Socioscientific Issue-Based Learning: Taking Off From SE4C (Science and Technology Education Promoting Well-Being for Individuals, Societies, and Environments)

• In Event: 29.078 - A Framework for Sociopolitical Actions on Socioscientific Problems: International Perspectives

Abstract

In the European Union, educational policy-making bodies are encouraging projects of inquiry-based learning to stimulate interest of young people in science and broaden the science and technological base (Rocard, 2007). A broader vehicle for attaining these aims is Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI), a means of public accountability for scientific and technological research for the people and with the people. Such proposals need to be treated with caution, however, particularly in light of dismantling of welfare state policies in Europe, rise of free marketism and entrepreneurship, as well as the complexity of relations of technical expertise and lay knowledge and concerns.
I discuss how a project, which takes its inspiration for activism from SE4C (Author1 & Author2, 2011), incorporates socio-political questions as the object of its inquiry, critically addressing issues of consumerism and unequal distribution which affect contemporary neoliberal economies. Components of this model of inquiry draw on substantive scientific knowledge incorporating RRI, through Critical Citizenship Education, Socio-Scientific Issues (SSI) as well as Inquiry (IBSE) hence the acronym, SSIBL (Socio-Scientific Inquiry Based Learning) (Author3 and ____ consortium, 2015) (see figure 2). Social values at the heart of this project recognise that we live in a diverse world where technological change should be underpinned by social justice and political responsibility. The basic concept of SSIBL are authentic questions which stem from students’ concerns, leading to non-trivial action which takes into account social, political and cultural constraints and uncertainties. Inquiries reflect issues which have personal, social and global relevance.
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[Insert Figure 2 about here: A Framework for Socio-scientific Inquiry Based Learning.
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This paper explores how teacher educators and teachers can integrate SSIBL within their curricula. There are three principal pedagogical components:
I. Asking personal/social /controversial questions relevant to socio-scientific issues of an authentic problem for which there is no clear solution. Examples for different age groups might involve students investigating consumerist and health claims for e-cigarettes, the best recipe to bake a birthday cake for a diabetic friend, finding out the best models to build a school animal house paying particular attention to temperature regulation. The inquiries should stem from the concerns and preoccupations of the young participants, although scholars such as Humbel et al. (2010) recognise that social inquiries stimulated by controversy need to incorporate a pedagogical triggering mechanism, an ‘element declancher’. This might involve teachers using media text and images to prompt discussion, or encouraging students to raise questions from a ‘rights’ forum. Hence, part of the SSIBL programme at the scaffolding stage has much in common with apprenticeship activities in SE4C.
II. Working towards a solution involves an inquiry-based approach (e.g. testing predictions, evaluating data) by working with and for public and personal goods based on political knowledge and skills.
III. Actions, arising from these solutions, may be of various kinds ranging from active lobbying, addressing a social injustice to deepening a question and prompting further reflection.

Author

• Ralph Levinson, Institute of Education University of London