Thai pre-service science teachers’ struggles in using Socio-scientific Issues (SSIs) during practicum

To describe and understand science teachers’ use of SSIs in the classroom, a few researchers suggest SSI-based teaching frameworks (Presley et al., 2013; Zeidler et al., 2005). These SSI-based teaching frameworks indicate the focus of instruction, the characteristics of instruction (pedagogical choices), the role of teachers and students, and the classroom environment, as shown in detail below.

Teaching Focus

Because of SSIs’ characteristics, they incorporate both scientific and social knowledge, as well as social concerns (Ratcliffe & Grace, 2003). Successful teachers use SSIs to teach learning-specific science content (Sadler, Barab, & Scott, 2007) and to connect content to other areas of science or other disciplines. Moreover, teachers provide students the opportunity to learn about the nature of science (NOS) themes in the classroom and to perform higher order practices (Presley et al., 2013) such as analyzing and interpreting data; using evidence to participate in argumentation; and collecting, evaluating, and communicating information, which is a kind of scientific literacy and the focus of the Next Generation Science Standards (NRC, 2012).

Characteristics of Instruction

To be successful using SSIs in the classroom, teachers must provide scaffolding for students to engage in practices such as argumentation, reasoning, and decision-making (Presley et al., 2013). As aids and materials for SSI-based teaching, teachers can use media such as articles from newspapers or magazines, reports, or television interviews to make connections between what students are learning in class and current world events (Klosterman, Sadler, & Brown, 2012). In addition, technology can be used in a variety of ways to enhance SSI-based teaching and is a potentially powerful tool for accessing relevant social issues (Evagorou, 2011). Students can access SSI media resources with technology (Presley et al., 2013). A framework of learning assessment should include students’ higher order practices, such as scientific claims and arguments (Kolstø, 2006). To measure student engagement in SSI learning experiences, teachers should use formative assessment in the form of constant feedback to promote learning (Tal & Kedmi, 2006) and provide opportunities for students to reflect on and refine their own ideas (Sadler, 2011). In addition, at the end of a unit or topic, teachers can use summative assessment to capture what students have learned and the quality of the learning or to judge their performance against relevant standards (NRC, 2001).

Roles of Students

The role of students in SSI-based teaching differs from traditional approaches. Students collect and/or analyze scientific data related to the issue being considered, and negotiation of social (e.g., political and economic) dimensions of the issue is expected (Presley et al., 2013). Argumentation is a central point of SSI-based learning classrooms (Zeidler & Nichols, 2009). Students prioritize methods of inquiry while interpreting issues, making decisions, making moral judgments, solving problems, and engaging in various forms of discourse including argumentation, negotiation, and challenging the assumptions of dominant knowledge claims (Serpell, 2011). When students conduct research and make arguments about SSI, they learn scientific content (Klosterman & Sadler, 2010). In addition, moral perspectives are one of the more important components of SSI-based learning (Zeidler & Keefer, 2003). Presley et al. (2013) suggested that students should consider the ethical dimensions associated with an issue. Furthermore, students can evaluate the benefits and risks associated with an issue and may require some understanding of them and their probabilities (Ratcliffe & Grace, 2003). Expressing the risks and benefits of any SSI is crucial for identifying and understanding it (Crick, 2001).

Learning Environment

In SSI-based teaching, teachers should not be authoritarian, such as by presenting the issue at the beginning of instruction, and should relate what students learn to their prior knowledge (Presley et al., 2013). Sometimes teachers are also learners and contribute their ideas and knowledge to the classroom (Dolan, Nichols, & Zeidler, 2009). They provide opportunities for their students to better understand the scientific and social aspects of an issue and to become aware of the social considerations associated with it (Presley et al., 2013). In addition, there should be a collaborative and interactive environment in science classrooms, with students and teachers demonstrating respect for one another (Presley et al., 2013). A few studies have examined how SSI contexts affect students’ epistemologies of science. Eastwood et al. (2013) examined whether SSI-based learning environments affected university students’ epistemological understanding of scientific inquiry differently from traditional science educational contexts. The results showed that both groups had a generally adequate understanding of scientific inquiry, but they also held a number of misconceptions. Other researchers have found that teachers can use SSIs as a useful context for learning specific science content (Sadler et al., 2007; Nuangchalerm & Kwuanthong, 2010), employing analytical thinking (Nuangchalerm & Kwuanthong, 2010), understanding the nature of science (Nuangchalerm & Kwuanthong, 2010; Sadler et al., 2007), gaining learning satisfaction (Nuangchalerm & Kwuanthong, 2010), addressing citizenship education (Sadler et al., 2007), improving argumentation skills (Erduran et al., 2004), and enhancing decision-making skills (Sadler, 2009).