The Socio-scientific Issue “child consumerism” and the collective construction of norms, values, and attitudes in early elementary science classes

Argumentation ability is one of the main objectives of science learning because students must know the scientific explanation of natural phenomena, use it to solve problems and be able to understand other findings that students get. SSI learning (Socio-scientific Issues) is expected to develop the ability to learn scientifically, because in SSI (Socio-scientific Issues) learning is carried out on scientific concepts that have an impact on people's lives. The purpose of this study (1) to describe the application of Socio Scientific Issues learning strategy in the experimental class (2) to analyze the differences in the improvement of students 'scientific argumentation skills between the control class and experimental class on Socio Scientific Issues learning strategies, (3) describe students' responses to Socio Scientific's learning strategies Issues on the concept of the respiratory system. This research was conducted at Suranenggala Public High School 1 in the even semester with a pretest-posttest control group design research design design. The sample in this study were students of class XI-MIPA 1 (experimental class) totaling 35 people and class XI-MIPA 4 (Control class) totaling 35 people. Data collection techniques: observation, student worksheets, tests (pretest and posttest), and questionnaires. The results of the study show that (1) the implementation of the Socio Scientific Issues strategy as a whole can be carried out very well, (2) There is a difference in the ability of scientific argumentation between students using Socio Scientific Issues learning strategies and students who do not use Socio Scientific Issues learning strategies in learning biology. (3) Students' responses to the application of Socio Scientific Issues learning strategies show an agreed response from students and can produce positive responses from students.

Socio-Scientific Argumentation as a Driver for Science Learning

This study explored the accumulated personal practical knowledge of six experienced science teachers in teaching SSI. The guiding research questions were: 1) how did they develop their understanding of SSI and their goals for teaching SSI over many years, and 2) what are the practical issues that the teachers have experienced while addressing SSI in science classrooms. The data source included individual interviews with six science teachers. Each interview lasted 50-70 minutes long and was audio-taped. Data was analyzed based on the methods suggested by Miles and Huberman (1994). Results indicated that, although their motivations for teaching SSI were personal and different, two major categories emerged. One group of teachers was mainly motivated by SSI itself, and the other group was motivated by the teaching aspects that SSI brings. The SSI-oriented group was very sensitive to SSI as it occurs in contemporary society. The teaching-oriented group paid more attention to the educational benefits that addressing SSI could bring to students. Their motivations for teaching SSI influenced how they set up their purposes for teaching, and their purposes for teaching guided them to use appropriate teaching strategies to make their SSI teaching more effective. All of their practical concerns were also connected to their basic motivations for teaching SSI.

In this paper, we present a model that relates epistemic practices and socio-scientific issues (SSI) in science education. In order to develop it, we establish interweavings between norms, practices, epistemic objectives, epistemic cognition, informal reasoning, epistemic practices and justified positioning. We suggest that epistemic cognition is the link between reasoning and epistemic practices. We present three epistemic goals that should guide work with epistemic practices when solving a SSI: recognising and using multiple lines of reasoning when solving the SSI, construction and evaluation of holistic arguments aiming to understand the multiple dimensions of the SSI and the development of sceptical investigations to resolve the SSI. The stated objectives contribute to the critical assessment and resolution of the SSI. We believe that for the construction of social norms in teaching environments with SSI, it should be considered that these questions do not require a “single” answer and, therefore, a space for reflection, awareness and justification of the different perspectives on the question must be allowed. The relationships established in this article contribute to research that aims to develop and analyse epistemic practices “in situ” in teaching contexts with SSI. In addition, they have the potential to provide support to teachers who wish to favour the occurrence of epistemic practices in a SSI approach.

