Multiple Views of the Nature of Science and Socio-Scientific Issues (original) (raw)
Related papers
Tangled up in views: Beliefs in the nature of science and responses to socioscientific dilemmas
Science Education, 2002
The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between students' conceptions of the nature of science and their reactions to evidence that challenged their beliefs about socioscientific issues. This study involved 41 pairs of students representing “critical cases” of contrasting ethical viewpoints. These 82 students were identified from a larger sample of 248 students from 9th and 10th grade general science classes, 11th and 12th grade honors biology, honors science, and physics classes, and upper-level college preservice science education classes. Students responded to questions aimed at revealing their epistemological views of the nature of science and their belief convictions on a selected socioscientific issue. The smaller subset of students was selected based on varying degrees of belief convictions about the socioscientific issues and the selected students were then paired to discuss their reasoning related to the issue while being exposed to anomalous data and information from each other and in response to epistemological probes of an interviewer. Taxonomic categories of students' conceptions of the nature of science were derived from the researchers' analysis of student responses to interviews and questionnaires. In some instances, students' conceptions of the nature of science were reflected in their reasoning on a moral and ethical issue. This study stimulated students to reflect on their own beliefs and defend their opinions. The findings suggest that the reactions of students to anomalous socioscientific data are varied and complex, with notable differences in the reasoning processes of high school students compared to college students. A deeper understanding of how students reason about the moral and ethical context of controversial socioscientific issues will allow science educators to incorporate teaching strategies aimed at developing students' reasoning skills in these crucial areas. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed86:343–367, 2002; Published online in Wiley Interscience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/sce.10025
International Journal of Science Education, 2017
The purpose of this study was to examine students understandings about nature of science (NOS) and their arguments in context of controversial socio-scientific issue (SSI). A total of 74 11th graders in six schools in Saudi Arabia participated in the study. The instrument used was a questionnaire consisting of four scenarios addressing SSI about global warming, genetically modified food, acid rain, and human cloning. The scenarios were followed by questions relating to argumentation and NOS. Quantitative and qualitative measures were employed to analyze the data related to participants understandings of three NOS aspects (subjective, tentative, and empirical) and their arguments components (argument, counterargument, and rebuttal). Results showed no significant correlations between argument components and the NOS aspects. On the other hand, qualitative data showed that participants who generated well-developed arguments across the four SSI also exhibited more informed understandings of the NOS aspects, especially for female participants. Further, the chi-square analyses did not show significant differences in participants arguments and NOS understandings across the four scenarios. Again, the qualitative data from questionnaires showed differences in participants responses to the different scenarios. The results were interpreted along contextual factors, emotional factors, and cultural factors. Implications for the teaching of NOS and arguments were discussed.
Student conceptualizations of the nature of science in response to a socioscientific issue
International Journal of Science Education, 2004
This study investigates student conceptualizations of the nature of science (NOS) and how students interpret and evaluate conflicting evidence regarding a socioscientific issue. Eighty-four high school students participated in the study by reading contradictory reports about the status of global warming and responding to questions designed to elicit ideas pertinent to the research goals. A subsample of 30 students was interviewed in order to triangulate data from the written responses. Data were analyzed using a qualitative methodological approach. The participants displayed a range of views on three distinct aspects of NOS: empiricism, tentativeness, and social embeddedness. Findings indicate that interpretation and evaluation of conflicting evidence in a socioscientific context is influenced by a variety of factors related to NOS such as data interpretation and social interactions including individuals' own articulation of personal beliefs and scientific knowledge. Implications for science teaching and learning are discussed.
Beliefs in the Nature of Science and Responses to Socioscientific Issues
This study investigates student conceptualizations of the nature of science (NOS) and how students interpret and evaluate conflicting evidence regarding a socioscientific issue. Eighty-four high school students participated in the study by reading contradictory reports about the status of global warming and responding to questions designed to elicit ideas pertinent to the research goals. A subsample of 30 students was interviewed in order to triangulate data from the written responses. Data were analyzed using a qualitative methodological approach. The participants displayed a range of views on three distinct aspects of NOS: empiricism, tentativeness, and social embeddedness. Findings indicate that interpretation and evaluation of conflicting evidence in a socioscientific context is influenced by a variety of factors related to NOS such as data interpretation and social interactions including individuals' own articulation of personal beliefs and scientific knowledge. Implications for science teaching and learning are discussed.
2003
This study was designed to determine how students' engagement in a learning and debate activity on a current scientific controversy influences their understanding of the nature of science and, in turn, informs their decision-making on the issue. Two high school science classrooms, totaling 38 students from 9th through 12th grade, participated in the Internet-based unit on the topic of genetically modified foods. The unit, including introductory discussions on the nature of science, a video on the controversy of genetically modified foods, a series of online activities that presented multiple perspectives of the controversy, and follow-up interviews, took place over seven consecutive 1.5 hour period blocks. The study utilized qualitative procedures to analyze students' views on the nature of science as expressed through their answers to online and interview questions and a final classroom debate. Each student conversational turn in the debate was analyzed for references to supporting evidence and instances of moral and fallacious reasoning. While students did not make explicit reference to conceptual understandings of the nature of science in the classroom debate, the issue-based activity was successful as a pedagogical approach to facilitate and reveal students' conceptions of science. The students' answers to online questions reflected conceptions of the tentative, creative, subjective, and social aspects of science. Their high level of engagement throughout the unit supported the students' positive affective verbal response to the Internet-based, scaffolded learning environment and subject matter content. Findings from the analysis of students' mastery of the subject matter of genetic engineering and their reference to subject matter knowledge and evidence in the classroom debate suggest that NOS centered discussions should coincide with in-depth learning activities on the subject matter content of the controversy. Taxonomic categories and samples of thought are presented and discussed, and implications for science education are addressed. Research Question 1: What features of a web-based learning environment are effective for engaging students in learning and debate activities on the nature of science and current socioscientific controversies? There were three sub-questions guiding this portion of the data analysis, focusing on instructional design attributes, subject matter content, and the pedagogical structure of the debate activity. They are as follows: Research Question 1A: Were the instructional design attributes (e.g. scaffolding tools, navigation, and user interface) effective in scaffolding students through the learning treatment? Research Question IB: How did students' understanding of the subject matter of genetically modified foods develop or change through the course of the learning treatment? Research Question 1C: How did students utilize evidence claims or GMF subject matter knowledge (SMK) in formulating and presenting their arguments for the classroom debate? Research Question 2: How does students' engagement in a web-based learning environment on a current socioscientific controversy elicit, reveal, and develop their conceptual understanding of the nature of science? Research Question 3: What is the nature of the relationships that exist, if any, between students' understanding of the nature of science and their reasoning used to make decisions on a current socioscientific controversy? Research Design This exploratory case study, in its entirety, occurred in six phases as subsequently described.
Investigating the Crossroads of Socioscientific Issues, the Nature of Science, and Critical Thinking
2002
This study investigates student conceptualizations of the nature of science (NOS) and how students interpret and evaluate conflicting evidence regarding a socioscientific issue. Eighty-four high school students participated in the study by reading contradictory reports about the status of global warming and responding to questions designed to elicit ideas pertinent to the research goals. A subsample of 30 students was interviewed in order to triangulate data from the written responses. Data were analyzed using a qualitative methodological approach. The participants displayed a range of views on three distinct aspects of NOS: empiricism, tentativeness, and social embeddedness. Findings indicate that interpretation and evaluation of conflicting evidence in a socioscientific context is influenced by a variety of factors related to NOS such as data interpretation and social interactions including individuals' own articulation of personal beliefs and scientific knowledge. Implications for science teaching and learning are discussed.
Science students' critical examination of scientific information related to socioscientific issues
Science …, 2006
It is widely accepted that to be scientifically literate one needs to have the ability to make thoughtful decisions about socioscientific issues (SSI). This includes critical assessment of scientific claims and arguments involved. In this study we asked eighty-nine science education students with substantial academic qualifications in science, working in groups of two and three, to assess the reliability of scientific claims in an article of their own choice, but related to a socio-scientific issue, and to present their evaluation in a short text. In analyzing the students' texts, we focused on the criteria they had explicitly and implicitly used in their evaluations. Through a qualitative analysis, we identified thirteen different criteria focusing on empirical and theoretical adequacy, completeness of presented information, social aspects, and manipulative strategies. An inspection of the students' evaluations revealed that they drew upon knowledge of possible institutional interests, different signs of competence and an appreciation of concurrent expert views, but also methodological norms in science, specialized content knowledge and an appreciation of evidence and disclosure of sources. The number of criteria used and the quality of their application varied, indicating that critical examination of texts with a science dimension need to be emphasized in science teacher education.