Ben Herman | University of Missouri Columbia (original) (raw)

Papers by Ben Herman

Engaging environmental socioscientific issues (SSI) requires navigating diverse positions regardi... more Engaging environmental socioscientific issues (SSI) requires navigating diverse positions regarding people and nature. This qualitative investigation determined how 24 undergraduates experiencing place-based SSI instruction in the Greater Yellowstone Area (includes a national park and its surrounding areas in the western USA) expressed emotive reasoning about people and nature impacted by those SSI. The students' emotive reasoning ranged from apathy, passive care, and moderated concern to empathetic dissonance—an intense concern for peoples' and nature's well-being and SSI resolution. Deeper analyses revealed that the students expressed moderated concern differently toward people and nature when engaging in environmental SSI through value judgments, claiming helplessness, and diffusing responsibility to others. The students also expressed four forms of empathetic dissonance toward people and nature impacted by SSI including deep compassion for those experiencing SSI hardships, guilt for not resolving SSI, anger toward those that are perceived to cause SSI, and righteous indignation when the moral principles of equity and justice were violated because of SSI impacts. The students' responses included significantly more instances of moderated concern and empathetic dissonance toward people and nature after the place-based SSI instruction. Pedagogical implications include how to instruct SSI in authentic place-based settings that encourage emotive reasoning necessary for environmental SSI engagement.

Journal of Research in Science Teaching

Preparing students to achieve the lofty goal of functional scientific literacy entails addressing... more Preparing students to achieve the lofty goal of functional scientific literacy entails addressing the normative and non-normative facets of socioscientific issues (SSI) such as scientific processes, the nature of science (NOS) and diverse sociocultural perspectives. SSI instructional approaches have demonstrated some efficacy for promoting students’ NOS views, compassion for others, and decision-making. However, extant investigations appear to neglect fully engaging students through authentic SSI in several ways. These include: (i) providing SSI instruction through classroom approaches that are divorced from students’ lived experiences; (ii) demonstrating a contextual misalignment between SSI and NOS (particularly evident in NOS assessments); and (iii) framing decision-making and position-taking analogously—with the latter being an unreliable indicator of how people truly act. The significance of the convergent parallel mixed-methods investigation reported here is how it responds to these shortcomings through exploring how place-based SSI instruction focused on the contentious environmental issue of wolf reintroduction in the Greater Yellowstone Area impacted sixty secondary students’ NOS views, compassion toward those impacted by contentious environmental issues, and pro-environmental intent. Moreover, this investigation explores how those perspectives associate with the students’ pro-environmental action of donating to a Yellowstone environmental organization. Results demonstrate that the students’ NOS views became significantly more accurate and contextualized, with moderate to large effect, through the place-based SSI instruction. Through that instruction, the students also exhibited significant gains in their compassion for nature and people impacted by contentious environmental issues and pro-environmental intent. Further analyses showed that donating students developed and demonstrated significantly more robust and contextualized NOS views, compassion for people and nature impacted by contentious environmental issues, and pro-environmental intent than their non-donating counterparts. Pedagogical implications include how place-based learning in authentic settings could better prepare students to understand NOS, become socioculturally aware, and engage SSI across a variety of contexts.

Abstract This study reports the participation of 13 secondary science teachers in informal suppor... more Abstract This study reports the participation of 13 secondary science teachers in informal support networks and how that participation was associated with their nature of science (NOS)teaching practices 2 to 5 years after having graduated from the same science teacher education program. The nine teachers who participated in informal support networks taught the NOS at high/medium levels, while the four non-participating teachers taught the NOS at low levels.The nine high/medium NOS implementation teachers credited the informal support networks for maintaining/heightening their sense of responsibility for teaching NOS and for helping them navigate institutional constraints that impede effective NOS instruction. Several high/medium NOS instruction implementers initially struggled to autonomously frame and resolve the complexities experienced in schools and thus drew from the support networks to engage in more sophisticated forms of teacher decision-making. In contrast, the NOS pedagogical decisions of the four teachers not participating in support networks were governed primarily by the expectations and constraints experienced in their schools. Implications of this study include the need for reconsidering the structure of teacher mentorship programs to ensure they do not promote archaic science teaching practices that are at odds with reform efforts in science education.

