Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, Volume 9, Issue 1, Article 1 (June, 2008) Ling L. LIANG, Sufen CHEN, Xian CHEN, Osman Nafiz KAYA, April Dean ADAMS, Monica MACKLIN and Jazlin EBENEZER Assessing preservice elementary teachers’ views on the nature of scientific knowledge: A dual-response instrument  Contents Next

Assessing preservice elementary teachers’ views on the nature of scientific knowledge: A dual-response instrument

 

Ling L. Liang^1,7, Sufen Chen², Xian Chen³, Osman Nafiz Kaya⁴,
April Dean Adams⁵, Monica Macklin⁵ and Jazlin Ebenezer⁶

  ¹La Salle University

Philadelphia, PA, USA

　

²National Taiwan University of Science and Technology

Taipei, TAIWAN

　

³Nanjing Normal University

Nanjing, P. R. CHINA

　

⁴Firat University

Elazig, TURKEY

　

⁵Northeastern State University

Tahlequah, OK, USA

　

⁶Wayne State University
Detroit, MI, USA

　

⁷Contact author

E-mail: liang@lasalle.edu

Received 1 Oct., 2007
Revised 25 Jan., 2008

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Contents

• Abstract
• Introduction
• Relevant Research on the Nature of Science and Assessment Tools
  • Learning and Teaching of the Nature of Science in School
  • Assessment of the Nature of Science
• Methodology

  • Phase I - Selection of standards- and literature-based NOS items

  • Phase II - Pilot test and interviews

  • Phase III - Expert review and field test

  • Phase IV - Further revision and field test

  • Sample

• Results and Discussion
• Conclusion and implications
• References
• Appendix A
• Appendix B

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Abstract

This paper presents the development and revision of a dual-response instrument entitled, “Student Understanding of Science and Scientific Inquiry (SUSSI).” Built on the most recent science education reform documents and existing literature on the nature of science, SUSSI blends Likert-type items and related open-ended questions to assess students’ views on the nature of scientific knowledge development in terms of six aspects: observations and inferences, tentativeness, scientific theories and laws, social and cultural embeddedness, creativity and imagination, and scientific methods.  This combined quantitative and qualitative approach is a form of triangulation, which can increase confidence in the findings and help us obtain a fuller understanding of the respondents’ views on the nature of scientific knowledge.

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