Teachers' perceptions of Brandon's Matrix as a framework for the teaching and assessment of scientific methods in school science

Abstract

This article utilizes a framework for classifying different scientific methods suggested by a philosopher of science (Brandon Synthese, 99, 59–73, 1994) called Brandon’s Matrix. It presents findings from teachers who took part in a funded project in England that looked at the nature of scientific methods in science investigations. Science investigations are an integral aspect of science education and, as such, are often included in high stakes examinations. Therefore, teachers need to have a good understanding of a range of scientific methods and their purposes in science investigations. The framework was used to ask teachers to classify science investigations based on how they teach them. It was also employed to devise assessments to measure students’ understanding of scientific methods. The teachers were introduced to the new approaches and their perceptions were gathered to understand if they supported this as a framework for their classroom practice. Evidence from the study suggested that Brandon’s Matrix appealed to teachers as a framework for practical science in schools, and they see potential benefits for its use in the teaching, learning, and assessment of science. Findings from the study showed it appealed to the teachers as a tool for classifying scientific methods, and how they also recognized the importance of assessing practical work and had an appreciation of the constraints and drivers in the current curriculum and assessment requirements in England. Implications for teachers’ professional development are discussed.

Investigating Preservice Chemistry Teachers’ Understanding and Views about the Diversity of Scientific Methods

“…Then, the matrix has been employed to investigate the diversity of scientific methods in chemistry examination papers, 19 to examine practical investigations in Chinese science textbooks, 14 to design practical science assessments, 34 and to inspect teachers' perceptions of it as a framework for the teaching and assessment of scientific methods. 13 The reliability and validity of this matrix have been verified by many empirical studies. This is why we adopted Brandon's Matrix as the theoretical framework in the present study.…”

“…Conversely, Gray argued that historical investigations can handle problems that experimental investigations cannot solve . In fact, scientists employ a variety of scientific methods to solve problems . Furthermore, Erduran and Dagher called on us not to neglect the diversity of scientific methods in science education, given that some theories are rejected by students to be scientific because the methods employed to collect evidence that support them involve no hypotheses or experiments …”

“…These examples demonstrated that all categories of scientific methods in Brandon’s Matrix are valid in chemistry. Then, the matrix has been employed to investigate the diversity of scientific methods in chemistry examination papers, to examine practical investigations in Chinese science textbooks, to design practical science assessments, and to inspect teachers’ perceptions of it as a framework for the teaching and assessment of scientific methods . The reliability and validity of this matrix have been verified by many empirical studies.…”

“…Ioannidou et al examined how science teachers view scientific methods included in teaching and summative assessment of practical science, finding that teachers were quite receptive to Brandon’s Matrix for their teaching, and recognized it as a valuable element of thinking skills embedded in assessment . Likewise, Cullinane et al also found that Brandon’s Matrix appealed to teachers as a framework for practical science in schools . Furthermore, based on Brandon’s Matrix, Ioannidou and Erduran developed two tasks to explore 56 science teachers’ understanding and views of the diversity of scientific methods, revealing that most teachers showed satisfactory understanding about basic components of Brandon’s Matrix, whereas over half of them held naive views of scientific methods .…”

“…Considering the key role played by teachers in guiding the instruction of scientific methods, many attempts have been made to dig into teachers’ perceptions of scientific methods and their diversity, which was partly examined from the viewpoints of NOS and scientific inquiry in early studies − and directly investigated through the application of reliable frameworks in recent studies. − However, there are some research gaps in existing literature. First, as Wei et al reported, the distribution of different scientific methods in science textbooks varied across three subjects (i.e., chemistry, physics, and biology); that is, different subjects typically possess various characteristics regarding the presentation of the diversity of scientific methods.…”