This article reports on a qualitative research study on the feasibility of teachers using newspaper articles in advancing a humanistic perspective of science in teaching Grade 9 natural sciences to South African learners. Two key design principles were distilled in this design-based research: Newspaper articles can serve as a viable resource for…

Students attending schools in poor and historically marginalized communities lack access to curricula that combines both relevant science content and investigative practices--components the National Research Council (2012) has identified as necessary for effective learning. This lack of curricular access is also problematic in that it: (1)…

Socio-scientific issues (SSI) have proven to be suitable contexts for students to actively reflect on and argue about complex social issues related to science. Research has indicated that explicitly teaching SSI argumentation is a good way to help students develop their argumentation skills and make them aware of the complexity of SSI. However,…

The purpose of current research is to explore the influence of a science teaching method course incorporating explicit reflective NOS instruction on pre-service science teachers' views of NOS and justifications in their arguments related to their decision-making on socio-scientific issues. This study is a case study and the participants were 5…

Engaging in argumentation from evidence is challenging for most middle school students. We report the design of a media-based mentoring system to support middle school students in engaging in argumentation in the context of a game-infused science curriculum. Our design emphasizes learners apprenticing with college student mentors around the…

Discipline-specific knowledge and associated technical skills as well as generic skills have represented distinct and separate aspects of chemical sciences in university studies (linear training). In addition to technical skills gained through laboratory training, employers now require a soft skill set such as strengths in analytical thinking,…

This study analyses which perspectives occur in science students' texts at different points in time during the process of writing a popular science article. The intention is, thus, to explore how popular science writing can help students discover and discuss different perspectives on science matter. For this purpose, texts written by 12 bachelor…

This article presents an experiential activity organised around a contemporary socio-scientific controversy about the use of antibiotics in livestock. Such controversies can help students develop skills to engage in evidence-based discussions about modern societal challenges. Even though the activity was initially set up and tested with in-service…

This article describes how a research institute went about reviewing the relationship between its members and external research partners in engaging in collaborative research. A systematization of experiences (SE) process was implemented to enable such review and draw implications for the institute's strategy regarding research into the…

In the 21st century, electronic connectivity is a major component of everyday life. One expects to have mobile phone coverage and to have access to log a computer or tablet onto the internet. This connectivity enables users to keep track of personal affairs and conduct work from remote locations. Designers and manufacturers are also connecting…

This paper highlights the findings of a survey completed by ACRL/STS [Association of College and Research Libraries/Science and Technology Section] members on scholarly communication issues. In particular it identifies the percentage of their daily activities that are spent in support of scholarly communication activities; extent of change of job…

Scientific literacy (SL) and critical thinking (CT) are key components of science education aiming to prepare students to think and to function as responsible citizens in a world increasingly affected by science and technology (S&T). Therefore, students should be given opportunities in their science classes to be engaged in learning…

A key goal of science and engineering education is to provide opportunities for people to access, interpret, and make use of science and engineering to address practical human needs. Most education research, however, focuses on how best to prepare students in schools to participate in forms of science and engineering practices that resemble those…

The aim of this study was to examine the quality of the written argument of pre-service science teachers on certain socio-scientific issues (SSI) and their opinions about the process of something. The study group consisted of 26 pre-service science teachers (18 females and 8 males) studying in their 3rd year of a state university. The purposeful…

The present research aimed to analyse the perception of science teachers on socio-scientific issues and teaching them. The study group of the research consists of 22 science teachers (14 females, 8 males) working in 7 secondary schools in Sinop, who were determined according to the convenience sampling method. The case study as one of the…