ABSTRACT
Do we really give our senior high school physics students an accurate impression of what physics is about? Most teachers would want to answer in the affirmative: we consciously try to teach good physics. But do we, along with physics knowledge, communicate a valid image of science? The image which many students perceive may be that physics simply reveals the truth about nature. It may suggest that the great physicists have revealed (and continue to reveal) this structure. The whole community of physicists then quickly accepts the newly revealed truth. Students may get the impression that almost all physics researchers fail to contribute to physics and only the cleverest, or possibly the most fortunate, ones succeed. Is there an alternative image of science which we could present? Modern philosophy of science portrays physics knowledge as provisional (Kuhn, 1962). It is continually subject to adaptation and sometimes to radical change. But can we present this view in the classroom; and what would be the impact on learning and on student motivation if we were to teach physics from such a point of view? Many students say: physics must tell us what nature is really like. They do not want uncertainty and qualified answers. Many physics students may choose the subject precisely because of the certainty they feel it offers (Head, 1980). This is something with which any attempt to broaden the image of science will have to contend.
