to develop understanding of the NOS were used by 23 fifth graders for five weeks. Developments in students’ conception of the NOS were analysed by examining video recordings and IHV documents. The findings show that the students’ conception of the NOS developed as a result of the application. Improvement was observed in the conception of NOS in 19 students out of 23. Of these 19 students, 13 participated more in discussions related to IHV and, over time, started to use statements more in compliance with the NOS. This is believed to be because the enrichment of IHV with concept cartoons and visuals enabled the students to think more scientifically and thus improved the discussion atmosphere in the class. As a result, it is believed to be effective in focusing students on the elements of the NOS that exist in IHV and in developing their understanding of the NOS.