Given the abundance of literature describing the strong relationship between inquiry-based teachi... more Given the abundance of literature describing the strong relationship between inquiry-based teaching and student achievement, more should be known about the factors impacting science teachers’ classroom inquiry implementation. This study utilises the theory of planned behaviour to propose and validate a causal model of inquiry-based teaching through analysing data relating to high-performing countries retrieved from the 2011 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study assessments. Data analysis was completed through structural equation modelling using a polychoric correlation matrix for data input and diagonally weighted least squares estimation. Adequate fit of the full model to the empirical data was realised. The model demonstrates that the extent the teachers participated in academic collaborations was positively related to their occupational satisfaction, confidence in teaching inquiry, and classroom inquiry practices. Furthermore, the teachers’ confidence with implementing inquiry was positively related to their classroom inquiry implementation and occupational satisfaction. However, perceived student-generated constraints demonstrated a negative relationship with the teachers’ confidence with implementing inquiry and occupational satisfaction. Implications from this study include supporting teachers through promoting collaborative opportunities that facilitate inquiry-based practices and occupational satisfaction.

International Journal of Science Education, 2013

Journal of Research in Science Teaching, Mar 2013

The purpose of this investigation was to examine, from a cross-cultural perspective, students' ep... more The purpose of this investigation was to examine, from a cross-cultural perspective, students' epistemological patterns of reasoning about socioscientific issues (SSI), and to identify potential interactions of cultural and scientific identity. Mediating factors associated with students' argumentation and discourse about SSI, as well as the public's understanding of science, has been identified as an important area of investigation in the field of science education. This mixed-methods design included over 300 students from Jamaica, South Africa, Sweden, Taiwan, and the United States. Students responded to instruments designed to assess their epistemological conceptualizations and justifications related to distributive justice, allocation of scarce medical resources, and epistemological beliefs over five dimensions related to scientific knowledge. Four iterations of a coding scheme produced over 97% inter-rater agreement for four independent coders. Results indicate there is a consistent trend toward epistemological congruity across cultures within inductively derived themes of: (1) Fairness;

The Nature of Technology, 2013

Association for Science …, 2010

nd.edu

Abstract: Incorporating accurate and explicit nature of science instruction throughout the school... more Abstract: Incorporating accurate and explicit nature of science instruction throughout the school year is important for overcoming long engrained student misconceptions regarding what science is and how it works. One common misconception is the view that experiments are the sole ...

The assertion that general reform-based science teaching practices (GRBSTPs) can facilitate natur... more The assertion that general reform-based science teaching practices (GRBSTPs) can facilitate nature of science (NOS) instruction has been mentioned in the literature, but rigorous and transparent empirical substantiation for this claim has not been made. This investigation empirically demonstrates an association between thirteen experienced teachers' NOS implementation practices and their GRBSTPs. While effectively implementing GRBSTPs does not ensure the NOS will be taught, the findings show that these practices are associated with high levels of NOS instruction. In this study, teachers who implemented higher levels of reformbased practices were also observed to enact more instances of planned and spontaneous effective NOS instruction. Furthermore, these teachers were more likely to recognize and capitalize on NOS teaching opportunities when they unexpectedly arose in the context of their GRBSTPs. Just as NOS understanding must be assessed when determining factors associated with teachers' NOS implementation, teachers' GRBSTPs should also be empirically and transparently established to ensure they do not mask or confound other factors associated with NOS implementation.

We are facing a plethora of educational mandates, trends and policies in science teacher educati... more We are facing a plethora of educational mandates, trends and policies in science teacher education. Such issues are intricately connected, are arguably synergistic with one another though not necessarily in an educative desirable manner, and appear to be the result of STEM-related initiatives including national reform documents such as the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS Lead States, 2013). This editorial examines significant deleterious issues that have emerged unchecked, and seemingly embraced unwittingly, by the greater science education community, the public at-large, and even segments of the international science education community. Our claims are grounded in three main cases that are distinct, yet intertwined with one another. Collectively, they serve as a warning shot across the bow of those disregarding the sociocultural roots of education. Left unchecked, the issues we raise may at best deny a progressive understanding of schooling, or at worst, contribute to a kind of dominant subjective educational hegemony.

Misconceptions about climate change science are pervasive among the US public. This study investi... more Misconceptions about climate change science are pervasive among the US public. This study investigated the possibility that these misconceptions may be reflective of science teachers’ knowledge and teaching of climate change science. Florida and Puerto Rico secondary science teachers who claim to teach extensively about climate change were surveyed in regard to their conceptions of climate change science and the climate change related topics they teach. Results show that many teachers hold naïve views about climate change (e.g. that ozone layer depletion is a primary cause of climate change) and climate change science (e.g. that it must be based on controlled experiments for it to be valid). In addition, teachers in both groups neglect crucial topics such as how evidence for climate change is developed and the social, political, and economic dimensions of climate change. Our results suggest the need for teachers to understand how to teach climate change and the nature of climate change science using authentic contexts that promote effective socioscientific decision-making and climate change mitigation.

