Discipline: Science & Mathematics Education
Subcategory: STEM Research
Hector Torres - Bethune-Cookman University
Co-Author(s): Raphael Isokpehi, Bethune-Cookman University
The purpose of this poster is to provide a conceptual framework in order to examine the effects of socioscientific argumentation learning and development on student success in a higher education STEM-centered curriculum at a Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). We focus on the development of a framework conducive to conceptual understanding of content knowledge in biology and environmental science courses. These courses were particularly amenable consider the impact of science-related challenges that have moral and ethical societal implications and can be classified as socioscientific issues (SSI) (Zeidler & Keefer, 2003; Zeidler, 2014). SSI are ill-structured, open-ended problems which have multiple solutions (Owens, Sadler, & Zeidler, 2017; Sadler, 2011). Further, SSI are utilized in science education to promote scientific literacy, which emphasizes the ability to apply scientific and moral reasoning to real-world situations. Examples of SSI are as diverse as genetic engineering, animal testing for medical purposes, oil drilling in national parks or offshore, among many others. Research studies have shown SSI to be effective at increasing students’ understanding of science in various contexts, argumentation skills, empathy, and moral reasoning, and the development of character (Fowler, Zeidler & Sadler, 2009; Lee, et al., 2012, 2013; Sadler & Zeidler, 2005; Zeidler & Sadler, 2008; Zeidler, Sadler, Applebaum & Callahan, 2009). Currently, knowledge is limited on the extent to which STEM students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) use socioscientific argumentation strategies in STEM courses or develop the expertise to do so. This paper contributes to the existing body of work and to better articulate a framework for the concept of socioscientific argumentation in the context of HBCUs. This line of research suggests that when students engage in learning tasks that involve SSI, they can develop many of the same skills that are important for scientific argumentation; namely, evaluation of evidence, construction of arguments, and evaluation of competing claims. SSI-based instruction can also enhance students’ content knowledge. In this paper, we advance a conceptual framework needed to develop intervention models for improving scientific argumentation development of students in STEM.
Funder Acknowledgement(s): NSF/HBCU-UP Award #1623371. 'Investigating the effects of Socioscientific Argumentation Development on Students Academic Success.'
Faculty Advisor: None Listed,
NSF Affiliation: HBCU-UP