Students’ communication, argumentation and knowledge in a citizens’ conference on global warming

An empirical study on 12th-grade students?? engagement on a global warming debate as a citizens?? conference is reported. Within the design-based research methodology, an interdisciplinary teaching sequence integrating an initiation to non-violent communication was developed. Students?? debates were analyzed according to three dimensions: communication, argumentation, and knowledge. Students regulated their oral contributions to the debate by identifying judgments in their discussions. Rhetorical processes developed by students were mainly related to the identity of debate protagonists with interest attributions, authority, and positions. Students?? arguments also relied on empirical data. The students?? knowledge focused on energy choices, economic, political, and science development issues. Implications for socioscientific issues integration in class are discussed.     

Students’ positions and considerations of scientific evidence about a controversial socioscientific issue

Efforts have been devoted to introduce in science curricula direct instruction for evaluating scientific reports on socioscientific issues. In this study, students’ opinions on the SSI of mobile telephones effects have been investigated before and after a classroom activity designed to enable students to assess scientific data. Aspects of the nature of science raised by students interpreting available contradictory research evidence and making personal decision on this SSI have also been documented. Results indicated the central role of considerations of scientific evidence in students’ decision making. Students tended to over-attribute significance to empirical processes in justifying viewpoints on the SSI of mobile phones and in suggesting how scientific disputes might be resolved.     

Citizenship Education and Socioscientific Issues: Implicit Concept of Citizenship in the Curriculum, Views of French Middle School Teachers

The educative goal of citizenship education through science education converges to the declared purpose of the SSI research movement. Socioscientific issues formulated in science education research covering topics as biotechnology, environmental issues, sustainable development, energy choices, have been introduced in French Middle Schools. But citizenship is often not clarified and can be multiple. After having clarified who is the citizen targeted by SSI research movement, the concept of citizen in the French curriculum needs to be clarify. What do these citizens have in common with the citizen that a sociology literature review let see oscillating between obedience and critical thinking has also been investigated. The paper also looks at the teachers’ views and their contribution to citizenship education through socioscientific topics described in the national curriculum. From the analysis, different teachers’ views of citizenship education have been highlighted: a normative citizenship education in connection with civility and rules and an emancipatory citizenship education to develop pupils’ skills such as searching and evaluating information, argumentation and critical thinking in order to enable pupils to build their own argued opinion and to participate to public debates. This last emancipatory view of citizenship education is congruent with the aim of social empowerment within the SSI research movement.     

Nanotechnology and Nanoscale Science: Educational challenges

Nanotechnology has been touted as the next ‘industrial revolution’ of our modern age. In order for successful research, development, and social discourses to take place in this field, education research is needed to inform the development of standards, course development, and workforce preparation. In addition, there is a growing need to educate citizens and students about risks, benefits, and social and ethical issues related to nanotechnology. This position paper describes the advancements that have been made in nanoscale science and nanotechnology, and the challenges that exist to educate students and the public about critical nanoscience concepts. This paper reviews the current research on nanotechnology education including curricula, educational programs, informal education, and teacher education. Furthermore, the unique risks, benefits and ethics of these unusual technological applications are described in relation to nanoeducation goals. Finally, we outline needed future research in the areas of nanoscience content, standards and curricula, nanoscience pedagogy, teacher education, and the risks, benefits, and social and ethical dimensions for education in this emerging field.     

Nanosciences and nanotechnologies learning and teaching in secondary education: a review of literature

This literature review provides an overview of recent studies on the introduction of nanosciences and nanotechnologies in secondary education. Four salient research topics have emerged: questions and reflections preceding curriculum development on nanosciences and nanotechnologies lessons; research on students’ conceptualisations of nano‐related concepts; the use of haptic tools to teach nanosciences and nanotechnologies; and professional development for secondary schools teachers. In a final critical discussion, the lack of studies in the literature considering nanosciences and nanotechnologies as a socioscientific issue in secondary education is emphasised. In addition, implications for future research as well as suggestions for nanosciences and nanotechnologies curriculum development are considered.     

Electromagnetic Concepts in Mathematical Representation of Physics

Our paper deals with the use of mathematics when studying the physics of electromagnetism. We have concentrated on common electromagnetic concepts (magnetic field and flux) and their associated mathematical representation and arithmetical tools. Our studies showed that most students do not understand the significant aspects of physical situations. Students have difficulty in using relationships and models specific to magnetic phenomena (the construction of relationships between concepts, and the use of mathematical formalism).     

Factors Influencing Postsecondary STEM Students’ Views of the Public Communication of an Emergent Technology: a Cross-National Study from Five Universities

Recent efforts in the science education community have highlighted the need to integrate research and theory from science communication research into more general science education scholarship. These synthesized research perspectives are relatively novel but serve an important need to better understand the impacts that the advent of rapidly emerging technologies will have on a new generation of scientists and engineers including their formal communication with engaged citizenry. This cross-national study examined postsecondary science and engineering students’ (n?=?254 from five countries: Austria, Finland, France, Israel, and USA) perspectives on the role of science communication in their own formal science and engineering education. More broadly, we examined participants’ understanding of their perceived responsibilities of communicating science and engineering to the general public when an issue contains complex social and ethical implications (SEI). The study is contextualized in the emergent technology of nanotechnology for which SEI are of particular concern and for which the general public often perceives conflicting risks and benefits. Findings indicate that student participants’ hold similar views on the need for their own training in communication as future scientists and engineers. When asked about the role that ethics and risk perception plays in research, development, and public communication of nanotechnology, participants demonstrate similar trajectories of perspectives that are, however, often anchored in very different levels of beginning concern. Results are discussed in the context of considerations for science communication training within formal science education curricula globally.     

On the road to science education for sustainability?

In this paper I discuss three issues relevant to the ideas introduced by Colucci-Gray, Perazzone, Dodman and Camino (2012) in their three-part paper on epistemological reflections and educational practice for science education for sustainability: (1) social studies of science for science education, (2) education for sustainability or sustainable development, and (3) curriculum studies and action-research. For the first issue, I address the need for science education efforts dedicated to an epistemological renewal to take seriously into consideration the contributions of the social studies of science. This perspective may be fruitful for an education for sustainability that also requires one to consider the political dimension of environmental issues and their intrinsic power relationships. It also encourages the abandonment of dichotomies that hamper democratic participation: experts/lay people, science/society, scientific knowledge/values, etc. For the second issue, my commentary focuses on the challenges that education for sustainability or sustainable development pose to science education with a shift from subject matter contents to socio-educative aims and socio-political actions. These challenges lead to the third issue with an invitation to apprehend science education for sustainability within the frameworks of curriculum theory and design-based research.     

When Scientific Knowledge,Daily Life Experience,Epistemological and Social Considerations Intersect: Students’ Argumentation in Group Discussions on a Socio-scientific Issue

Socio-scientific issues in class have been proposed in an effort to democratise science in society. A micro-ethnographic approach has been used to explore how students elaborate arguments on a socio-scientific controversy in the context of small group discussions. Several processes of group argumentation have been identified. Students’ arguments were elaborated from scientific data, common ideas and epistemological and strategic considerations. Students’ social interactions influenced the patterns of argumentation elaborated within the group discussions. Implications of this study for the teaching of socio-scientific issues in class are discussed.