Developing scientific literacy, which involves applying scientific knowledge to solve real-world problems, is a primary goal in science education. Socioscientific Issue (SSI) provides students opportunities to reason through authentic and complex scientific dilemmas that reflect real-world issues, thus fostering a deeper understanding of…

Programs that emphasize the important, multifaceted roles that soils play as the interfaces between humanity and the earth are needed to attract new students from diverse backgrounds. The Basic and Environmental Soil Science Training Research Experience for Undergraduates (BESST REU) site aims to provide undergraduates from a variety of science,…

A perennial goal of science educators is to develop functional scientific literacy in their students, especially those who will not become professional scientists. This article provides an example of implementing a socioscientific issues approach in an undergraduate environmental science course that enables students to develop the knowledge,…

The nature of science (NOS) has been recognised as an essential component for engagement with socioscientific issues (SSI). However, the findings on the link between the two have been inconclusive. This calls for a shift from students merely knowing about NOS, to using their understanding of it as a tool for decision-making and participation in…

This paper presents a cooperative learning activity on a nuclear power plant to develop students' reasoning skills on socioscientific issues. To this end, the steps in the implementation of the activity have been given in detail. The activity was implemented in an undergraduate course with senior preservice science teachers, whose reflections were…

Applications of machine learning in chemistry are many and varied, from prediction of structure-property relationships, to modeling of potential energy surfaces for large scale atomistic simulations. We describe a generalized approach for the application of machine learning to the classification of spectra which can be used as the basis for a wide…

Integrating decision-making learning goals within science classrooms has been increasingly common for science educators and researchers to help develop students' science literacy skills. These learning goals include understanding and applying scientific information as well as recognizing tradeoffs amongst multiple perspectives when decision-making…

A shift from teaching to learn to learning to think is necessary to promote critical thinkers. Since teachers tend to replicate the educational models they have experienced as students, new references are needed. In order to address these concerns, we present an interdisciplinary intervention in initial teacher education and analyse its impact on…

As college science educators, we must prepare all future college graduates to be engaged, science-literate citizens. Yet data suggest that most college biology classes as currently taught do little to make science truly useful for students' lives and provide few opportunities for students to practice skills needed to be key decision makers in…

This paper presents a case study examining the current controversial issue of palm oil production for manufacturing biodiesel in Indonesia. The study looks at how this issue was used as a context to teach chemistry at the undergraduate level. The lesson unit promotes general educational skills, which students need to develop in order to become…

Science and society are inseparably linked, shaping each other in ways that define our world, emphasizing the need to teach science for empowering students capable of taking meaningful action toward building a sustainable and just society. Developing sustainability competencies in students is an important step toward this goal, with controversial…

Students' scientific literacy may be improved by the integration of social issues into biology courses, enabling them to make informed decisions on social issues in the context of their scientific knowledge. Additionally, this may allow students to recognize the connection between science and society. Although there are a number of benefits with…

Since socioscientific issues (SSI) are scientific issues situated in the larger society, it is important for many students to understand and effectively communicate information surrounding them. In-class small groups have been used by science instructors to provide students the opportunity to discuss and negotiate difficult SSI. However, learning…

Integrating service learning with undergraduate research, the student biodiesel project converted all waste vegetable oil (WVO) from campus dining centers into a sustainable biofuel used by campus vehicles, allowing half of the campus diesel energy needs to be met by a material (WVO) that was formerly a waste. Biodiesel reduced air pollution from…

This study focused on inquiring into undergraduate chemistry professors' efforts in North America to increase student motivation and interest in the subject and the feasibility of methods that connect students to real world applications and societal issues related to chemistry. A survey was distributed to chemistry instructors at post-secondary…