«Something old, something new, something borrowed». Trends on the nature of science in science education

Abstract

This article focuses on the inclusion of the nature of science (NOS) in science education. It is divided into two parts. The first addresses the controversial issue of what aspects of NOS should be included in school science. Some recent trends on what should be taught of NOS are briefly described, and arguments are made for claiming the aptness of the tradition of Science-Technology-Society for Science Education (STS-SE) since this tradition incorporated years ago many aspects of NOS which are now receiving attention, particularly those that refer to the sociology (internal and external) of science. The second addresses how to teach NOS in science classrooms. This key issue is closely related to educating teachers for that purpose. Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) is suggested as representing an appropriate theoretical framework for the effective implementation of NOS in science education. The hexagonal model of PCK for Teaching NOS in the school science curriculum (PCK-NOS) is presented, with a focus on the assessment of NOS as one of the crucial elements of the model.