Improving 7th Grade Students’ Understanding of Force and Motion through History of Science Stories: A Glimpse at an Ongoing Effort

Abstract

The integration of history of science (HOS) into science teaching plays a crucial role to address many shortcomings of traditional science teaching in middle schools, due to its close relationship to the nature of science (NOS) and to its ability to reveal the interconnectedness of science to other disciplines. The purpose of this study is to improve seventh grade students’ course engagement and motivation and their understanding of scientific concepts within the unit of “Force and Motion” through the use of history of science-based stories. The study was conducted according to an action research approach. Five stories based on the history of science were developed and administered by one of the researchers in their 7th grade science class. The iterative reflective practice took place over seven weeks with 15 students who met twice a week for two consecutive forty-minute sessions. Throughout this process, researcher journals, semi-structured interviews and a survey were employed for data collection. Teaching with history of science-based stories was found to be effective for students’ understanding of concepts related to “force and motion.” The results of the study were also positive with respect to the students’ engagement and motivation. Based on the findings, it is suggested that the nature of science should be addressed explicitly through stories in future research.