Chemistry Teachers' Understanding and Practices of the Nature of Science When Teaching Atomic Structure Concepts

Abstract

     This research was conducted in order to study teachers' understanding and reflections on the nature of science in their teaching of atomic structure. The data were collected by interviews and classroom observation of three teachers from three public secondary schools. The interview data were transcribed and analyzed by searching for patterns and/or categories which were used to construct profiles of teachers' views of the nature of science. The teachers' practices were analyzed by Video Analysis Tool (VAT) as technical support and Reflect View on Nature Of Science (RVNOS) to find out how and to what extent the teachers used the nature of science to teach atomic structure. The research found that the teachers understood three aspects of the nature of science: science needs evidence to support, science is tentative, and imagination and creativity are important to science. However, they believed that science follows the scientific method. The notion that science is universal and independent from social and cultural influences was held by the teachers. The classroom observations found that teachers rarely reflected the nature of science in their classrooms, even in the areas they understood well.