ABSTRACTThe teaching of socioscientific issues (SSI) holds promise for advancing functional scientific literacy, promoting critical thinking, and providing an interesting context for learning required science content, but few teachers actually employ this teaching method in K–12 classrooms. One common reason cited by teachers is their concern about the controversial aspects of teaching these topics. This study attempts to better understand these tensions by exploring preservice secondary science teachers’ ideas, concerns, and approaches for teaching SSI as they move through a semester-long science methods class that specifically addresses teaching about controversial and SSI. Classroom artifact data and individual interviews were used to explore the science concepts deemed most controversial by preservice secondary science teachers and their preferred approaches for teaching these topics. The findings revealed several topics that are deemed controversial, including evolution, climate change, nuclear energy, and reproduction. Preservice teachers also eagerly adopted the methods course’s discussion strategies for teaching about controversial issues. However, preservice teachers did not distinguish between the appropriateness for using different discussion-based, multiple-perspectives approaches for different types of issues. Specifically, preservice teachers often conflated SSI (societal issues that have both scientific and ethical elements) together with societally denied science for which the teaching is controversial (evolution, anthropogenic causes of climate change). Implications of these findings for methods courses and future research are discussed.

Socioscientific issues are controversial issues about social problems that have relevance to science. This study aims to determine whether socio-scientific issues in biotechnology lessons Class XII Biology Textbooks used at MAN 2 Medan have met the socio-scientific quality criteria for science learning. There are five quality criteria for socio-scientific issues are authentic, relevant, evaluation, open discussion, and related to science and technology. This research is a type of descriptive research that uses a qualitative approach. Data collection techniques in this study are observation methods and providing socio-scientific issue analysis sheets. The results of this study show that there are three socio-scientific issues in biotechnology lessons in biology textbooks. The three socio-scientific issues are about cell transplantation from pigs to humans, the problem of human clones, and the problem of transgenic plants. Based on the results of data analysis of the three socio-scientific issues, it shows that the quality of Socio Scientific Issues (SSI) for science learning is obtained at a percentage of 80% or good category, so that these socio-scientific issues are feasible to be applied in biology learning. Kata kunci: Analisis, Buku Teks Biologi, Kualitas Isu Sosio-Saintifik

The study aimed to develop some insights into whether science teachers are aware of films that contain socioscientific issues, the influence of the films they watch on their perception on these issues and whether they would like to use these films as teaching materials in the classroom. Therefore, in the study, the perception of science teachers on some socioscientific issues (nuclear power plants, global warming, genetically modified organisms, genetic cloning, tissue and organ donation) and the films they watched on these socioscientific issues were investigated. In this qualitative study, the case study design was used. A total of 18 science teachers participated in the study. The research data were collected through written documents, semi-structured interviews on the use of films in education and focus group interviews in order to reveal the teachers’ perception on socioscientific issues. According to the written findings obtained, some of the participating teachers’ perception on socioscientific issues changed after watching the films on these issues. According to the interview findings, 14 of the teachers mentioned that films related to socioscientific issues could change students’ perception, while 4 stated that they would not change students’ perception. Half of the participating teachers stated that they had not watched any films on socioscientific issues before the study and were unaware of the existence of such films. According to the teachers, the common characteristics of the films on socioscientific issues are being about issues that concern society, having individuals or companies’ interests at the forefront, containing dilemmas, prompting questioning and thinking and showing different perception.

