Science History as a Means to Teach Nature of Science Concepts: Using the Development of Understanding Related to Mechanisms of Inheritance

Abstract

Nature of science concepts constitute a large part of what it means to be science literate. Along with teaching science content, it is important that teachers use instructional strategies to teach nature of science concepts. This study sought to examine the degree to which integrating small amounts of science history material into "normal" instruction helps to teach nature of science concepts. The study also sought to assess the effects of history of science integration on the acquisition of science content knowledge. The study was of a nonequivalent groups pre-posttest design and consisted of two groups, the history integration group and the "normal" instruction group. The history integration group was exposed to science history content within a typical introductory biology genetics unit. The "normal" instruction group received similar instruction without the added science history. The results showed that the history integration group achieved significantly higher pre- to posttest gains on Rubba's (1977) Nature of Scientific Knowledge Scale whole test and testable subscale scores. No significant differences were found on any other subscales. The groups also showed no significant difference in pre- to posttest gains on a researcher/teacher-designed genetics unit exam. Although this study provides no definitive answers, it does show that incorporating manageable amounts of science history into "normal" classroom instruction has the potential to increase students' knowledge of nature of science concepts without detracting from content knowledge acquisition. At the very least, the study shows that incorporating science history does not detract from content knowledge acquisition.