Designing a magic flask: a new activity for teaching nature of science in both formal and informal learning environments

The magic flask, which is a kind of black box activity, builds an environment for science teachers to discuss nature of science in a formal or/and informal learning environment in the context of the history of science through an explicit-reflective approach. In the activity, the nature of science (N...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inScience activities Vol. 56; no. 3; pp. 108 - 118
Main Authors Eren-Sisman, Ece N., Koseoglu, Fitnat
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Washington Routledge 03.07.2019
Taylor & Francis Inc
Subjects
black box
Design
Design engineering
Educational Environment
Engineering
engineering design
Hands on Science
High School Students
history of science
Informal Education
Learning
Model testing
nature of science
Science Activities
science center
Science Education
Science Equipment
Science History
Science Process Skills
Science Teachers
Science Teaching Centers
Scientific Principles
Secondary School Science
Students
Teachers
word
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Summary:The magic flask, which is a kind of black box activity, builds an environment for science teachers to discuss nature of science in a formal or/and informal learning environment in the context of the history of science through an explicit-reflective approach. In the activity, the nature of science (NOS) aspects are explicitly addressed and opportunities are provided for high school students to reflect on how these ideas relate to the working principle of the magic flask. This activity could be conducted not only in a science center where the "magic flask" exhibition has introduced but also in a classroom environment where a science teacher presented a video about how the magic flask works. Students, who work a team of three to four, create their own model and test and evaluate it by comparing other models formed by their peers through the engineering design. The Magic flask activity could be assessed through informal questioning and NOS assessment scales. It is a very useful activity since NOS aspects could be discussed explicitly in the formal or informal settings within the history of science while students were actively engaged in an engineering design process.
ISSN:0036-8121
1940-1302
DOI:10.1080/00368121.2019.1702914