Course Proposal

COURSE DESCRIPTION: Nature of Science for Science Educators is a course that focuses on the relation of science as it is practiced to science as it is taught. The course is designed for science educators and other individuals interested in learning more about the methods and goals of science, the role of scientists and the place of science in society and culture, and the relation among science practice, science teaching, and science learning. Selections from the works of the major philosophers of science and commentaries about science practice and science education will be read and discussed. The main goal of the course is to gain basic knowledge about the nature of science and use that knowledge as a guide in designing and developing philosophically appropriate science curricula from a nature of science perspective. Students will read and critically review classic papers in the history and philosophy of science, determine the reality of the scientific method, investigate how misconceptions about science affect science teaching and learning, study major controversies in the history of science from a nature of science perspective, and evaluate or produce science lesson plans and units centered on nature of science concepts.

Students are able to access lectures, complete assignments, and interact with their classmates and the instructor via their computers.

At the end of the course the student will, by participating in online discussions, completing text and online reading assignments, presenting the results of online searches, and writing reports, be able to:

Science, as it is practiced, is both a dynamic and creative process as well as a product or body of knowledge. Frequently, however, school science focuses on the body of knowledge aspect without a historical, social, or cultural context in which the knowledge was developed. This creates the false impression that science is absolute, perfect, and correct, which practicing scientists know not to be true. Many science educators have never practiced science and teach science as they were taught as a series of facts and concepts, laws and theories, equations and models. This course is designed to introduce science educators to the dynamic, creative nature of science and enable them to incorporate philosophically sound nature of science concepts into their teaching activities. This course will use readings from print texts and www resources on the nature of science, including selections from the writings of philosophers of science, web-published nature of science lesson plans, and web-published science education standards. Web-searches will also be used as one model of scientific processes.

