University science students' experiences of investigative project work and their images of science

In this paper we consider the ways in which students' activities during project work are influenced by their images of science, e.g. their views about the purposes of science, the nature of scientific knowledge and the role of social processes in scientific activity. We also investigate the kinds of project activities which promote the development of students' images of science. We draw on case studies of 11 science students' experiences of investigative project work in their final year at university. For one of these students naive views about the epistemology of science constrain her project activities. We suggest that the concept of 'epistemic demand' may help in anticipating difficulties that students might have during project work. We also find that students' images of science are developed as a result of messages communicated both implicitly and explicitly through project work.