This study investigated what 13 secondary science teachers at various nature of science (NOS) ins... more This study investigated what 13 secondary science teachers at various nature of science (NOS) instruction implementation levels talked about when they reflected on their teaching. We then determined if differences exist in the quality of those reflections between high, medium, and low NOS implementers. This study sought to answer the following questions: (1) What do teachers talk about when asked general questions about their pedagogy and NOS pedagogy and (2) what qualitative differences, if any, exist within variables across teachers of varying NOS implementation levels? Evidence derived from these teachers’ reflections indicated that self-efficacy and perceptions of general importance for NOS instruction were poor indicators of NOS implementation. However, several factors were associated with the extent that these teachers implemented NOS instruction, including the utility value they hold for NOS teaching, considerations of how people learn, understanding of NOS pedagogy, and their ability to accurately and deeply self-reflect about teaching. Notably, those teachers who effectively implemented the NOS at higher levels value NOS instruction for reasons that transcend immediate instructional objectives. That is, they value teaching NOS for achieving compelling ends realized long after formal schooling (e.g., lifelong socioscientific decision-making for civic reasons), and they deeply reflect about how to teach NOS by drawing from research about how people learn. Low NOS implementers’ simplistic notions and reflections about teaching and learning appeared to be impeding factors to accurate and consistent NOS implementation. This study has implications for science teacher education
efforts that promote NOS instruction.

The study reported here investigated experienced teachers’ views on several nature of science (NO... more The study reported here investigated experienced teachers’ views on several nature of science (NOS) issues 2 to 5 years after they completed a demanding secondary science teacher education program in which the NOS was an extensive
and recurring component. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analyzed to determine study participants’ NOS understanding. Study participant’s NOS
views were determined to be generally accurate and robust, suggesting that experiences in their science teacher education program had a long-lasting positive impact on NOS understanding. The preservice program that study participants completed has several unique features that may account for that long-lasting impact and has implications for preservice and inservice science teacher education professional development.

The science education field readily recognizes that perceptions about science’s claims and nature... more The science education field readily recognizes that perceptions about science’s claims and nature influence socioscientific decision making. However, sociocultural factors may overshadow these perceptions when people are forced to make personally impacting choices contextualized within actual socioscientific issues. This investigation determined 324 secondary students’ perceptions about global warming (GW) science and willingness to mitigate GW across five categories of actions—each requiring varying levels of personal sacrifice (e.g., supporting GW education versus limiting personal reproduction). Identified sociocultural indicators among the students included ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic classification. Results indicate that GW science views and sociocultural factors became less impactful on the participants’ willingness to mitigate GW as the GW-mitigating actions required greater personal involvement and sacrifice. However,
most consistently significantly predicting willingness to mitigate GW was the participants’ perceptions about the validity of GW science claims. Furthermore, while the participants’ perceptions about the nature of GW science methods significantly influenced their willingness to enact certain GW-mitigating actions, socioeconomic classification and ethnicity were oftentimes stronger indicators of the participants’ inclination to mitigate GW. Implications
for education discussed include promoting responsible socioscientific decisionmaking through contextually teaching about how and why GW science is valid while also considering how sociocultural factors can impact socioscientific choices. 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed 1–38, 2014

Our guiding presupposition in this study was that socioscientific issues (SSI) instruction, given... more Our guiding presupposition in this study was that socioscientific issues (SSI) instruction, given the humanistic features that comprise this type of instruction, could play a role as a vehicle for cultivating character and values as global citizens. Our main objective was to observe how and to what extent SSI instruction might contribute to this. In order to achieve this aim, we implemented a SSI program on genetic modification technology for 132 ninth-grade students over 3–4 weeks and identified its educational effects using a mixed method approach. Data sources included student responses to questionnaire items that measure the students’ character and values, records of student discussions, and semi-structured interviews with the students and
their teachers. Results indicated that the students became more sensitive to moral and ethical aspects of scientific and technological development and compassionate to diverse people who are either alienated by the benefits of advanced technology or who are vulnerable to the dangers of its unintended effects. In addition, the students felt more responsible for the future resolution of the genetic SSI. However, the students struggled to demonstrate willingness and efficacy to participate within broader communities that entailed action toward SSI resolution.

