The Story Behind the Biology

Students possess many misconceptions about the nature of science and science practices that hinder robust understanding of science content, diminish interest in science learning, make science appear as an uninteresting career option, and exacerbate distrust of science. With National Science Foundation funding, freely and easily accessible historically accurate short stories have been created that bring science and scientists to life; accurately illustrating the work of scientists and how scientific knowledge is developed and becomes well established. This article presents the project’s biology stories, and focuses on the classroom implementation of one story to illustrate mediation strategies that draw students’ attention to targeted nature of science and science practices. Research supporting the efficacy of this approach is summarized.