This study analyzes the potential of group-based negotiation processes based on changes in reasoning and argument weighting for a socioscientific issue (SSI) in biology classes. In the corresponding pre- and post-study, students were encouraged to reason and weight arguments about the conservation of local biodiversity before and after a…

By applying two-mode social networks and Chinese word segmentation technologies, a novel visualization tool, the instant semantic analysis and feedback system (ISAFS), is designed in this study to present the semantic networks of co-words and non-co-words used in learners' discussion processes and assist learners in grasping the discussion…

We explored the potential for addressing nature of science through a historic narrative about disagreement between researchers concerning a socio-scientific issue, incidence of juvenile thyroid cancer following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident. The narrative was developed from authentic sources and tested in two cycles. Eight groups of three…

The political nature of socioscientific controversies becomes starkly apparent in countries of the Global South where science and technology are embedded in societies characterized by pervasive structural inequalities which, in part, were created by the Global North. This article presents empirical work from the standpoint of a critical science…

In the current debate, there is no consensus on the relationship between knowledge and values in students' reasoning and argumentation in socio-scientific and sustainability issues, i.e. if these should be addressed as separate entities or rather treated as a whole. In this study, we address this question empirically, with students engaging in two…

Learning democratic participation as future citizens is an important goal for science education for all students. To take part in debates and decision-making involving socioscientific issues, such as sustainability, students need to become aware of different positions and dilemmas regarding such issues. This study seeks to understand how…

Engineering ethics education typically focuses on decisions by individual engineers and case studies of disasters. This does not reflect the everyday decisions that practicing engineers must make, and neglects the fact that most engineers work on teams rather than alone. The focus on safety and disaster prevention leaves little time for discussing…

This study is framed in the social perspective of Epistemology of Science, and it aims to examine the epistemic operations performed by high school students while engaged in a role-play about food safety that requires them to engage in both argumentation and decision-making practices. The epistemic operations are examined on two different levels:…

Student-active science teaching that includes interactions among students is suggested to support students' reasoning skills. However, little is known about what are the beneficial modes of interaction to support learning. In the present study, we investigated how different types of classroom discussion on socioscientific issues can encourage…

The purposes of this study are to understand the effects of using Synchronous Discussion and Reflection System (SDRS) platform in the elementary students' perception of the learning environment and students' cognitive outcomes regarding the Genetically Modified Food (GMF). A total of 22 students from Elementary School in Taichung Taiwan joined…

The aim of this study was to explore how the design of this chemistry lesson for citizenship influences students' use of different perspectives in decision-making about 'the use and sale of laughing gas'. In this study, 'the use and sale of laughing gas among youth' was chosen as a socio-scientific issue. This chemistry lesson for citizenship was…

There is an ongoing discussion about what content that should be taught in science education and there are different views among teachers about what represent good science content. However, teachers are not isolated individuals making their own interpretations, but are part of institutionalised systems building on patterns in the selection of…

Scientific expertise and outcomes often give rise to controversy. An educational response that equips students to take part in socioscientific discussions is the teaching of Socially Acute Questions (SAQs). Students engaging with SAQs need to engage with socio scientific reasoning, which involves reasoning with evidence from a variety of fields…

This study aims to explore students' argumentation and decision-making relating to an authentic socioscientific issue (SSI)--the problem of environmental toxins in fish from the Baltic Sea. A multi-disciplinary instructional module, designed in order to develop students' skills to argue about complex SSI, was successfully tested. Seven science…

This study investigated argumentation patterns resulting in teacher-guided and peer-guided group discussions on four socioscientific-issues (SSI). Two groups, each including five students from grade 7, studied on a different SSI during four weeks. Discussions within both groups were observed, videotaped, and analyzed qualitatively. After four…