Promoting Societal-Oriented Communication and Decision Making Skills by Learning about Advertising in Science Education

In our everyday lives we are surrounded by advertising in its various forms. Thus in the school context it is not surprising that the issue of advertising is addressed by different subjects, with the main foci being advertising-specific language, images and illustrations, use of stereotypes, strategies of persuasion etc. But advertising also contains factual information, being explicit or implicit, to make a campaign more credible and underline the effectiveness of a certain product. Dealing with the use of factual information in advertising critically is important for the consumer. For many products this information is derived from science and technology. Understanding the science in and behind advertising is necessary to become a critical consumer. Learning about the use of science in advertising also allows promoting societal-oriented communication and decision making skills in the science classroom. Unfortunately, only a few examples on the use of advertising in the science classroom exist. This paper provides a justification for the use of advertising in science education. Examples from the classroom developed in the framework of the PROFILES-project are provided by way of illustration

Perspectives on education for sustainability in chemistry teaching

The media landscape and the public debate are full of reports about the threats caused by unsustainable lifestyles by large parts of the global society today. Climate is changing, water is polluted more and more, natural resources are progressively exploited, inequalities are increasing. It is under constant debate whether and how far humans can continue affecting our planet until these developments lead to irreversible changes in the environment and human life. Regardless of exactly how these changes come to place and what they cause in the end, the political answer is the demand for more sustainability. Sustainable development asks for a way of life that does not permanently damage our planet, so that future generations can still live on earth and meet their needs without being too restricted by both today’s contamination of the environment and consumption of resources. It is clearly suggested that this task applies to all school subjects, including chemistry. The aim of this article is to provide an overview of selected concepts in the context of sustainability and refers them to education in general, and chemistry teaching in particular

Sources of knowledge and trust in authorities as prerequisites of pre-service teachers’ reflective judgment skills in the context of socioscientific issues

Developments in science and technology enrich life in the 21st century. To cope with life in society, reflective judgment and decision-making abilities on both the individual and societal levels are needed. Schools must prepare the younger generations to become responsible citizens who are able to make reflective judgments. This study elaborates on how pre-service teachers in Türkiye make reflective judgments as persons who will go on to teach secondary school-level students in the future. The study focuses on sources of information students use, their trust in expert knowledge, and levels of reflective judgment skills. The study is based on a qualitative approach combining analyses of recordings of classroom discussions and interviews. The study found different levels of reflective judgment skills among the students and identified the sources of knowledge they select to make judgments and measured their trust in expert knowledge.  The more students trust expert knowledge, the more reflective they are toward developments in science and technology

El suministro europeo de materias primas críticas como tema sociocientífico en la enseñanza de química

Tota economia depèn del subministrament de matèries primeres. Algunes, les anomenades matèries primeres crítiques (MPC), són escasses o només es produeixen en uns quants països, i poden crear un risc en el subministrament. La Unió Europea publica cada tres anys una llista d’MPC per a l’economia europea. S’hi descriu un entorn d’aprenentatge digital perquè l’alumnat pugui aprendre sobre aquestes matèries i qüestions sociocientífiques, així com els resultats preliminars a les classes de química.Every economy depends on the supply of raw materials. Some raw materials, referred to as critical raw materials (CRM), are rare or only produced in a few countries, and this can create a supply risk. Every three years, the European Union publishes a list of these CRM for the European economy. This article describes a digital learning environment with which pupils can learn about these materials and socioscientific issues, and explains the results of the first experiences in chemistry classes.Toda economía depende del suministro de materias primas. Algunas de ellas, las llamadas materias primas críticas (MPC), son escasas o solo se producen en unos pocos países, y pueden crear un riesgo en el suministro. La Unión Europea publica cada tres años una lista de MPC para la economía europea. Se describe un entorno de aprendizaje digital para que el alumnado pueda aprender sobre estas materias y cuestiones sociocientíficas, así como los resultados preliminares en las clases de química

Promoviranje druzbeno usmerjene komunikacije in sposobnosti sprejemanja odlocitev prek ucenja o oglasevanju v naravoslovnem izobrazevanju

In our everyday lives we are surrounded by advertising in its various forms. Thus in the school context it is not surprising that the issue of advertising is addressed by different subjects, with the main foci being advertising-specific language, images and illustrations, use of stereotypes, strategies of persuasion etc. But advertising also contains factual information, being explicit or implicit, to make a campaign more credible and underline the effectiveness of a certain product. Dealing with the use of factual information in advertising critically is important for the consumer. For many products this information is derived from science and technology. Understanding the science in and behind advertising is necessary to become a critical consumer. Learning about the use of science in advertising also allows promoting societal-oriented communication and decision making skills in the science classroom. Unfortunately, only a few examples on the use of advertising in the science classroom exist. This paper provides a justification for the use of advertising in science education. Examples from the classroom developed in the framework of the PROFILES-project are provided by way of illustration. (DIPF/Orig.

Innovating science teaching by participatory action research - reflections from an interdisciplinary project of curriculum innovation on teaching about climate change

This paper describes a three-year curriculum innovation project on teaching about climate change. The innovation for this study focused on a socio-critical approach towards teaching climate change in four different teaching domains (biology, chemistry, physics and politics). The teaching itself explicitly aimed at general educational objectives, i.e., fostering students’ communication and evaluation abilities as essential components for preparing young people for active participation in society. Participatory Action Research has been used as a collaborative strategy of cyclical curriculum innovation and research. Using past experiences and selected results from accompanying research, this project and its methodology will be reflected upon from the viewpoint of the chemistry group taking part in the project. Core issues reflected upon include how the project contributed to the creation of feasible curriculum materials, how it led to innovative structures in practice, and whether it supported experienced teachers’ ongoing professional development. General considerations for the process of curriculum innovation will also be derived. (DIPF/Orig.

Uporaba akcijskega raziskovanja z udelezbo pri razvoju ucnega modula za izobrazevanje za trajnostni razvoj pri bodocih uciteljih kemije

This paper describes the development of a course module on sustainability issues and Education for Sustainable Development in German pre-service chemistry teacher education. The module was inspired by empirical research findings about the knowledge base of student teachers. It was created and cyclically refined using participatory action research. Experience gained during its three-year application will be reflected upon here, including feedback collected from student evaluation sheets. In the end, the participants responded extremely positively to the course. The student teachers stated that the module was interesting, relevant and valuable for their later profession as high school chemistry teachers. They also emphasised that they now felt more competent in the area of sustainability and ESD. (DIPF/Orig.

Vloga in potencialne nevarnosti vizualizacije pri ucenju submikroskopskih razlag pri pouku kemije

The core of theory-driven chemistry education consists of the constant shift between the different representational domains of chemical thinking: the macroscopic, the sub-microscopic, and the symbolic domains. Because the sub-microscopic domain can neither be seen nor directly visualised, it requires specific forms of visualisation, i.e. pictures and animations illustrating the model-based level of discrete particles, atoms, or molecular structures. This paper considers the central role visualisations play when learning about the model-based, sub-microscopic level, but it also reflects the dangers inherent in employing insufficiently examined, poorly considered, or even misleading visualisations. This is outlined using different examples taken from both textbooks for lower secondary chemistry education (for students aged 10 to 15) and from the internet. Implications for structuring and using sub-micro visualisations in chemistry education are also given. (DIPF/Orig.