What messages a documentary and biographical film give about the nature of science to prospective science teachers?

Abstract

In this study, the experience of prospective science teachers, who watched a cinema film adapted from the life story of a well-known scientist for the first time in an informal environment, was examined. Answers of two questions were sought in the study; (1) what aspects of the nature of science did the prospective science teachers experience through which scenario elements of the film? (2) how do preservice teachers interpret these experiences? In this study, being conducted based on hermeneutic phenomenology design; the data were collected through focus group interviews with semi-structured questions prepared by taking into consideration the aspects of the nature of science. Participants were 29 (23 girls, 6 boys) prospective science teachers. The collected data were analyzed by qualitative methods. The findings showed that the participants experience and interpret some aspects of the nature of science through specific scenario elements (representations). It was determined that participants highlighted certain sections (e.g. process of discovery, social reaction) in the story. It was observed that the participants correlated these sections with the nature of science in a positive or negative way and interpret them. The results show that these kinds of films adopted from history of science, which are recommended in the literature, can give positive messages about the nature of science. In addition, it was observed that the film caused misconceptions about the nature of science, especially due to thescenario. Therefore, it can be said that such films produced for different purposes may lead to some problems in the teaching of the nature of science. From this point of view, even if such films are used, it is obvious that rather than an informal environment, it is necessary to integrate these films into a more structured learning environment where inappropriate messages given by the film can be seen critically.