ABSTRACT

Students with special educational needs (SEN) are often left behind in science education, and research largely ignores this population. In particular, very limited research examines the intersection between the nature of science (NOS) and special education (SPED). To address this gap, the study investigated 18 preservice SPED teachers’ NOS plans and instructions in a methods course, as well as their perceptions of the role of NOS and its relevance to SEN. The data sources included written reflections, interviews, lesson plans and microteaching during class. Most preservice teachers planned and implemented NOS lessons within inquiry within the class, although NOS was not required. This finding represents a strong outcome as participants were non-science majors and were provided only a short period of NOS intervention. Importantly, the preservice SPED teachers considered NOS to be relevant to SEN, considering students’ unique ideas and different ways of thinking. This provided initial evidence that preservice SPED teachers may view teaching NOS as a way to highlight students’ differences in ideas/perspectives, supporting their contributions to science. Future research will investigate the NOS learning outcomes of SEN.

摘要

有特殊教育需要 (SEN) 的学生往往在科学教育中落后，而研究在很大程度上忽略了这一群体。特别是，非常有限的研究考察了科学本质 (NOS) 和特殊教育 (SPED) 之间的交集。为了弥补这一差距，该研究调查了 18 名职前 SPED 教师在方法课程中的 NOS 计划和说明，以及他们对 NOS 作用及其与 SEN 相关性的看法。数据来源包括课堂上的书面反思、访谈、课程计划和微课。大多数职前教师在课堂探究中计划和实施 NOS 课程，尽管 NOS 不是必需的。这一发现代表了一个强有力的结果，因为参与者是非科学专业的，并且只接受了很短的 NOS 干预。重要的，职前SPED 教师考虑到学生独特的想法和不同的思维方式，认为NOS 与SEN 相关。这提供了初步证据，表明职前 SPED 教师可能将 NOS 教学视为突出学生思想/观点差异的一种方式，支持他们对科学的贡献。未来的研究将调查 SEN 的 NOS 学习成果。