Session	Topic	Text Chapter and Web Readings	Assignment
1	Science Definitions and Conventions	Newton 1 Hellman Introduction Carey1	Personal Biography Pre~Test: Define science, scientific method, fact, observation, hypothesis, theory, law, model Comment/Discuss definitions
2	Philosophy of Science	Newton 2 Hellman 1 http://www.marxists.org/ reference/subject/philosophy/index.htm The Miniature Library of Philosophy: Click on the author's name: Carnap: Physical foundations of physics Dilthey: Intro to Human Sciences Feyerabend: Aganist Method: Outline of an anarchistic theory of knowledge Lorenz: On the virtue of scientific humility Piaget: construction of reality Poincare: the relativity of space (from science and method) Schelling: Epistemology and physics	Critical Review Select one of the web readings and write a critical review of the concepts with respect to the practice of science. Comment on the submissions of 2 other classmates
3	Scientific Methods and the Role of Falsification	Newton 3 Hellman 2 Carey 2 and 3 http://www.marxists.org/ reference/subject/philosophy/index.htm The Miniature Library of Philosophy: Click on the author's name: Popper: Objective knowledge... A reality view of logic, physics and history Quine: The verification theory and reductionism http://www1.umn.edu/ships/religion/galileo.htm The politics behind Galilleo's trial	Summary Karl Popper's concept of falsification and apply to any current scientific theory with which you are familiar or Description how the scientific method was utilized in the Galileo controversy (Hellman 2) Comment on the submissions of 2 other classmates
4	Laws, Theories, and Models	Newton 4 Hellman 3 and 4 http://www.marxists.org/ reference/subject/philosophy/index.htm The Miniature Library of Philosophy: Click on the author's name: Spencer: Laws in general	Law and Theory Paper find 10~15 definitions of law and theory in the assigned readings (text or web resources), in science texts you use or are familiar with, and/or in the popular literature list the definitions with the source compare/contrast the definitions in a 1~2 paragraph summary Comment on the submissions of 2 other classmates
5	Scientific Revolutions and Paradigm Shifts	Newton 6 Hellman 3 and 4 http://www.marxists.org/ reference/subject/philosophy/index.htm The Miniature Library of Philosophy: Click on the author's name: Kuhn: The Structure of Scientific Revolutions Chapter 9	Great Feuds Quiz Take as many times as you want to get a flavor the Nature of Science Comment briefly on what the quiz taught you about the Nature of Science Science Revolution Paper Choose any of the Great Feuds in Science from Hellman or any other controversy you feel qualifies as a scientific revolution or paradigm shift Analyze the controversy using Kuhn's concepts about revolutions in science or paradigm shifts Decide whether or not the controversy fulfills the criteria for revolution or paradigm shift Comment on the submissions of 2 other classmates
6	Induction, Deduction, Realism, Empiricism and other Isms	Newton 5 and 8 Hellman 5 and 6 http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/ full/284/5420/1625 Being an Absolute Skeptic: Relativism and Skepticism http://www.marxists.org/ reference/subject/philosophy/index.htm The Miniature Library of Philosophy: Click on the author's name: Bridgman: Logic of Modern physics Comte: General view of positivism Descartes: Discourse on the method of rightly conducting the reason and seeking for truth in the sciences Novack: Empiricism and pragmatism Piaget: Genetic epistemology Ilenykov: The metaphysics of positivism Keynes: Pure Induction	Comparisions Compare any 2 pairs of opposite isms and briefly describe a classroom activity for distinguishing between them Comment on the submissions of 2 other classmates
7	Observation, Creativity, Scientific Truth and Objectivity Science and Pseudoscience	Newton 7 Hellman 7 http://www1.umn.edu/ships/ updates/fraud.htm Flirting with fraud...Milikan, Mendel and the fringes of integrity, D. Allchin (1992) http://www.quackwatch.com/index.html Quackwatch....definitions and issues about quackery and pseudosicence	Classroom Activities Design a classroom activity that would illustrate the role of creativity in science or Describe the design of a classroom activity that would compare/contrast science and pseudoscience Comment on the submissions of 2 other classmates
8	Conceptions and Misconceptions in the Science Classroom	Newton 9 and 10 Hellman 8 and 9 http://www1.umn.edu/ships/updates /pasteur1.htm Pasteur and Tyndall on spontaneous generation: The role of biology textbooks in creating an experimentum crucis, J. Strick http://www1.umn.edu/ships/ updates/hist-not.htm Essay on how not to teach history of science http://www1.umn.edu/ships/ updates/newton1.htm Newton's colors...preconceptions..... http://www.marxists.org/ reference/subject/philosophy/index.htm The Miniature Library of Philosophy: Click on the author's name: Helmholtz: The Facts of Perception	Textbook Analysis Choose a law or theory that is normally taught in your discipline Find the law or theory in at least 6 different textbooks or webcourse sites (same or different levels) Compare/contrast the treatment of the law or theory Comment on the correctness or accuracy of the textbook website treatment Discuss how textbooks may enhance science misconceptions or Misconceptions Project Interview 10~20 students or friends about a science concept Determine how many different misconceptions exist about the concept Speculate on the sources of the misconceptions Describe how to teach a lesson to correct the misconceptions Comment on the submissions of 2 other classmates
9	Worldviews and Border Crossings in the Science Classroom Science Education Nature of Science Standards	Newton11 Hellman10 Jegede and Aikenhead Transcending Cultural Borders: Implications for Science Teaching http://www.ouhk.edu.hk/cridal/misc/jegede.htm Cobern The Cultural Nature of the Concept "Scientific Worldview" http://www.ouhk.edu.hk/cridal/misc/cobern.ht National Association of Research in Science Teaching Workshop on Culture Studies in Science Education http://www.ouhk.edu.hk/cridal/misc/narst99.htm National Science Standards Websites http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/ books/nses/html/ overview.html http://books.nap.edu/html/nses /html/6a.html#hnss Sample Nature of Science Websites: http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries /projects/cases/case.htm http://www.sciencenetlinks.com /index.html http://www.indiana.edu/~ensiweb/ natsc.fs.html http://www1.umn.edu/ships/ scimath/hpst.htm http://www.indiana.edu/~ensiweb/ lessons/unt.n.s.html http://www.nap.edu/readingroom /books/evolution98/evol6.html John Snow: Case Study in Epidemiology http://www.ph.ucla.edu/epi/snow.html http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/snowinfo.htm http://www.sph.unc.edu/courses/ course_support/case_studies/JohnSnow/	Lesson Plan Evaluation Select two website Nature of Science Lesson plans Evaluate the plans according to Science Education~Nature of Science Standards criteria Suggest improvements or Nature of Science Lesson Plan Provide a detailed lesson plan/activity for teaching the Nature of Science Describe how you would evaluate an understanding of nature of science Comment on the submissions of 2 other classmates
10	So what is the nature of science?	Wilson: The search for truth http://www.rit.edu/~flwstv/scitruth.html http://www.rit.edu/~flwstv/scitruth2.html	Class Evaluation Final Definitions