본 연구는 다양한 과학기술관련 사회쟁점(SSI)에 대한 논의과정에서 기술의 본성(NOT)이 어떻게 나타나는지를 분석하여 SSI 교육 및 과학교육에서 NOT의 연계성 및 역할을 제안하는 것을 목적으로 한다. 원자력 발전소 건설 및 사고, 유전자재조합식품, 우주 개발과 같은 다양한 SSI 사례를 살펴보면 개념적으로 과학과 함께 기술이 연계되어 있다는 것을 알 수 있다. 또한, 연구자는 선행연구에서 초기 형태의 NOT를 구성하여 유전자재조합식품에 관련된 SSI 의사결정에서 NOS보다는 일부 NOT 요소가 명시적으로 나타난다는 결과를 확인한 바 있다. 이를 기반으로 하여 본 연구에서는 과학기술과 연관된 다양한 SSI 맥락을 도입하였고, 연구자가 개발한 통합적 NOT 개념틀을 채택하여 체계적인 분석을 시도 하였다. 해당 NOT에서는 기술의 다양한 존재 양식을 보여주는 인공물(artifacts), 지식(knowledge), 실행(practice) 그리고 시스템(system)이라는 4 가지 차원을 도입하였는데, 이러한 통합적인 접근을 반영한 NOT는 학생들의 다양한 SSI추론을 포착하고 분석하기에 적절하였다. 서울 소재 대학교의 교양수업 커리큘럼으로 모둠별로 SSI를 선정하여 수업에서 전체 토의 및 토론을 이끄는 과제를 제시하였는데, 대학생 45명이 참여하여 총 7 가지 SSI 주제를 구성하여 발표 하였다. 그 과정에서 다양한 SSI 추론 자료를 수집하였고, 학생들이 어떤 NOT 인식하고 어떻게 이해하고 있는지를 분석하였다. 결과적으로 다양한 SSI 추론에서 일부 NOT 요소가 자연스럽고 명시적으로 나타났다. 특히, 인공물 및 시스템 차원에 해당하는 NOT 요소는 SSI의 맥락에 상관없이 자주 나타났고, 지식 및 실행차원의 NOT 요소는 자주 등장하지 않거나 간접적으로 드러났다. 더욱이 학생들의 NOT 이해의 깊이와 수준에서 질적 차이를 확인할 수 있었는데 이 결과는 과학교육 현장에서 학생들에게 요구하는 NOT 이해가 무엇인지를 구체적으로 제안할 수 있는 기회를 제공하였다. Socioscientific issues (SSI), by their nature, are conceptually embedded in technology. Previous research reported that nature of technology (NOT), unlike nature of science, was quite explicitly manifested in SSI decision-making, and NOT could be a promising construct for promoting SSI reasoning. In this study, authors introduced an integrated conceptual framework for NOT, which consisted of four dimensions (i.e., artifacts, knowledge, practice and system) as diverse modes of technology. We adapted the framework to investigate students' conceptualizations of NOT in the context of various SSIs. Data was collected from 45 college students enrolled in a liberal arts course on science and technology. The students participated in a team project, where they prepared and led discussions for SSI topics in class. Seven topics concerning SSIs were selected by students themselves. The preparation and class discussion of each student group were audio-recorded, and final reports were also analyzed. As a result, NOT sub-components in the dimensions of artifacts and system were explicitly represented in most contexts of SSI with various ranges of understanding. Other sub-components under the dimensions of knowledge and practice were rarely or implicitly shown in the discussion. The depth of students' understanding on NOT varied. Implications for science education were discussed.

Incorporating socio-scientific issues (SSI) into science education is essential in promoting civic engagement and fostering scientific literacy. However, it has not yet been fully introduced in Japan. This study proposes a science, technology, engineering, arts or liberal arts, and mathematics (STEAM) approach to address barriers to SSI implementation including science teachers’ lack of confidence in teaching the ethical aspects of SSI. The study explored the impact of co-teaching SSI with a social studies teacher on student engagement, knowledge acquisition, and focus points on SSI. The study was conducted in two groups: a co-teaching group with a social studies teacher and a control group with a science teacher only. Pre- and post-written surveys were used to conduct data analysis. The results revealed that the students were deeply engaged in ethical issues, highlighting the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in addressing SSI. Although there were no significant differences between the two groups regarding basic knowledge and understanding of genetics or socio-scientific reasoning skills, students in the co-teaching group demonstrated a high level of awareness of the broad ethical principles associated with SSI after class. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of the co-teaching approach in STEAM education for promoting a comprehensive understanding of SSI and ethical engagement and has implications for SSI instruction in Japan and many other countries. Such interdisciplinary teaching training opportunities would help science teachers improve their SSI teaching skills and reduce barriers to incorporating SSI into their classrooms. Further research is required to explore this approach’s long-term effectiveness and scalability.

