Facilitating Students’ Development of Their Views on Nature of Science: A Knowledge Building Approach

Students’ views on the nature of science and on the levels of self-directed and collaborative learning with technology support affect the manner in which learning is conducted in the classroom. With limited literature offering insight into the effects the knowledge building pedagogy has on these students’ perceptions, this study employed the quasi-experimental approach for its investigation. The study showed that a 6-week knowledge building intervention could improve secondary students’ view on the need to validate or critically evaluate knowledge drawn from authoritative sources like their teachers, textbooks, or scientists. In comparison, students who were taught with traditional method regressed significantly across three out of the four aspects of their views on nature of science investigated in this study. Further, students within the experimental class perceived a higher tendency for collaborative learning with technology after the curricular intervention. These findings provided support for the use of the knowledge building approach to develop students’ views on nature of science and their learning practices.