The foundations of the nature of science as a tool for teaching and learning scientific concepts

Ayina Bouni, Lawrence Ntam Nchia *, Paul-Miki Sigha, Boris-Ange Mfeyet, Nicole Aimée Ambomo, Awomo Ateba Jeremie, Mohamed Nchinmoun, Nidèle Douanla and Mohamed Soudani

Interdisciplinary Research Laboratory in Didactics of Science, University of Yaounde 1, Cameroon.
 
Review
International Journal of Science and Research Archive, 2024, 13(01), 556–563.
Article DOI: 10.30574/ijsra.2024.13.1.1624
Publication history: 
Received on 20 July 2024; revised on 09 September 2024; accepted on 11 September 2024
 
Abstract: 
Using the Nature of Science (NoS) as a tool for teaching and learning science involves integrating the understanding of how science works into the curriculum. This approach helps students not only to construct scientific facts but also appreciate the process, methods, and values that underlie scientific knowledge. Questions about NoS have long preoccupied scientists, but recently, researchers in didactics, curriculum designers and science teachers are concerned how NoS can improve the teaching and learning of scientific concepts. While some authors have argued that science students be taught about the Nature of Science to develop their competences in science, others believe that science education should focus much more on constructing theoretical than functional knowledge. We believe that for learners to significantly improve their learning of scientific concepts, they need to understand the process of scientific thought, the Nature of Science. Thus we propose the fundamental concepts of NoS be used as a tool for knowledge constructions in the design of teaching and learning activities.
 
Keywords: 
Nature of science; Knowledge construction tool; Teaching and learning science; NOS Fundamental Concepts.
 
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