The surveys for public awareness in relation to socio-scientific issues (SSI) have been limited to several topics such as public perception of risks about the issues and preference for some policies. To illuminate the public science culture literacy about SSI from a holistic perspective, this study aimed to develop an indicator system. For this purpose, the issue on climate change, which is currently one of the biggest issues worldwide, was adopted as a specific SSI and the framework centering on climate change was developed. Science culture literacy about SSI was defined as a lifestyle to identify SSI from various viewpoints and to cope with problems related to SSI appropriately. In the framework proposed, individual science culture indicators are divided into Potential and Activity area. The Potential consists of categories of Interest, Opinion and Understanding, whereas the Activity is composed of categories of Learning and Practice. To examine the reliability and validity of this framework statistically, the developed questionnaire was reviewed by science educators, environment experts and atmospheric scientists and was used to asked 777 secondary students. Based on the results of statistical analyses, the framework was modified and it consequently had 2 areas, 5 categories, 15 sub-categories, 34 indicators and 63 items. It is expected that the framework of science culture indicators for SSI could be used as a measurement tool for public awareness about various SSI topics.

"Debates have been going on regarding what the goals of science education are and how those goals could be achieved. Developing scientific literacy in learners has gained traction over the years among other goals. It has been documented that by engaging learners in socioscientific issues (SSIs) in the science classrooms learners acquire complex competencies and skills necessary for scientific literacy. Learners also get motivated to learn science and take up careers in science. The current paper reports findings from a qualitative case study which sought to determine pre-service teachers’ conceptions of the integration of SSIs in Life Sciences teaching and learning. A total of 50 third year pre-service teachers enrolled for a Life Sciences methodology course at a South African University, were selected to participate. After covering a theme on SSIs in Life Sciences teaching and learning, the participants were asked to document their conceptions of SSIs and how argumentation could be used to teach SSIs in specific Life Sciences topics. Their submissions were subjected to content analysis. Two themes emerged: 1. Teachers’ conceptions of the integration of specific SSIs when teaching controversial concepts in Life Sciences; and 2. Teachers’ conceptions of argumentation as a suitable strategy in addressing SSIs in some Life Sciences topics. In addition to the previously found benefits of integrating SSIs such as developing learners’ critical thinking skills, ability to make negotiations, and developing learners to make informed decisions, the pre-service teachers brought in a new angle. They showed how failure to teach SSIs could impact on the livelihood of humans as related to SSIs associated with the current COVID-19 pandemic and other diseases humans are grappling with such as cancer. Some brought in the role of SSIs in teaching the nature of science, an area neglected in many Life Sciences classrooms. Other participants mentioned how argumentation as a teaching strategy equips learners with life skills such as abilities to raise their opinions and stance in a world where most young people are failing to take criticism or challenges positively thereby resorting to suicide as an easy way out of challenging situations. The pre-service teachers’ conceptions were based on real life experiences considering that they were also still young. There were some who did not conceptualise integrating SSIs in the positive manner as they argued that addressing such issues in the classroom would be intrusive. These findings have implications for both pre-and in-service teacher professional development."

As consensus towards teaching science for citizenship grows, so grows the need to prepare science teachers to pursue this goal. Implementation of socioscientific issues (SSI) is one of the most prominent theoretical and practical frameworks developed to support scientific literacy and preparing students as informed citizens. However, implementation of SSI holds great challenges for science teachers. Longitudinal professional development (PD) programs were designed to overcome these barriers, yet at the same time many educational systems lack the resources, both in terms of budget and time to meet such intense programs. In this paper, we introduce a design of a short-term PD course that was conducted in Israel. The PD was specifically tailored for secondary school science teachers, with the goal to support them in implementing SSI. Employing an educational design research framework, we tested our PD design over a span of three consecutive years. Through an iterative design process, we were able to make modifications to the program based on data collected and analyzed from the previous year. The structure of the PD is based on four SSI aspects: (a) introduction to SSI, (b) argumentation in SSI context, (c) SSI operationalization, and (d) science communication. In this paper, we provide detailed explanations for each of these aspects, justify the changes made to the PD design, and highlight both promising and less effective strategies for engaging teachers in SSI. Ultimately, we propose a comprehensive SSI PD model that can effectively prepare teachers to take their initial steps in implementing SSI, while remaining adaptable to diverse educational systems.

