Early Exposure to Primary Literature and Interactions With Scientists Influences Novice Students’ Views on the Nature of Science

Postsecondary science faculty often hope to help students to better understand science through engagement with primary research literature. Undergraduates in courses focused on reading and discussion of research literature, along with interactions with scientists, encounter many of the major elements of the Nature of Science (NOS). We explored whether participation in such a course may impact students’ (N = 12) NOS understandings, even though the course did not include explicit, intentional NOS instruction. Students’ qualitative responses to questions from the VNOS-C administered before and after the course suggested that participation in this course was associated with shifts in students’ NOS perceptions in three areas: (1) from the idea that science is universal to the idea that science is influenced by society and culture; (2) in students’ self-definition of science—from a single linear process to a more iterative field of shared, varied methodologies; and (3) in what ways they viewed science to be creative—from experimental design only to also including interpretation and communication of results. Results suggest that engaging with primary research literature and interacting with scientists fosters development of students’ understandings of the tools and products and the human elements of science, but development of other elements may require targeted instruction.