Why and how should high school students learn about the ecology-nature of science?

Background/Question/Methods

Can students develop an understanding of the ecology-nature of science (E-NOS) in high school biology and environmental science classes that is useful and productive in environmental citizenship? Teams of ecologists, educators and skilled teachers in NY and NJ addressed this question in the Ecosystems and Evidence project. We hypothesized that E-NOS is distinctive from the generic Nature of Science (NOS) and worthy of explicit instruction and that mastery of E-NOS contributes to environmental citizenship, helping students critique claims, address issues with evidence, and appreciate the acquisition and use of evidence by others. NOS is generally taught generically, often in a single lecture at the beginning of a course. Research shows that students have narrow, rigid and superficial understanding of NOS. Furthermore, many students perceive ecology as less rigorous than other sciences. The teams: 1) elaborated a framework for E-NOS, 2) assessed students’ understanding of NOS and E-NOS, and 3) tested strategies for fostering E-NOS mastery. Approximately 350 students in 6 teachers’ classrooms completed a Survey of E-NOS Understanding, and established instruments for assessing NOS understanding and learning gains. Teachers addressed the framework within their existing curriculum, with support from project scientists and educators.   

Results/Conclusions

The E-NOS Framework identifies four dimensions: 1) The nature of scientific knowledge in ecology (essential products of the scientific enterprise, their definitions and attributes). 2) The processes of ecological science (actions, practices and methods ecologists use). 3) Ecologists as people (dispositions, attitudes, habits of mind and motivations of ecologists). 4) The social science of science (two-way interaction between science and society, and the sociology of the scientific enterprise). The teachers developed powerful tools for bringing this framework into their classrooms explicitly. In NJ, they developing rubrics (in some cases with the students) for evaluating the quality of scientific arguments, including primary literature and students’ own investigations. In NY, teachers produced a classroom poster with Enduring Understandings about What Ecologists Do. Student assessments revealed a mixture of sophisticated and naïve understandings of both NOS and E-NOS. Assessment of students’ ability to use an understanding of E-NOS in citizenship contexts remains a vexing challenge, limiting our confidence in addressing our initial question. However, qualitative and tentative results suggest that students can, indeed, develop a useful understanding of E-NOS. The enthusiasm of the participating teachers to continue to infuse the E-NOS rubrics or frameworks into their classrooms beyond the duration of the grant provides some credence to this conclusion.