Hasan Deniz

Elementary teachers’ perceptions about the effective features of explicit-reflective nature of science instruction

ABSTRACT This qualitative study explored elementary teachers’ perceptions about the effective features of explicit-reflective nature of science (NOS) instruction. Our participants were four elementary teachers from a public charter school located in the Southwestern U.S.A. The four elementary teachers participated in an academic year-long professional development about NOS which consisted of NOS training and NOS teaching phases. After each phase of the professional development, we specifically asked our participants which features of the explicit-reflective NOS instruction they found effective in improving their NOS conceptions by presenting pre- and post-profiles of their NOS conceptions. We identified nine features perceived by the participants as effective components of explicit-reflective NOS instruction: (1) specific focus on NOS content, (2) participation in hands-on NOS activities, (3) introductory NOS readings, (4) multiple types/forms of reflection, (5) multiple exposure to NOS content, (6) structural consistency in the presentation of NOS content, (7) the evaluation of secondary NOS data from elementary students, (8) the analysis of national and state science standards in terms of NOS content, and (9) NOS teaching experience.

Evolution Education Around the Globe: Conclusions and Future Directions

The twenty-two chapter contributions in this book paint a portrait of evolution education across six continents. The range of religions, geography, relationship to evolutionary theory, education systems, and teacher education systems is broad, and yet some consistent issues and opportunities unite evolution education efforts across these diverse regions. This concluding chapter is organized around the six requested elements by directly comparing and contrasting the information presented in each chapter. We conclude this chapter with some general comments about the place of evolution education within the broader discourse of these countries and offer some future directions for the evolution education community.

Evolutionary Theory as a Controversial Topic in Science Curriculum Around the Globe

Evolutionary theory is considered as one of the greatest scientific achievements in history of science on par with the theory of heliocentricism, general and specific relativity, and the theory of plate tectonics. However, public controversy over teaching evolutionary theory urges science educators to consider conceptual, epistemic, worldview/religious, and social/cultural factors simultaneously when teaching about evolutionary theory. In this book, we aimed to explore the influence of social and cultural domain on evolution education.