Curriculum Development Instruments

Student Attitude Surveys

Instrument 14: Conceptions/Nature of Science

Project: Creation of an Interdisciplinary Earth Materials Testing Laboratory to Enhance Undergraduate Science Education
University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point

Funding Source: NSF - Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE)

Purpose: To assess student conceptions of science and student attitudes toward science and learning science

Administered To: Students in newly developed laboratory course "Earth Material and Testing Laboratory"

Topics Covered:

• Attitudes & Beliefs (Student): content, method, technology, assignments, collaaboration, purpose for participating, leadership, engagement, practical value, instructor, identity issues, nature of sccience
• Background Characteristics & Activities (Student): academic performance, post-secondary plans
• Demographics (Student): gender, ethnicity, age, academic success, major, professional goals
• Impact on Outcomes: instructional methods, assessment, technology, collaboration, teacher understanding, teacher knowledge, engagement

Format/Length: 105 closed-ended questions

CONCEPTIONS/NATURE OF SCIENCE This set of statements address your understanding of the nature of science, that is, how science really works. There are no right or wrong answers.
1.	Some questions cannot be answered by science.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
2.	Scientists are always attempting to provide better explanations of phenomenon.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
3.	Scientists believe that one day we will know everything there is to know about the universe.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
4.	A scientist must have a good imagination to create new ideas.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
5.	Scientists select only one hypothesis and collect data to support that hypothesis.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
6.	Scientists sometimes de-emphasize or overlook evidence that does not support their favored ideas.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
7.	Scientific beliefs do not change over time.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
8.	When a scientist sees evidence that might show one of his/her ideas to be false, it is likely that the scientist will quickly give up his/her original idea.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
9.	We can always get answers to our questions by asking a scientist.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
10.	Evidence is necessary to support conclusions in space.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
11.	Even when scientific investigations are done correctly, the conclusions that scientists reach may change in the future.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
12.	If one scientist says an idea is true, all other scientists will agree with it.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
13.	Scientific knowledge is testable, but can never be entirely proven.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
14.	The laws, theories and concepts of all areas of science are related.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
15.	Scientists discover laws which tell us exactly what is going on in nature.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
16.	The results of a scientific investigation must be repeatable by others before they are considered valid.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
17.	Good scientists are willing to change their ideas.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
18.	Science is an idea-generating activity.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
19.	Scientific thinking is a combination of logic and intuition.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
20.	Anything we want to know can be found out through science.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
21.	Two scientists could make the same observations of a phenomenon and reach different conclusions.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
22.	If a new idea is not widely accepted by the scientific community, that means the idea must be false.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
23.	Scientific knowledge is subject to change as new observations are made and existing data are reinterpreted.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
24.	Observational or experimental evidence alone is all that is necessary to form scientific ideas.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
25.	Scientific laws, theories, and concepts are tested against reliable observations.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
26.	The value of science lies only in its practical uses.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
27.	Scientific questions are answered by observing phenomenon.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
28.	Creative thinking and imagination are unimportant to the field of science.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
29.	Scientific laws have been proven beyond all possible doubt.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
30.	There are other approaches to science in addition to experimentation.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
31.	Scientific knowledge is developmental (meaning it builds on earlier knowledge).	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
32.	Scientific ideas are based only on evidence, not on inferences or hunches.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
33.	Scientific knowledge is unified (meaning scientists agree on basic concepts).	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
34.	Scientists will accept the results of a scientific experiment even if the experiment does not yield the same results to other scientists.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
35.	Scientists commonly use creativity and imagination when conducting scientific investigations.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
36.	Good scientists report exactly what they observe.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
37.	Scientific knowledge is based on or derived from observations and inferences of the natural world.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
38.	Scientists should not criticize each other's work.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
39.	Scientists focus only on the evidence. Personal bias, preferences, and opinions play no role.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
40.	Scientitst use classification schemes that were originally created by other scientists; there could be other ways to classify nature.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
ATTITUDE TOWARDS SCIENCE/LEARNING SCIENCE This set of statements address your attitudes towards science in general, earth science (physical geography/geology) in particular, and your attitudes towards learning science. There are no right or wrong answers.
41.	Scientific thinking is not applicable to my life.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
42.	Most people can understand science.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
43.	Science classes are boring.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
44.	Science is relevant to our society.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
45.	I don't like science because I'm not good at it.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
46.	Earth science (physical geography/geology) is worthless.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
47.	I can learn science.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
48.	I use science in my everyday life.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
49.	People with poor social skills tend to become scientists.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
50.	Scientists have to study too much.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
51.	People should understand science because it affects their lives.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
52.	Nothing interesting can be learned from studying the earth.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
53.	I enjoy studying science.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
54.	Scientific work is useful only to scientists.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
55.	I may not make great discoveries, but working in science would be fun.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
56.	Earth science (physical geography/geology) discoveries made today are important for the future.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
57.	Only highly trained scientists can understand science.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
58.	Science is boring.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
59.	I am interested in earth science (physical geography/geology).	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
60.	Science should be a required part of everyone's education.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
61.	Science has done more harm than good.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
62.	Earth science (physical geography/geology) is irrelevant to my life.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
63.	I don't like taking science courses.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
64.	Science is not essential for the continued vitality of society.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
65.	I like to learn about new scientific discoveries.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
66.	Science does not improve our understanding of our world.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
67.	I like earth science (physical geography/geology).	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
68.	Physical geographers and geologists are not as scientific as other scientists.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
69.	I would like to work with other scientists to solve scientific problems.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
70.	I like learning about the earth.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
71.	Scientists do not have enough time for their families or for fun.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
72.	Science is interesting.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
73.	I do not want to be a scientist.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
74.	Science is not useful to the average person.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
75.	Most people can understand earth science (physical geography/geology).	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
76.	The thought of taking a science course scares me.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
77.	I find it difficult to understand scientific concepts.	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
78.	I can learn earth science (physical geography/geology).	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
IMPACT OF VARIOUS COURSE-RELATED ACTIVITIES ON LEARNING (end of semester only) This set of statements is intended to assess the relative impact of various course related activities on your activities on your overall learning. There are no right or wrong answers.