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Changes in student views of religion and science in a college astronomy course
Author(s) -
Shipman Harry L.,
Brickhouse Nancy W.,
Dagher Zoubeida,
Letts William J.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
science education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.209
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1098-237X
pISSN - 0036-8326
DOI - 10.1002/sce.10029
Subject(s) - class (philosophy) , science education , mathematics education , set (abstract data type) , science class , intervention (counseling) , minor (academic) , psychology , sociology , pedagogy , epistemology , computer science , political science , philosophy , psychiatry , law , programming language
A cautious introduction of the dialogue between science and religion into a college astronomy course provoked diverse reactions from the 340 students in the course. We studied student responses to this curricular intervention with data from the entire class and from a set of interviews of a focus group of 19 students. Approximately half of the students in the class engaged with the issue of science and religion to some extent. There were extraordinarily few negative reactions to this minor intervention. The intellectual paths taken by students who did engage the issue were very diverse; they negotiated their ways across some complex intellectual borders in their own different ways. Some of these pathways led to internal conflict in some students, but this conflict is not necessarily an obstacle to further understanding. Several students developed some rather deep understandings of the interface between science and religion. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed 86: 526–547, 2002; Published online in Wiley Interscience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/sce.10029