Socioscientific Issues and COVID-19: Responding to Curriculum Reform through Action Research

Abstract

This collaborative action research project documents the exploration and student learning outcomes of COVID-19 socioscientific issue-based lessons. Analysis of student interviews, surveys, and work, combined with classroom observations, revealed that COVID-19 socioscientific issue-based lessons improved students’ conceptual understanding of the science behind pandemic control measures, increased their feelings of personal responsibility in responding to COVID-19, and broadened their perspectives on the impacts of COVID-19 on diverse populations. The framework used to design the lesson series—Three Visions of Scientific Literacy—facilitated the authors' response to curriculum reform. Future use of the framework and implications for socioscientific issue-based teaching are discussed.