Preordained science and student autonomy: the nature of laboratory tasks in physics classrooms

Students having autonomy over their laboratory work poses a dilemma for teachers when student results differ from preordained science, the accepted body of knowledge: do teachers correct students or allow them to continue an empirical process? The article presents case studies of three high schoool physics teachers, all teaching units on Newton's second law and the conservation of energy. The case studies were based on detailed observations of their practice and interviews with them, and show major differences between the ways in which teachers handled this dilemma. Approaches were rooted in views of the nature of physics, with students having significantly different understandings of physics from each other. These results carry implications for the conduct of open-ended project work, for understanding the course of self-directed professional development of teachers, and for helping to clarify the complexity of constructing a thoughtful science teaching practice. (Autorenreferat).