Socioscientific Issues: Making School Science Relevant

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Socioscientific Issues Making School Science
Relevant
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Case 8.1

• Should controversial environmental issues be a
  part of biology/science curriculum?
• Sandy attempted to adopt a neutral position. Is
  this the most appropriate approach? What are some
  other options?

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Case 8.3

• How should evolution and alternative ideas be
  handled in the classroom?
• Should the religious issues associated with
  discussions of evolutions affect the presentation
  of this idea?
• Is debate an appropriate strategy for evolution
  education? Spotted owls? Any science topic?

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Initiatives to make science more accessible to
learners

• STS Science/Technology/Society
• Highlight the mutual interactions of science,
  technology, and society.
• Aims to make science personally useful.
• SSI Socioscientific Issues
• An extension of STS.
• Focuses on controversial social issues with
  conceptual or procedural ties to science.
• Highlights the role of morality and ethics in the
  negotiation of issues.

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In current literature

• STS is a diffuse approach manifested in a variety
  of ways STS courses to text boxes.
• SSI decision-making is an integral component of
  scientific literacy
• being able to use scientific knowledge and ways
  of thinking for personal and social purposes
  (AAAS, 1990, pp. xvii-xviii).
• use appropriate scientific processes and
  principles in making personal decisions and
  engage intelligently in public discourse and
  debate about matters of scientific and
  technological concern (NRC, 1996, p. 13)
• SSI Examples Cloning, the use of nuclear fuel,
  Global warming, stem cell research,
  xenotransplantation

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SSI Strategies

• Encourage discussion of the ethical aspects of
  controversial issues
• Use this as an opportunity to contrast science as
  a way of knowing v. other ways of knowing.
• Many individuals respond to these issues with
  emotional and/or intuitive reactions. Allow for
  this kind of expression and encourage students to
  reflect on their ideas.

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• Discuss the uses and limitations of
  data/evidence.
• Differentiate between the influence of values for
  science concepts v. SSI
• For example Values contribute to decisions
  concerning the appropriateness of cloning. Values
  do not contribute to the determination of
  heliums reactivity.

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STS/SSI Approaches

• Add-ons
• Ex Finish a unit on genetics Discuss the use of
  DNA technologies for criminal investigations
• Ex Text boxes
• Vehicles for addressing science content
• Present a problem for students to explore cover
  content as needed.
• Ex Discuss Global Warming as means to explore
  the nature of gases.
• Ex Genetic engineering as a context for
  exploring genetics.
• Ex The use of nuclear power plants to
  investigate nuclear physics.

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Example 1 An SSI-driven Anatomy Curriculum
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Example 2 An SSI Unit

• Context Environmental Science
• Unit Objectives
• Understand scientific principles underlying
  global warming (GW)
• Understand and critique sources of controversy
  associated with GW
• Formulate/refine a personal position on GWtaking
  into account perspectives of science, technology,
  economics, politics, and ethics

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What did this look like? Daily Plans

• Day 1 Drawing connections between GW and the
  lives of individuals
• Day 2 Complexifying the issue Examine GW from
  diverse perspectives
• Day 3 Atmospheric Composition Particulate
  Nature of Gases
• Day 4 Modeling combustion reactions

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• Days 5-6 CO2 Labs
• Collect CO2 determine relative concentration
• Day 7 Modeling the greenhouse effect
• Day 8 Possible consequences of GW
• Day 9 Graph analysis Global data sets
• Days 10-11 Webquest Evaluating web-based
  materials
• Days 12-13 Developing defending a position
  What should the US do in response to GW?

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Example 3 An SSI Activity

• Topic Gene therapy
• Focus Understanding multiple perspectives on the
  issue.
• Strategy Jigsaw