Achieving Scientific Literacy Research Articles

Inquiry-based Science Teaching through Constructionism: a path towards scientific literacy

Inspired by the concept of bricolage brought by Seymour Papert to education, this work articulated a theoretical and methodological set composed by Constructionism, Inquiry-based Science Teaching and Augmented Reality, aiming to achieve Scientific Literacy indicators. This articulation was concretized in a biology didactic planning, experienced in the second year of high school in a public school. The search for scientific literacy indicators was carried out by means of Textual Discourse Analysis. The results show that the theoretical-methodological set led the students to construct several indicators proposed in the literature of the area. We conclude that constructionist approaches via inquiry teaching are a viable path to scientific literacy and suggest that bricolage should be a strategy encouraged in basic education teacher training or improvement courses.

Why Engaging in the Practices of Science Is Not Enough to Achieve Scientific Literacy

The National Research Council's Framework for K–12 Science Education and the resulting Next Generation Science Standards call for engaging students in the practices of science to develop scientific literacy. While these documents make the connections between scientific knowledge and practices explicit, very little attention is given to the shared values and commitments of the scientific community that underlie these practices and give them meaning. I argue that effective science education should engage students in the practices of science while also reflecting on the values, commitments, and habits of mind that have led to the practices of modern science and that give them meaning. The concept of methodological naturalism demonstrates the connection between the values and commitments of the culture of science and its practices and provides a useful lens for understanding the benefits and limitations of scientific knowledge.

Stacking up against alternative conceptions: using Uno cards to introduce discourse and argumentation

We engaged secondary science students in a teacher and student constructed Uno card game (UCG) to change their conceptual understanding of the various energy transformations. The paper outlines how we incorporated Toulmin’s argumentation pattern (Toulmin The Uses of Argument (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)) in the UCG, using discourse (Erduran et al Sci. Educ. 88 915–33) and through a 5E learning cycle (Bybee Achieving Scientific Literacy: From Purposes to Practices (Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann Educational Books)). The activity helped students develop a deeper understanding of the energy transformation among and between different sources. Students experienced a conceptual gain in their ways of thinking, in contrast to traditional teaching and learning practices. The collaboration and interaction between teacher–student(s) and between students fostered an environment where they became co-constructors of knowledge.

Achieving Scientific Literacy Through a Curriculum Connected with Mathematics and Technology

Achieving Scientific Literacy Through a Curriculum Connected with Mathematics and Technology