Science education is absolutely crucial for the scientific enterprise. Without education and culture, we might today be celebrating the discovery of fire and invention of the wheel, rather than exploring space and interpreting genomes. Also, most scientists employed by universities are called upon to be educators as well as researchers. Accordingly, this chapter will consider the interactions between scientists and educators, especially as regards a fundamental element in the science curriculum, namely, scientific method, or, somewhat more broadly, the nature of science.

Science educators typically place the topic of scientific method within a broader context: “For science educators the phrase ‘nature of science,’ is used to describe the intersection of issues addressed by the philosophy, history, sociology, and psychology of science as they apply to and potentially impact science teaching and learning” (William F. McComas et al., in McComas 1998:5). Figure 11.1 depicts these four disciplines that contribute to our description and understanding of science. The various sizes of these circles represent the relative importance of these sources.

Educators and scientists alike perceive the centrality of the nature of science (NOS) in the science curriculum. Indeed, the NOS constitutes the very first chapter or topic in most documents specifying national standards for science education, because the NOS is seen as “a vital foundation for all future science learning” (William F. McComas and Joanne K. Olson, in McComas 1998:51).