Nature of Science (NOS)

What is NOS about?

What is science?

How do scientists do their work?

What is the nature of scientific knowledge?

How does scientific knowledge develop?

Is science objective? (What is objectivity?)

How does science differ from other ways of knowing?

Study of NOS

The study of NOS informed by:Philosophy of Science

History of Science

Sociology of Science

Science Education

NOS Card Sort

1) Randomly select 8 different cards.2) Trade cards to improve your hand (your hand improves as the cards you hold better reflect your views on science).3) Find a partner and select 8 cards which best represent your shared notion of science (each person must contribute at least 2 cards).4) Pairs unite to form groups of 4. Select 8 cards which best represent your shared notion of science.5) Rank order the 8 statements starting with the most important.6) Develop a statement (paragraph-length) drawing from the work you’ve just done to describe what science is.

Card Exchange Perspectives

Compare your statement to the varying NOS perspectives.

Which perspectives influenced your group the most?

Compare & contrast the “Theoretical Emphasis” & the “Empirical Emphasis”

Can elements of both be true? Are they mutually exclusive?

Which perspective(s) do you disagree with most?Are there elements of this perspective that are compelling?

What do we know about NOS?

Science cannot be singularly (and definitively) defined because it is interpreted in different ways by different people.Methods such as the card sort and NOS surveys encourage students to think specifically about their views on science.Scientists, science educators & philosophers of science have proposed some consensus views on NOS.

Consensus Views on NOS

Empirically-basedScientific knowledge is based on evidence.

TestableScientific ideas can be theoretically falsified through evidentiary tests or predicted observations.

Tentative, yet ReliableScientific ideas can change given new data or new interpretations

Consensus NOS Views

Culturally-embeddedScientists & scientific ideas are influenced by the society from they arise.

Creative Scientists employ creativity in posing questions, collecting data, and interpreting data. (What does this suggest about “The Scientific Method?)

Consensus NOS Views

Theory/Law DistinctionScientific theories are robust, empirically supported explanations of natural phenomena. Scientific laws are perceived regularities regarding the natural world. Therefore, theories never become laws. Laws are typically more narrow in focus than theories.

Provide examples from the history of science to support…

Empirically-based

Testable

Tentative

Culturally-embedded

Creative

Tubes & Cubes

Discussion Questions

What are the differences between theories and laws?

What is “the scientific method”?

Does “the scientific method” as presented in middle school science accurately reflect what scientists do?