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The Effect of Using the History of Science in Science Lessons On THE EFFECT OF USING THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE IN SCIENCE LESSONS ON MEANINGFUL LEARNING DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Hayati Seker, MSc ***** The Ohio State University 2004 Dissertation Committee: Approved by Professor Arthur L. White, Adviser Professor Donna F. Berlin Adviser Professor Gordon Aubrecht College of Education Graduate Program ABSTRACT Incorporating the history of science into the instructional process has been proposed by national endeavors in science education because of the advantages for understanding scientific inquiry, the nature of scientific knowledge, interaction between science and society, and humanizing scientific knowledge. Because studies of the effectiveness of history of science in promoting student understanding report mixed results for student learning of science and interest in science, only its effect on understanding aspects of the nature of science has been emphasized by science educators. This dissertation presents a four-month study which investigated the effectiveness of curriculum materials incorporating the history of science on learning science, understanding the nature of science, and students’ interest in science. With regards to these objectives, three different class contexts were developed three main types of historical information: history of scientific concepts, the nature of science, and stories from scientists’ personal lives. In the first class context, which is termed the “Meaningful Class”, the similarities between students’ alternative ideas and scientific concepts from the history of science were considered in developing teaching materials. In the second ii context, which is termed the “Nature of Science (NOS) Class”, the teacher developed discussion sessions on the ways scientists produce scientific knowledge. In the third class context, which is termed the “Interest Class”, short stories about scientists’ personal lives were used without connection to the concepts of science or nature of science. Ninety-four eighth-grade students were randomly assigned to four classes taught by the same science teacher. The concepts in the motion unit and in the force unit were taught. The curriculum of the school district was followed in the development of the three class contexts. Three of the four classrooms were taught using the contexts provided by the history of science while the fourth class was taught in the same way that the teacher had used in previous years. The effects on student learning of science, understanding the nature of science, and interest in science were evaluated at the beginning, at the middle, and at the end of the study to compare differences between historical class contexts and the Traditional Class. Three separate instruments were administered, class sessions were videotaped, and semi-structured interviews were audio taped. Student learning was measured using concept mapping before and after the motion and force units. Results of analysis showed that for each class independent of each other, student Meaningful Learning for both the motion and force units increased significantly from pretest to posttest. However, the results of statistical analysis showed iii that the differences between classes were not significant for either the motion or force unit. Students’ views of the nature of science were measured by using Perspectives on Scientific Epistemology (POSE) instrument. The percentage of Naïve and Informed views of students was observed for the following aspects of the nature of science: Scientific Method, Tentativeness, Inference, and Subjectivity. The history of science affected student perceptions of scientific process and role of Inference in the process of science. The Interest Survey measured components of interest: Individual Interest, Situational Interest, Involvement Component of Interest, Meaningful Component of Interest, and Story Component of Interest. The effect of the different types of historical information on the levels of student interest was analyzed. Results of the study showed that stories from scientists’ personal lives stimulated the Story Component of Interest, while discussions of scientific methods without these stories decreased student interest. The positive effects of stories relating scientist’ personal life on student interest in science has major importance for the teaching of science. This research also helps to clarify the different class contexts which can be provided with different types and uses of historical information. iv Dedicated to my mother, to my father, and to my sister v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Arthur L. White, for his support and insight during this research project and during my program of study leading up to my project. I would also like to thank committee members Dr. Donna Berlin and Dr. Gordon Aubrecht for their time, careful reading of my numerous drafts of my dissertation, and thoughtful suggestions. Thankfulness goes to Laura Welsh for her willingness to conduct this research in her classes. My gratitude is expressed to Bengu Borkan for her statistical advice and help with analysis of data. vi VITA The Ohio State University……………….Ph.D., Science Education, 1999- present Marmara University………………………………………….M. Sc. Physics, 1999 Marmara University…………………………B.S. in Ed., Physics Education, 1995 vii FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: Education Doctoral Studies in: Science Education with Arthur L. White, Donna F. Berlin, Michael Beeth. Physics with Gordon Aubrecht. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract............................................................................................................................... ii Dedication…………………………………………………………………………………v Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................. vi Vita.................................................................................................................................... vii Acknowledgements............................................................................................................ vi List of Figures................................................................................................................. xvii Chapters: 1. Introduction.................................................................................................................... 1 Standards.............................................................................................................. 2 Studies before the 1970s ...................................................................................... 3 Studies after the 1970s......................................................................................... 4 Aspects of using history of science...................................................................... 5 Learning science ............................................................................................. 5 Understanding the nature of science ............................................................... 8 Interest in science.......................................................................................... 10 Class contexts..................................................................................................... 12 Meaningful class ........................................................................................... 13 Nature of science (NOS) class ...................................................................... 13 Interest class.................................................................................................. 14 Considerations.................................................................................................... 14 Choosing historical materials........................................................................ 14 Appropriateness for the grade level .............................................................. 16 Standards, benchmarks, and curriculum ....................................................... 16 Students’ expectations .................................................................................. 17 Teachers’ reluctance ..................................................................................... 17 ix Theoretical framework....................................................................................... 18 Purpose of the study........................................................................................... 24 Research questions............................................................................................. 25 Definition of terms............................................................................................. 26 2. Literature review........................................................................................................... 28 Introduction........................................................................................................ 28 Constructivism ................................................................................................... 28 Meaningful learning........................................................................................... 35 Assessment of propositional learning ................................................................ 36 Concept mapping ............................................................................................... 38 The effects of using the history of science
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