The purpose of this study was to know the relationship between socio-scientific issues with nature of science students in ecosystem material of the XI Math and science class in one of the High Schools. This research was conducted from September- October 2020. The type of research was correlational with sample of 36 students taken using a purposive sampling technique as evidenced by the average value of daily tests. The technique on data collection was a non-test instrument socio-scientific issue questionnaire and essay test the nature of science. The research instruments used included a socio-scientific issue questionnaire which states 13 statements regarding controversial issues regarding ecosystems and the views nature of science form B (VNOS-B) description test to measure the nature of science dictated by Lederman et al. (1998) and have settled 14 questions. Data were analyzed using Pearson bivariate. The results of this study obtained a significance of 0.00 < (0.05) which indicates the relationship between socio-scientific issues with the nature of science and 0.729 as the display value. This analysis concludes that there is a positive relationship between socio-scientific issues with the nature of science at a high level. Teachers are expected to be able to improve skills in indicators of socio-scientific issues, one of which is by training sensitivity and awareness of environmental problems that students encounter on a daily basis.

Secondary science teachers participated in a socio-scientific issues (SSI) professional development (PD) during which they co-designed SSI curriculum units. In this qualitative multiple case study, we followed a sub-set of eight teachers who enacted their SSI units in their classrooms and agreed to participate in the study. Clarke and Hollingsworth’s Interconnected Model of Professional Growth served as a theoretical framework. Primary data sources include one interview at the end of the PD, and a post-enactment interview. Field notes of the PD and the SSI curriculum units were secondary data sources. Data analysis resulted in the identification of three teacher profiles: Embracers, Dismissers, and Explorers. In teaching their SSI units, the Embracers foregrounded the SSI, maintained a focus on their SSI throughout the unit, made modifications to increase relevancy during the unit, and included an SSI culminating activity. The Dismissers equated the SSI approach to using a current topic to introduce a unit and gave little or no attention to the social dimensions. The Explorers used the SSI to introduce their units, valued and included limited social dimensions of the issue, but did not enact a SSI culminating activity. For each of the profiles, we elaborate their teaching beliefs, learning in the PD, and perceived salient outcomes of their SSI curriculum enactment. PD implications include explicit attention to teacher beliefs, working with groups of teachers from the same school, and the need to develop an array of instructional and assessment tools to support SSI teaching.

Background: Despite a growing body of research and curriculum reforms including socioscientific issues (SSI) across the world, how preservice science teachers (PST) or in-service science teachers can teach SSI in science classrooms needs further inquiry.Purpose: The purpose of this study is to describe the abilities of PSTs to teach SSI in middle school science classrooms, and the research question that guided the present study is: How can we characterize Turkish PSTs’ SSI-based teaching practices in middle school science classrooms (ages 11–14)?Sample: In order to address the research question of this study, we explored 10 Turkish PSTs’ SSI-based teaching practices in middle school science classrooms. A purposeful sampling strategy was used, thus, PSTs were specifically chosen because they were ideal candidates to teach SSI and to integrate SSI into the science curricula since they were seniors in the science education program who had to take the field experience courses.Design and method: The participants’ SSI teaching practices were characterized in light of qualitative research approach. SSI-based teaching practices were analyzed, and the transcripts of all videotape recordings were coded by two researchers.Results: The current data analysis describes Turkish PSTs’ SSI-based teaching practices under five main categories: media, argumentation, SSI selection and presentation, risk analysis, and moral perspective. Most of PSTs did not use media resources in their lesson and none of them considered moral perspective in their teaching. While the risk analyses were very simple and superficial, the arguments developed in the classrooms generally remained at a simple level. PSTs did not think SSI as a central topic and discussed these issues in a very limited time and at the end of the class period.Conclusions: The findings of this study manifest the need of the reforms in science education programs. The present study provides evidence that moral, media, argumentation, risk analysis, and pedagogical aspects of SSI-based instruction should be incorporated into educational courses designed for the Turkish teacher education programs such as the science teaching methods course. When we find ways to improve PSTs or science teachers’ SSI teaching practices in terms of these components, we can provide useful information for curriculum developers, policy-makers, and science educators in Turkey and other countries, that are facing similar problems. We believe that this study would initiate more investigative and exploratory studies toward this goal.