Engaging environmental socioscientific issues (SSI) requires navigating diverse positions regardi... more Engaging environmental socioscientific issues (SSI) requires navigating diverse positions regarding people and nature. This qualitative investigation determined how 24 undergraduates experiencing place-based SSI instruction in the Greater Yellowstone Area (includes a national park and its surrounding areas in the western USA) expressed emotive reasoning about people and nature impacted by those SSI. The students' emotive reasoning ranged from apathy, passive care, and moderated concern to empathetic dissonance—an intense concern for peoples' and nature's well-being and SSI resolution. Deeper analyses revealed that the students expressed moderated concern differently toward people and nature when engaging in environmental SSI through value judgments, claiming helplessness, and diffusing responsibility to others. The students also expressed four forms of empathetic dissonance toward people and nature impacted by SSI including deep compassion for those experiencing SSI hardships, guilt for not resolving SSI, anger toward those that are perceived to cause SSI, and righteous indignation when the moral principles of equity and justice were violated because of SSI impacts. The students' responses included significantly more instances of moderated concern and empathetic dissonance toward people and nature after the place-based SSI instruction. Pedagogical implications include how to instruct SSI in authentic place-based settings that encourage emotive reasoning necessary for environmental SSI engagement.

Journal of Research in Science Teaching

Preparing students to achieve the lofty goal of functional scientific literacy entails addressing... more Preparing students to achieve the lofty goal of functional scientific literacy entails addressing the normative and non-normative facets of socioscientific issues (SSI) such as scientific processes, the nature of science (NOS) and diverse sociocultural perspectives. SSI instructional approaches have demonstrated some efficacy for promoting students’ NOS views, compassion for others, and decision-making. However, extant investigations appear to neglect fully engaging students through authentic SSI in several ways. These include: (i) providing SSI instruction through classroom approaches that are divorced from students’ lived experiences; (ii) demonstrating a contextual misalignment between SSI and NOS (particularly evident in NOS assessments); and (iii) framing decision-making and position-taking analogously—with the latter being an unreliable indicator of how people truly act. The significance of the convergent parallel mixed-methods investigation reported here is how it responds to these shortcomings through exploring how place-based SSI instruction focused on the contentious environmental issue of wolf reintroduction in the Greater Yellowstone Area impacted sixty secondary students’ NOS views, compassion toward those impacted by contentious environmental issues, and pro-environmental intent. Moreover, this investigation explores how those perspectives associate with the students’ pro-environmental action of donating to a Yellowstone environmental organization. Results demonstrate that the students’ NOS views became significantly more accurate and contextualized, with moderate to large effect, through the place-based SSI instruction. Through that instruction, the students also exhibited significant gains in their compassion for nature and people impacted by contentious environmental issues and pro-environmental intent. Further analyses showed that donating students developed and demonstrated significantly more robust and contextualized NOS views, compassion for people and nature impacted by contentious environmental issues, and pro-environmental intent than their non-donating counterparts. Pedagogical implications include how place-based learning in authentic settings could better prepare students to understand NOS, become socioculturally aware, and engage SSI across a variety of contexts.

Abstract This study reports the participation of 13 secondary science teachers in informal suppor... more Abstract This study reports the participation of 13 secondary science teachers in informal support networks and how that participation was associated with their nature of science (NOS)teaching practices 2 to 5 years after having graduated from the same science teacher education program. The nine teachers who participated in informal support networks taught the NOS at high/medium levels, while the four non-participating teachers taught the NOS at low levels.The nine high/medium NOS implementation teachers credited the informal support networks for maintaining/heightening their sense of responsibility for teaching NOS and for helping them navigate institutional constraints that impede effective NOS instruction. Several high/medium NOS instruction implementers initially struggled to autonomously frame and resolve the complexities experienced in schools and thus drew from the support networks to engage in more sophisticated forms of teacher decision-making. In contrast, the NOS pedagogical decisions of the four teachers not participating in support networks were governed primarily by the expectations and constraints experienced in their schools. Implications of this study include the need for reconsidering the structure of teacher mentorship programs to ensure they do not promote archaic science teaching practices that are at odds with reform efforts in science education.

