Integrating the Nature of Science in Teaching Scientific Theory in High Schools in Cameroon: Case Study of the Atomic Theory

Questions about the Nature of Science (NOS) have long preoccupied scientists, but recently, researchers in didactics, curriculum designers and science teachers have been concerned about how NOS can improve the teaching and learning of scientific concepts and theories. While some authors have argued that science students be taught about the Nature of Science explicitly, others suggest it should be taught implicitly when teaching scientific concepts. However, not much research has been done on how to implicitly integrate NOS principles in teaching scientific concepts in a competencies-based approach context. We believe that for learners to significantly improve their learning of scientific concepts, they need to understand the Nature of Science. Thus, we propose the tenets of NOS be taken into account in the design of teaching and learning activities in the experimental sciences. This reflective article proposes a didactic strategy to implicitly teach NOS when teaching scientific theories like the atomic theory using problem situations in the context of the competencies–based approach prescribed in Cameroon. Article visualizations: