However, much work is left to be done. Although the participants in this investigation taught
the nature of science more frequently, the majority failed to make any attempts to assess student
understanding. The preservice teachers noted that they did not assess student understanding
because they did not include nature of science objectives among their unit or daily lesson
objectives. In a sense, although the nature of science was addressed, it was not formally planned
as part of instruction (if written objectives are an indication of formal planning). This situation
appeared to have compromised any attempts toward assessment. This is not surprising, given
that the MAT program consistently emphasizes the critical role of clearly stated objectives
in the development of assessment tasks. As such, more effort needs to be placed upon
having preservice teachers include nature of science among their primary instructional
objectives.