Given the abundance of literature describing the strong relationship between inquiry-based teachi... more Given the abundance of literature describing the strong relationship between inquiry-based teaching and student achievement, more should be known about the factors impacting science teachers’ classroom inquiry implementation. This study utilises the theory of planned behaviour to propose and validate a causal model of inquiry-based teaching through analysing data relating to high-performing countries retrieved from the 2011 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study assessments. Data analysis was completed through structural equation modelling using a polychoric correlation matrix for data input and diagonally weighted least squares estimation. Adequate fit of the full model to the empirical data was realised. The model demonstrates that the extent the teachers participated in academic collaborations was positively related to their occupational satisfaction, confidence in teaching inquiry, and classroom inquiry practices. Furthermore, the teachers’ confidence with implementing inquiry was positively related to their classroom inquiry implementation and occupational satisfaction. However, perceived student-generated constraints demonstrated a negative relationship with the teachers’ confidence with implementing inquiry and occupational satisfaction. Implications from this study include supporting teachers through promoting collaborative opportunities that facilitate inquiry-based practices and occupational satisfaction.

International Journal of Science Education, 2013

Journal of Research in Science Teaching, Mar 2013

The purpose of this investigation was to examine, from a cross-cultural perspective, students' ep... more The purpose of this investigation was to examine, from a cross-cultural perspective, students' epistemological patterns of reasoning about socioscientific issues (SSI), and to identify potential interactions of cultural and scientific identity. Mediating factors associated with students' argumentation and discourse about SSI, as well as the public's understanding of science, has been identified as an important area of investigation in the field of science education. This mixed-methods design included over 300 students from Jamaica, South Africa, Sweden, Taiwan, and the United States. Students responded to instruments designed to assess their epistemological conceptualizations and justifications related to distributive justice, allocation of scarce medical resources, and epistemological beliefs over five dimensions related to scientific knowledge. Four iterations of a coding scheme produced over 97% inter-rater agreement for four independent coders. Results indicate there is a consistent trend toward epistemological congruity across cultures within inductively derived themes of: (1) Fairness;

The Nature of Technology, 2013

Association for Science …, 2010

nd.edu

Abstract: Incorporating accurate and explicit nature of science instruction throughout the school... more Abstract: Incorporating accurate and explicit nature of science instruction throughout the school year is important for overcoming long engrained student misconceptions regarding what science is and how it works. One common misconception is the view that experiments are the sole ...

The assertion that general reform-based science teaching practices (GRBSTPs) can facilitate natur... more The assertion that general reform-based science teaching practices (GRBSTPs) can facilitate nature of science (NOS) instruction has been mentioned in the literature, but rigorous and transparent empirical substantiation for this claim has not been made. This investigation empirically demonstrates an association between thirteen experienced teachers' NOS implementation practices and their GRBSTPs. While effectively implementing GRBSTPs does not ensure the NOS will be taught, the findings show that these practices are associated with high levels of NOS instruction. In this study, teachers who implemented higher levels of reformbased practices were also observed to enact more instances of planned and spontaneous effective NOS instruction. Furthermore, these teachers were more likely to recognize and capitalize on NOS teaching opportunities when they unexpectedly arose in the context of their GRBSTPs. Just as NOS understanding must be assessed when determining factors associated with teachers' NOS implementation, teachers' GRBSTPs should also be empirically and transparently established to ensure they do not mask or confound other factors associated with NOS implementation.

We are facing a plethora of educational mandates, trends and policies in science teacher educati... more We are facing a plethora of educational mandates, trends and policies in science teacher education. Such issues are intricately connected, are arguably synergistic with one another though not necessarily in an educative desirable manner, and appear to be the result of STEM-related initiatives including national reform documents such as the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS Lead States, 2013). This editorial examines significant deleterious issues that have emerged unchecked, and seemingly embraced unwittingly, by the greater science education community, the public at-large, and even segments of the international science education community. Our claims are grounded in three main cases that are distinct, yet intertwined with one another. Collectively, they serve as a warning shot across the bow of those disregarding the sociocultural roots of education. Left unchecked, the issues we raise may at best deny a progressive understanding of schooling, or at worst, contribute to a kind of dominant subjective educational hegemony.

Misconceptions about climate change science are pervasive among the US public. This study investi... more Misconceptions about climate change science are pervasive among the US public. This study investigated the possibility that these misconceptions may be reflective of science teachers’ knowledge and teaching of climate change science. Florida and Puerto Rico secondary science teachers who claim to teach extensively about climate change were surveyed in regard to their conceptions of climate change science and the climate change related topics they teach. Results show that many teachers hold naïve views about climate change (e.g. that ozone layer depletion is a primary cause of climate change) and climate change science (e.g. that it must be based on controlled experiments for it to be valid). In addition, teachers in both groups neglect crucial topics such as how evidence for climate change is developed and the social, political, and economic dimensions of climate change. Our results suggest the need for teachers to understand how to teach climate change and the nature of climate change science using authentic contexts that promote effective socioscientific decision-making and climate change mitigation.

