The purpose of the study was to propose a new socioscientific issues based instruction model and to investigate the impacts of new model on PSTs? critical thinking skills and dispositions in climate change unit. Quasiexperimental method was applied. The sample of the study was determined by convenient sampling and it was comprised of 90 junior…

In this study, we aimed to improve preservice teachers' attitudes toward socioscientific issues through socioscientific issue course. Moreover, we investigated whether this course influences preservice teachers studying in a science education and non-science education in a similar way. For this purpose, a semester-long socioscientific issues…

The purpose of this article is to provide a brief literature review and useful suggestions for using advertisements as tools for organizing and accomplishing science teaching and learning. Newspapers and advertisements can be used as a context for developing scientific literacy and for promoting the development of critical thinking skills, through…

It is important for students to learn concepts and using them for solving problems and further learning. Within this respect, the purpose of this study is to investigate students' abilities to apply science concepts that they have learned from Science-Technology-Society based approach or textbook oriented instruction. Current study is based on…

The purpose of the study was to examine the effectiveness of a Science Technology and Society (STS) approach in terms of student understanding of major processes of science. Participants included twelve teachers who agreed to participate in an experimental study where Science, Technology, and Society (STS) strategies were utilized with one class…

The study reports on an investigation about the impact of science-technology-society (STS) instruction on middle school student understanding of the nature of science (NOS) and attitudes toward science compared to students taught by the same teacher using traditional textbook-oriented instruction. Eight lead teachers used STS instruction an…

The National Science Education Standards emphasize a goal that students should achieve scientific literacy, which is defined as the knowledge and understanding of scientific concepts needed in daily living. Scientific literacy enables people to not only use scientific principles and processes in making personal decisions but also to participate in…

The purpose of the study was to examine the effectiveness of the Chautauqua Professional Development Program in terms of the mastery of basic science concepts, understanding major science processes, use of creativity skills, improvement of student attitudes toward science, and the ability to apply science concepts and processes in new situations.…

The study reports on an investigation of the impact of a Science-Technology-Society (STS) approach in promoting more positive student attitudes toward science that are recommended by current reform documents. A total of 609 students from grades six through nine were selected for a survey of attitudes in two class sections assigned as either…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether Science, Technology, and Society (STS) learning increases student concept mastery, general science achievement, use of concepts in new situations, and attitudes toward science in middle school classrooms. The study involved two teachers and fifty-two students in grades 6 through 8. Two sections of…

Fifteen 4th-, 5th-, and 6th-grade teachers from five school districts each taught two sections of science--one with a Science-Technology-Society (STS) approach and the other with a more traditional textbook approach in which basic science concepts were the major organizers. Local, current, and personally relevant issues provided the context and…

The Iowa Chautauqua Program was developed in 1983 with support from National Science Foundation (NSF) which awarded the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) a major grant to study an inexpensive in-service model for stimulating reform in K-12 science classrooms. Iowa was one of the six Chautauqua sites which were modeled after a program…

The purpose of the study was to discern the beliefs of pre-service science teachers (PST) concerning science technology and their implications in society. A quasi-experimental design was used. The results indicate that students who experienced Science Technology and Society (STS) approach perform better than students enrolled in section where…