Turning Crisis into Opportunity: Nature of Science and Scientific Inquiry as Illustrated in the Scientific Research on Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome |
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| Authors: | Siu Ling Wong Jenny Kwan Derek Hodson Benny Hin Wai Yung |
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| Institution: | (1) Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong SAR, China |
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| Abstract: | Interviews with key scientists who had conducted research on Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), together with analysis
of media reports, documentaries and other literature published during and after the SARS epidemic, revealed many interesting
aspects of the nature of science (NOS) and scientific inquiry in contemporary scientific research in the rapidly growing field
of molecular biology. The story of SARS illustrates vividly some NOS features advocated in the school science curriculum,
including the tentative nature of scientific knowledge, theory-laden observation and interpretation, multiplicity of approaches
adopted in scientific inquiry, the inter-relationship between science and technology, and the nexus of science, politics,
social and cultural practices. The story also provided some insights into a number of NOS features less emphasised in the
school curriculum—for example, the need to combine and coordinate expertise in a number of scientific fields, the intense
competition between research groups (suspended during the SARS crisis), the significance of affective issues relating to intellectual
honesty and the courage to challenge authority, the pressure of funding issues on the conduct of research and the ‘peace of
mind’ of researchers, These less emphasised elements provided empirical evidence that NOS knowledge, like scientific knowledge
itself, changes over time. They reflected the need for teachers and curriculum planners to revisit and reconsider whether
the features of NOS currently included in the school science curriculum are fully reflective of the practice of science in
the 21st century. In this paper, we also report on how we made use of extracts from the news reports and documentaries on
SARS, together with episodes from the scientists’ interviews, to develop a multimedia instructional package for explicitly
teaching the prominent features of NOS and scientific inquiry identified in the SARS research.
Siu Ling Wong
is an Assistant Professor, in the Division of Science, Mathematics and Computing in the Faculty of Education at The University
of Hong Kong. She received her B.Sc. from The University of Hong Kong and her Ph.D. from the University of Oxford. Her research
interests include promoting teachers’ and students’ understanding of nature of science and scientific inquiry, physics education,
teacher professional development.
Jenny Kwan
is a PhD student in the Faculty of Education, at The University of Hong Kong. She received her B.Sc. from University of Sydney.
She is now investigating in-service teachers’ classroom instruction on nature of science in relation to their intentions,
beliefs, and pedagogical content knowledge.
Derek Hodson
is Professor of Science Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education and Editor of the Canadian Journal of
Science, Technology and Mathematics Education. His major research interests include: history, philosophy & sociology of science
and its implications for science education; STSE education and the politicisation of science education; science curriculum
history; multicultural and antiracist education; and science teacher education via action research.
Benny Hin Wai Yung
is Head, Associate Professor, in the Division of Science, Mathematics and Computing in the Faculty of Education at University
of Hong Kong. His main research areas are teacher education and development, science education and assessment for science
learning. His recent publications include Yung BHW (2006) Assessment reform in science education: fairness and fear. Springer,
Dordrecht. |
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| Keywords: | Nature of science Scientific inquiry Scientists Development of instructional materials |
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