Discussing controversial issues in the classroom

Discussion is widely held to be the pedagogical approach most appropriate to the exploration of controversial issues in the classroom, but surprisingly little attention has been given to the questions of why it is the preferred approach and how best to facilitate it. Here we address ourselves to both questions.We begin by clarifying the concept of discussion and justifying it as an approach to the teaching of controversial issues.We then report on a recent empirical study of the Perspectives on Science AS-level course, focusing on what it revealed about aids and impediments to discussion of controversial ethical issues

Towards a pedagogical framework for the teaching of controversial socio-scientific issues to secondary school students in the age range 14-19

Teaching controversial socio-scientific issues presents a significant challenge to teachers because these issues are often based on complex but tentative scientific evidence, and differences between contending parties reflect political, socio-economic and ethical considerations. This thesis aims to develop a realisable pedagogy, underpinned by a theoretical framework, to address such controversial issues. The framework draws on three separate but interwoven strands: McLaughlin’s formulation of nine ‘levels of disagreement’ which conceptualises controversy in a democratic and pluralistic society, the levels ranging from differences based on evidence to differences in worldviews; the ‘communicative virtues’ in which participants need to be schooled to support open dialogue; and Bruner’s ‘modes of thought’ in which protagonists in a controversy aim to convince their interlocutors through narrative and logico-scientific modes. This pedagogical framework operates through constructions of the school-society interface ranging from science as authoritative to science as negotiable. 83 teachers, from 21 different secondary schools and further education colleges in England and Wales, were interviewed about their experiences of teaching controversial socio-scientific issues. Empirical indicators drawn from the teachers’ narratives were mapped onto the framework to construct a picture of current pedagogy. Findings point to a need to support teachers in focusing on specific case studies, particularly those which draw on evidence and its associated logical procedures, to encourage teachers to explicitly draw on student narratives and to educate students in the communicative virtues. Opportunities and limitations are discussed in locating the teaching of controversial socio-scientific issues in the curriculum and in further characterising pedagogy and learning for future research

Teaching Evolution in Schools: A Matter of Controversy?

In a clip from YouTube Richard Dawkins says ‘Who cares about creationists? They don’t know anything’. Like Dawkins, I agree that creationism has nothing to offer as an explanation for the origins and diversity of life on this planet. Although I am not a professional biologist everything I have read and heard, including Darwin’s On the origin of species, has so far convinced me that evolution is a fact, and that while there are different explanations to account for evolution none have to date undermined it

Planning for Teaching and Learning Science

Being able to plan a lesson, a sequence of lessons or a whole course involves being able to construct, ahead of time, a set of events for yourself and 25 to 35 pupils. Learning to plan is an iterative process, where problems that arise as plans are put into action in the classroom, inform the planning process. There are guidelines which can be followed which help to minimise these problems. Nevertheless, you will find planning to be a time consuming part of your work, and you may not feel that you are planning with any degree of confidence until well into your course

Teaching Science Outside the Classroom

This chapter focuses on developing pedagogical support for helping students learn about controversial issues in the How Science Works section of the Science National Curriculum. It discusses how controversial issues can be defined, what is distinctive about their pedagogical demands, the knowledge and skills needed for discussing controversial issues, and exemplars of opportunities for exploring controversial issues in the context of How Science Works

SAQs as a Socio-Political Programme: Some Challenges and Opportunities

In this article I argue for the role that approaches such as Socially Acute Questions (SAQs) can play in confronting the STEM discourse in the curriculum. For SAQs and similar approaches to be effective in enacting issues of social justice educators need to take account of local political contexts, the ethical and political assumptions which underpin values appertaining to social justice, such as concepts of communalism and libertarianism, and democratic practise in the school classroom where the students become co-enquirers in generating knowledge which aims to improve material realities. This is not a straightforward but one that demands reflection and critique throughout the process

Developing a pedagogy of risk in socio-scientific issues

The aim of this research is to develop principles for a pedagogy of risk in socio-scientific issues. Risk is challenging to teach because of its contested conceptual basis incorporating epistemic and non-epistemic values, its situated nature and its mathematical basis in probability and statistics. In our project—Promoting Teachers’ Understanding of Risk in Socio-scientific Issues (TURS)—we have built a set of mature software tools designed through an epistemological analysis of risk and consideration of teaching and learning, as reflected in discussions with teachers. This software provides teachers with tools that enable them to express what they see as the significant issues, giving feedback for them to redraft their models in light of the consequences of their decisions. Pairs of science and mathematics teachers modelled a scenario based on personal decision-making for a surgical intervention. Inductive analysis of teacher dialogue generated four key findings: teaching risk lends itself to a multidisciplinary approach; recognition of the multidimensional nature of risk can be elicited through engagement with contextualised biological dilemmas; use of executable models promotes discussion of the complexity of risk, and expressive tools can be designed which support coordinated analysis of the multidimensional nature of risk

The Effect of Patent Foramen Ovale Closure on Visual Aura Without Headache or Typical Aura With Migraine Headache

ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of right-to-left (R to L) shunt in patients with visual aura and evaluate the effect of shunt closure on resolution of aura.BackgroundRight-to-left shunting is associated with migraine headache (MH) with aura. Some patients present with visual aura without headaches. It is unclear whether visual aura without headache is a form of migraine or a transient neurologic dysfunction.MethodsOf patients referred to the University of California, Los Angeles for suspected patent foramen ovale (PFO), 225 had visual aura with or without MH. Patients were assessed for a shunt and evaluated for MH and/or visual aura. They were divided into 3 groups: 1) visual aura associated with MH; 2) visual aura unrelated in time to MH; and 3) visual aura without MH. The frequency of R to L shunt was compared with a control group of 200 patients. Eighty patients underwent PFO closure. Residual shunts, MH, and visual aura were reassessed after 3 and 12 months.ResultsThe prevalence of R to L shunt in Groups A, B, and C was 96%, 72%, and 67%, respectively, versus 18% in the control group (p < 0.0001). The frequency of shunting was similar in Group B versus Group C, but much higher in all 3 groups compared with control subjects. Twelve months after PFO closure, symptoms of aura were resolved in 52%, 75%, and 80% of patients in Groups A, B, and C, respectively (p = NS).ConclusionsThe similar distribution of R to L shunting in all 3 patient groups and the correlation between PFO closure and improvement of aura suggests a similar pathophysiology between the presence of PFO and the visual aura phenomenon, whether or not headache is present in the symptom complex