Course Description
Socio-scientific Issues are authentic challenges that are inextricably linked with scientific knowledge, but also require consideration of social, economic, political, and ethical dimensions to make informed decisions. Provides opportunities to learn how and when to use such issues as a context for learning in secondary science classrooms.
Athena Title
Socio Scientific Issues
Non-Traditional Format
This course will be taught 95% or more online.
Semester Course Offered
Offered spring
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
1. Deepen your understanding of the nature of science, with particular attention to the social practices the science community uses to vet knowledge claims to produce trustworthy knowledge. 2. Contribute to articulating capabilities required for digital media and information literacy, particularly related to SSIs. 3. Develop a scientific attitude, as described by Lee McIntyre, which includes an openness to changing your thinking, based on new evidence and findings. 4. Identify examples of five main psychological constructs that make people vulnerable to misunderstanding science: cognitive biases, epistemic cognition, motivated reasoning, social identity, and emotions. 5. Practice planning, implementing, and assessing NGSS-aligned science instruction that focuses on socio-scientific issues.
Topical Outline
1. What is Science? 2. Why is science denial rampant? 3. What are SSIs? 4. What strategies help facilitate learning using SSIs? 5. What are the affordances and constraints associated with using SSIs in classrooms? 6. How do teachers plan to use SSIs? 7. Student engagement with three specific SSIs that will be chosen by the instructor that addresses current science in a meaningful way. For example, vaccination was a valuable topic for instruction during the 2020-2021 school year.
Syllabus
Public CV