Science Teachers’ Views About Nature Of Science: An Example Of Cognitive Map

This study aims to explore the views of middle school science teachers regarding the aspects of nature of science, and present their views in a visual and complete way through the use of cognitive map. This is a phenomenological study which is one of the qualitative research approaches. The sample of the study consisted of 21 science teachers working in the city of Edirne. The science teachers’ views about NOS were collected through the interviews. The findings of this study were illustrated in the form of a cognitive map. The research findings revealed that science teachers commonly held naive beliefs about the NOS aspects that those are far from the current understanding of science. Considering that 2004 and 2013 science programs emphasize scientific literacy as the vision of science program, the findings of this study do not support the reform acts in Turkey and for the challenges of science education in the 21’st century.