Reiss, Michael; (2005) The nature of science. In: Frost, J. and Turner, T., (eds.) Learning to Teach Science in the Secondary School: A Companion to School Experience, 2nd edn. (pp. 44-53). Routledge: Taylor & Francis Group: Abingdon, UK.

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Abstract

In the UK, most university students of science are taught little explicitly about the nature of science. And yet the science National Curriculum in England and Wales requires pupils to be taught not only about investigative skills but also about ideas and evidence in science. Perhaps unsurprisingly, research evidence suggests that most pupils leave school with a somewhat lop-sided knowledge of this area of science. This Unit discusses what is meant by ‘the nature of science’ and goes on to consider how science is done. It looks at whether science always proceeds by the objective and rigorous testing of hypotheses, or whether there are other factors at play in deciding whether one scientific view comes to hold sway within the scientific community over alternatives. Within schools, there are different views about the nature of science among both pupils and science teachers. These different views are important in terms of how people see scientific knowledge. Ways of getting at people’s views of the nature of science will be given below. It is hoped that these will be of interest and lead to richer teaching and learning in this area. This is important as it can be argued that long after pupils have forgotten much of the content of science that they are taught at schools, they will still hold a view as to how science is done and as to whether scientific knowledge is trustworthy or not.

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