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Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, Volume 20, Issue 1, Article 1 (Aug., 2019) |
This section presents the review of literature related to the national science education reform in Thailand, STS approach, scientific argumentation and enhancement of scientific argumentation through an STS approach.
National science education reform
The second wave of the national science education reform in Thailand had been started since the announcement of Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand (B.E. 2540) in 1999. Then, in 2001, the Thailand government announced the National Education Act B.E. 2542 that led to the proclamation of the new national curriculum: the Basic Education Curriculum B.E. 2544 (Ministry of Education, 2001). In this new national curriculum, the learning subjects were divvied into eight learning areas: science was included as one of them. The learning area of science aims to enable learners to link scientific knowledge with processes, acquire essential skills for investigation, build knowledge through investigative processes, seek knowledge and solve various problems. Learners are allowed to participate in all stages of learning, with activities organized through diverse practical work suitable to their levels. There were eight learning strands in the new national science curriculum: Living Things and Processes of Life; Life and the Environment; Substances and Properties of Substances; Forces and Motion; Energy; Change Process of the Earth; Astronomy and Space; and Nature of Science and Technology. There were two brand new learning strands in this new science curriculum, the Change Process of the Earth and Nature of Science and Technology.
STS approach
The STS approach emphasizes students as being the most important which is different from the traditional teaching method in the sense that the STS approach integrates science, technology and society. Learning science occurs in the technological and social context and then applied to society. In the STS classroom, students will feel that their learning is more meaningful because it is closely related to their lives as well as benefiting to their society (Yuenyong, 2006). The STS approach encourages students to be more interested in science learning and to regard science as a valuable method of learning inquiry. It also helps students realize that science and technology are things around them (Protjanatanti, 2001). In sum, the STS approach starts from bringing societal and environmental issues and requires students to develop and apply their technological and scientific knowledge and skill to solve the issues raised. In the end, the students can plan their actions for sustaining their society (Aikenhead & Ryan, 1992).
According to Yuenyong (2006), the STS approach has five stages: Identification of social issues, Identification of potential solutions, Need for knowledge, Decision-making and Socialization. In the Identification of Social Issues stage, a teacher encourages students to ask questions about the societal and environmental issues raised. The issues should be interesting and current controversial issues in society. The students must be aware of the social problems due to appreciation of science and technology and their involvement in solving the issues. Then, the students move to the Identification of Potential Solutions stage. They will plan to seek answers to the issues or problems raised. The students are required to review their existing knowledge and seek more knowledge for finding the potential solution of the problems raised. In the Need for Knowledge stage, students are required to discover more knowledge or database to solve societal and science-related issues. The strategies in this stage include reading and reflection based upon the teacher’s documents assigned or the documents students searched for. The appropriate knowledge will lead the students to make good selection decisions for the issue raised. Then, students move to the Decision-making stage. They are required to analyze knowledge from the third stage and synthesize the potential or possible solutions for the issues raised. Then, the students have to make decisions for solving the problems. Finally, in the Socialization stage, students need to act as a citizen who take part in society. They are required to present their potential or possible solutions for the issues or problems.
Scientific argumentation
Scientific argumentation is a part of communicative skills that is important in learning science, since science is based on reasonableness. Scientific argumentation is a process or action where a student expresses idea or provides a rationale with supporting evidence persuade others of the correctness of an opinion. Stephen Toulmin (1958) stated scientific argumentation is a rebuttal (Toulmin’s Argumentation Pattern: TAP) that consists of Ground (Evidence), Claim, Warrant, Rebuttals (Counter argument), Backing (Supportive argument) and Qualifiers. Ground (Evidence) means that the student can use facts or evidence to prove his/her argument. The facts or evidence involved in the student argument aim to support the student claim. Claim means that the student thinking of the argument. It is the student’s most general statement in the disputation. It is also the student’s common principle or affirmation made after student brainstorm in group. Warrant means that the student has the argument consisting of a title versus the claim with supporting data and has warranties or backings having no rebuttals. Warrant is a reason (e.g. rule, principle, etc.) that is proposed to justify the connections between the data and the knowledge claim, or conclusion. Rebuttals (Counter Argument) specify the conditions when the claim will not be true. Rebuttals express counter arguments or statements indicating circumstances when the general argument does not hold true. Backing (Supportive Argument) is the basic assumptions that are usually considered to be commonly agreed on. Backing provides justification for particular warranties. Arguments do not necessarily prove the main point being argued but aims to prove that the warrants are true. Finally, Qualifiers specify the conditions under which the claim can be taken as true. Qualifiers represent the limitations of the claim (Toulmin, 2003).
Enhancement of scientific argumentation through STS approach
There are several constructivist teaching strategies having the potential to promote students’ scientific argumentation; one of these is the Science-Technology-Society (STS) approach. The STS approach is appropriate in promoting student scientific argumentation (Lin & Mintzes, 2010). because it starts from the controversial issue or question raised by students. Students are aware of the issues raised and apply their scientific understanding and skills to seek the best information for solving problems or responding to the issues.
The STS approach encourages students as individuals or a group to discover the ways for solving the real controversial issues or problems occurring in society. The students then present their proposed solutions to the class and scientific argumentation then is conducted to identify the best possible solutions for those controversial issues or problems. In this case, teaching science by emphasizing argumentation helps students understand the targeted concept. During argumentation, students are required to utilize their scientific knowledge to explain and support their arguments (Erduran, Simon, & Osborne, 2004). The STS approach can promote students’ development of scientific knowledge from social process since the nature of scientific knowledge is developed from social process. When students debate various social-related scientific issues in the STS activity, they have chance to strengthen their scientific knowledge. Also, after argumentation, they have chance to make more reliable and appropriate decisions (Ziman, 1978 ). Individual students’ argumentative skills are different due to the difference of their prior knowledge and experience regarding the issue raised. As an individual grows older, their argumentative skills can be developed through facing various situations (Kuhn, 1993).
One problem of science education in Thailand is that science teaching and learning still focus on student test or exam scores rather than their ability to construct knowledge by themselves. Also, students lack an ability to make scientific argumentation that can affect their construction of scientific understanding. In particular to the Northeastern region, there is a lack of studies aimed at exploring the current situation of grade 10 students’ scientific argumentation in real science classrooms. In addition, there is a lack of study related to the utilization of the STS approach to enhance grade 10 students’ scientific argumentation in the Thailand science education context.
