Social studies curricula are required in order to prepare to educate children who continue to learn after their formal training, and it is vital that teachers receive an education properly. In Social Studies Education Departments of Education Faculties Science, Technology and Social Change course is convenient to this aim and it contributes to…

As western society becomes increasingly reliant on scientific information to make decisions, citizens must be equipped to understand how scientific arguments are constructed. In order to do this, pre-service teachers must be prepared to foster students' abilities and understandings of scientific argumentation in the classroom. This study…

Grand challenges stress the importance of multi-disciplinary research, a multi-actor approach in examining the current state of affairs and exploring possible solutions, multi-level governance and policy coordination across geographical boundaries and policy areas, and a policy environment for enabling change both in science and technology and in…

This study investigated the relationship between pre-service science teachers' written argumentation levels about socio-scientific issues and epistemic belief levels in an online discussion environment. A mixed-methods approach was used: 30 Turkish pre-service science teachers contributed with their written argumentations to four socio-scientific…

The purpose of this study was to examine whether Socioscientific Issues (SSI) based learning environments affect university students' epistemological understanding of scientific inquiry differently from traditional science educational contexts. We identify and compare conceptions of scientific inquiry of students participating in an…

In this paper we analyze the influence of positivism in Argentina astronomical culture in the nineteenth century. We did the analysis from two dimensions, scientific knowledge development and science teaching. Because Argentina was a very young country at that time, it was of singular importance, not only the development of scientific knowledge…

Motivating students in analytical chemistry can be challenging, in part because of the complexity and breadth of topics involved. Some methods that help encourage students and convey real-world relevancy of the material include incorporating environmental issues, research-based lab experiments, and service learning projects. In this paper, we…

Scholars have recognized a need for educational programs that prepare scientists, Extension practitioners, and other stakeholders to communicate science effectively. Such programs have the potential to increase public awareness and aid policy development. Having recognized this need, faculty at Michigan State University (MSU) developed an…

The purpose of the paper is to present the framework and design of modules aiming to teach socio-scientific issues and the related pedagogy to pre-service teachers. Specifically, the work presented in this paper is part of the PreSEES project, a Comenius/LLP project with the main aim of engaging elementary and secondary pre-service teachers in…

Recently there have been calls to expandSTEM education to include the arts and design, transforming STEM into STEAM in the K-20 classroom (Maeda, 2013). Like STEM, STEAM education stresses making connections between disciplines that were previously perceived as disparate. This has been conceptualized in different ways, such as: focusing on the…

A central goal of nonmajors chemistry courses is to instill within students the sense that chemistry does not occur in a vacuum but rather permeates everyday life. To encourage students to consider chemistry within the broader context of society and public policy, a week-long module in a survey course for nonmajors was designed to connect…

Does the public trust science? Scientists? Scientific organizations? What roles do trust and the lack of trust play in public debates about how science can be used to address such societal concerns as childhood vaccination, cancer screening, and a warming planet? What could happen if social trust in science or scientists faded? These types of…

The purpose of this study was to examine processes experienced by students of different achievement levels in small group discussions in argumentation applications conducted in scientific and socio-scientific issues. Case study which is a qualitative research design was used for the study. In this line, a success test including mechanical subjects…

The aim of this study is to reveal prospective teachers' perceptions of the concept of science by asking them to use metaphors to describe it. A metaphor elicitation method was employed in this study. The data obtained from the study were considered with both quantitative and qualitative (Content Analysis) analyses. The study determined the…

This article provides a transcript of the Presidential Address delivered by Martin Rees, Lord Rees of Ludlow, to the Association for Science Education (ASE) Annual Conference at the University of Reading, January 2013. The address is divided into five sections under the following headings: (1) Three Reasons Why the ASE's Mission Is So Important;…