Teacher’s notes
Making sense of the nature of science
NoS Achievement Aim 1
“In their study of the nature of science … students will use their developing scientific knowledge, skills, and attitudes to critically evaluate ideas and processes related to science and become aware that scientific understanding is developed by people, whose ideas change over time.”
– Science in the New Zealand Curriculum, p.24
Science as a human activity
The integrating strand: Making sense of the nature of science (NoS) is about science as a contemporary body of knowledge, created by people, to help understand the world around us.
Nature of science themes
To support Achievement Aim 1 of the NoS strand, the Ministry of Education has identified key themes. These NoS themes can be used by teachers to enrich their understandings of the nature of science, and better integrate this strand with the contextual strands in science activities.
Select a NoS theme from the lists below for supporting concepts, teacher’s notes, questions to help build your understanding of the nature of science, and example science activities.
Exploring science ideas
- Scientists turn their science ideas into questions that can be investigated
- Scientists’ observations are influenced by their science ideas
- Scientists’ investigations are influenced by their communities
- Scientists’ predictions are based on their existing science knowledge
- Scientists design investigations to test their predictions
- Many different approaches and methods are used to build scientific investigations
- When scientists carry out investigations they aim to collect adequate data
- Scientists think critically about the results of their investigations
Forming scientific explanations
- Scientific explanations may involve creative insights
- There may be more than one explanation for the results of an investigation
- Scientific explanations may be in the form of a model
- When an explanation correctly predicts an event, confidence in the explanation as science knowledge is increased
Science knowledge
- Scientific explanations must withstand peer review before being accepted as science knowledge
- New scientific explanations often meet opposition from other individuals and groups
- Over time, the types of science knowledge that are valued change
- All science knowledge is, in principle, subject to change
The culture of science
- Open-mindedness is important to the culture of science
- Scientific progress comes from logical and systematic work, and also through creative insights
- Science interacts with other cultures
How students can explore the nature of science
Students can explore the nature of science by investigating:
- how science knowledge is developed by scientists
- the processes and practices of the science community
- how science shapes the world we all live in
- the history of science (processes, knowledge, and purposes).
Frequently asked questions
- Has the Making sense of the nature of science strand changed?
- The NoS strand has not changed. The NoS themes have been created to widen the definition/scope of science education suggested by Achievement Aim 1. The themes also introduce additional cultural, ethical and values perspectives.
- What are the NoS themes?
- Each NoS theme is an idea about the nature of science.
- Why have the NoS themes been created?
- The NoS themes have been create to enrich teachers’ understandings of the nature of science, and, based on these understandings, integrate the NoS strand into science activities.
- Where do the NoS themes come from?
- The NoS themes have been created by expanding the Making sense of the nature of science: Achievement Aim 1 of Science in the New Zealand Curriculum in line with what has been done in the United Kingdom, United States of America, and Australia. The themes encapsulate the science-education community’s consensus on ‘what science is’. The themes will evolve as our understanding, and practice of science, changes.
- How do I choose a NoS theme?
- Consider the science concept students are exploring and how students will be investigating that concept. Review the list of NoS themes, and select one that is relevant. More than one theme may be explored within any activity.
- How do I use the NoS themes?
- Use the NoS theme web page to enrich your understanding; review professional development notes, supporting concepts, and link to example activities that use this theme. The themes may be used as the basis of discussion with other teachers.
See also: Using the themes and focuses. - How do the NoS themes relate to the NoS achievement objectives?
- There is no direct relationship between the NoS themes and the current Science in the New Zealand Curriculum achievement objectives.
- What has happened to the ‘technology’ achievement aims?
- The Science IS website’s nature of science content has been developed to support teachers’ understanding of Achievement Aim 1 of the NoS strand. Achievement Aims 2 and 3, which relate to technology, are not directly addressed by these themes.