This study investigated what 13 secondary science teachers at various nature of science (NOS) ins... more This study investigated what 13 secondary science teachers at various nature of science (NOS) instruction implementation levels talked about when they reflected on their teaching. We then determined if differences exist in the quality of those reflections between high, medium, and low NOS implementers. This study sought to answer the following questions: (1) What do teachers talk about when asked general questions about their pedagogy and NOS pedagogy and (2) what qualitative differences, if any, exist within variables across teachers of varying NOS implementation levels? Evidence derived from these teachers’ reflections indicated that self-efficacy and perceptions of general importance for NOS instruction were poor indicators of NOS implementation. However, several factors were associated with the extent that these teachers implemented NOS instruction, including the utility value they hold for NOS teaching, considerations of how people learn, understanding of NOS pedagogy, and their ability to accurately and deeply self-reflect about teaching. Notably, those teachers who effectively implemented the NOS at higher levels value NOS instruction for reasons that transcend immediate instructional objectives. That is, they value teaching NOS for achieving compelling ends realized long after formal schooling (e.g., lifelong socioscientific decision-making for civic reasons), and they deeply reflect about how to teach NOS by drawing from research about how people learn. Low NOS implementers’ simplistic notions and reflections about teaching and learning appeared to be impeding factors to accurate and consistent NOS implementation. This study has implications for science teacher education
efforts that promote NOS instruction.

The study reported here investigated experienced teachers’ views on several nature of science (NO... more The study reported here investigated experienced teachers’ views on several nature of science (NOS) issues 2 to 5 years after they completed a demanding secondary science teacher education program in which the NOS was an extensive
and recurring component. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analyzed to determine study participants’ NOS understanding. Study participant’s NOS
views were determined to be generally accurate and robust, suggesting that experiences in their science teacher education program had a long-lasting positive impact on NOS understanding. The preservice program that study participants completed has several unique features that may account for that long-lasting impact and has implications for preservice and inservice science teacher education professional development.

The science education field readily recognizes that perceptions about science’s claims and nature... more The science education field readily recognizes that perceptions about science’s claims and nature influence socioscientific decision making. However, sociocultural factors may overshadow these perceptions when people are forced to make personally impacting choices contextualized within actual socioscientific issues. This investigation determined 324 secondary students’ perceptions about global warming (GW) science and willingness to mitigate GW across five categories of actions—each requiring varying levels of personal sacrifice (e.g., supporting GW education versus limiting personal reproduction). Identified sociocultural indicators among the students included ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic classification. Results indicate that GW science views and sociocultural factors became less impactful on the participants’ willingness to mitigate GW as the GW-mitigating actions required greater personal involvement and sacrifice. However,
most consistently significantly predicting willingness to mitigate GW was the participants’ perceptions about the validity of GW science claims. Furthermore, while the participants’ perceptions about the nature of GW science methods significantly influenced their willingness to enact certain GW-mitigating actions, socioeconomic classification and ethnicity were oftentimes stronger indicators of the participants’ inclination to mitigate GW. Implications
for education discussed include promoting responsible socioscientific decisionmaking through contextually teaching about how and why GW science is valid while also considering how sociocultural factors can impact socioscientific choices. 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed 1–38, 2014

Our guiding presupposition in this study was that socioscientific issues (SSI) instruction, given... more Our guiding presupposition in this study was that socioscientific issues (SSI) instruction, given the humanistic features that comprise this type of instruction, could play a role as a vehicle for cultivating character and values as global citizens. Our main objective was to observe how and to what extent SSI instruction might contribute to this. In order to achieve this aim, we implemented a SSI program on genetic modification technology for 132 ninth-grade students over 3–4 weeks and identified its educational effects using a mixed method approach. Data sources included student responses to questionnaire items that measure the students’ character and values, records of student discussions, and semi-structured interviews with the students and
their teachers. Results indicated that the students became more sensitive to moral and ethical aspects of scientific and technological development and compassionate to diverse people who are either alienated by the benefits of advanced technology or who are vulnerable to the dangers of its unintended effects. In addition, the students felt more responsible for the future resolution of the genetic SSI. However, the students struggled to demonstrate willingness and efficacy to participate within broader communities that entailed action toward SSI resolution.