Participants were often asked to relate the NOS aspects discussed
at the outset of the intervention to other course science-content and pedagogy topics. For example, to contextualize earlier discussions of scientific theories, the instructor asked participants
to examine and comment on the Benchmarks definition of evolution as a scientific theory
(AAAS, 1993, p. 122). The ensuing discussion focused on the explanatory function of evolutionary theory and its role in generating and guiding several fruitful biological research programs. In the context of discussing assessment and evaluation practices and techniques, participants were asked whether and how NOS was related to the assessment of elementary students’
science content knowledge. The ensuing discussion in the graduate section of the course highlighted the distinction between observation and inference as evident in the following excerpt: