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Understanding nature of science as progressive transitions in heuristic principles
Author(s) -
Niaz Mansoor
Publication year - 2001
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.1032
Subject(s) - philosophy of science , heuristic , science education , epistemology , history and philosophy of science , nature of science , inclusion (mineral) , curriculum , sociology , history of science , mathematics education , philosophy , psychology , social science , pedagogy
This study has the following objectives: (a) understand nature of science as progressive transitions in heuristic principles as conceptualized by Schwab (1962); (b) reformulate Smith and Scharmann's characterization of nature of science (Smith & Scharmann, 1999) in the light of evidence from history and philosophy of science; and (c) provide a rationale for the inclusion of three more characteristics of nature of science, to the original five suggested by Smith and Scharmann. It is concluded that nature of science manifests in the different topics of the science curriculum as heuristic principles. Science education, by emphasizing not only the empirical nature of science but also the underlying heuristic principles, can facilitate conceptual understanding. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Sci Ed 85: 684–690, 2001.