This investigation assessed the impact of situating explicit nature of science (NOS) instruction within the issues surrounding
global climate change and global warming (GCC/GW). Participants in the study were 15 preservice elementary teachers enrolled
in a science methods course. The instructional intervention included explicit NOS instruction combined with explicit GCC/GW
instruction situated within the normal elementary science methods curriculum. Participants’ conceptions of NOS and GCC/GW
were assessed with pre- and postadministrations of open-ended questionnaires and interviews. Results indicated that participants’
conceptions of NOS and GCC/GW improved over the course of the semester. Furthermore, participants were able to apply their
conceptions to decision making about socioscientific issues. The results provide support for context-based NOS instruction
in an elementary science methods course.