Initial Publication Date: February 17, 2009

References and Resources

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This module was authored by Anne E. Egger, Stanford University, as part of a collaboration between Visionlearning and the SERC Pedagogic Service, and includes the products of a July 2009 workshop on Teaching the Process of Science.

Readings for you and your students that explain the nature and process of science


Visionlearning: The Process of Science provides a series of free modules about the process of science meant to be integrated into the college science classroom.

Understanding Science at the University of California Museum of Paleontology is an online resource to learn about what science really is, geared for students and teachers.

The 15 Most Common Myths of Science: McComas, 1998, The Principal Elements of the Nature of Science: Dispelling the Myths. Adapted from the chapter in McComas, The Nature of Science Education, 53-70. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Netherlands.

Research about teaching the process of science


Public Understanding of Science is a journal dedicated to research on a variety of topics involving public understanding of the nature and process of science, including surveys of public understanding and attitudes towards science and technology, popular representations and perceptions of science, history of science education and of popular science, science and the media, and popular protest against science.

DebBurman, S.K. (2002). Learning How Scientists Work: Experiential Research Projects to Promote Cell Biology Learning and Scientific Process Skills. Cell Biology Education, v. 1, p. 154-172

Klassen, S. (2008). The Construction and Analysis of a Science Story: A Proposed Methodology. Science & Education. DOI 10.1007/s11191-008-9141-y

Lederman, N. G. (2007). Nature of Science: Past, Present, and Future. In Abell, S.K. and Lederman, N.G. (Eds.). Handbook of Research on Science Education, p. 831-880

Lombrozo, T., Thanukos, A., and Weisberg, M. (2008) The Importance of Understanding the Nature of Science for Accepting Evolution. Evolution: Education and Outreach, v. 1, p. 290-298

McGinn, M. K., & Roth, W.-M. (1999). Preparing Students for Competent Scientific Practice: Implications of Recent Research in Science and Technology Studies. Educational Researcher, 28(3), 14-24.

Dagher, Zoubeida R., et al. (2004). How some college students represent their understandings of the nature of scientific theories International Journal of Science Education, v. 26, n. 6, 735-755

Resources for K-12 teachers


Constructing Ideas in Physical Science is a middle school physical science textbook integrating the process of science throughout the course

BSCS Science: An Inquiry Approach is a high school integrated science textbook integrating the process of science through the course by explicitly using the 5-E science teaching model throughout the course

Research on misconceptions


Garnett, P.J., Garnett, P.J., & Hackling, M.W. (1995). Students' Alternative Conceptions in Chemistry: A Review of Research and Implications for Teaching and Learning. Studies in Science Education, 25(1), 69-96

Jacobs, G. (1989). Word usage misconceptions among first-year university physics students. International Journal of Science Education, 11(4), 395-399.

Libarkin, J. C., & Anderson, S. W. (2005). Assessment of learning in entry-level geoscience courses; results from the geoscience concept inventory. Journal of Geoscience Education, 53(4), 394-401.

Moss, D. M., Abrams, E. D., & Robb, J. (2001). Examining student conceptions of the nature of science. International Journal of Science Education, 23(8), 771-790.

Ryder, J., & Leach, J. (2000). Interpreting experimental data: the views of upper secondary school and university science students. International Journal of Science Education, 22(10), 1069-1084.

Ryder, J., Leach, J., & Driver, R. (1999). Undergraduate Science Students' Images of Science. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 36(2), 201-219.

Yip, D.-y. (1998). Identification of misconceptions in novice biology teachers and remedial strategies for improving biology learning. International Journal of Science Education, 20(4), 461 - 477.