Kyza, Elena

Levinson, Ralph

Institute of Education EPrints

Abstract 
This project aims at science teachers’ professional development (TPD).  The TPD is based on four pillars, described in the 
Socio-Scientific Inquiry Based Learning (SSIBL) framework (Levinson & The PARRISE consortium, in progress).  It 
focuses on pre- and in-service science teachers at the elementary and secondary school levels, and is implemented in 11 Euro-
pean countries.  The SSIBL pedagogy integrates four important pillars for promoting young students' scientific  literacy: 
responsible research and innovation, citizenship education, socio-scientific issues and inquiry-based science education.  The 
SSIBL approach is a novel approach to scientific literacy; at this roundtable we invite conference delegates to explore the 
feasibility of the SSIBL pedagogy from their point of view and identify pedagogical, epistemological or pragmatic challenges 
relating to the implementation of SSIBL curricula in science classrooms across Europe.  
evidence.  Such an     
approach will provide 
opportunities for rich dis-
cussions that will illustrate 
the complexity of modern 
decision-making in socio-
scientific debates. 
Inquiry-Based Science 
Education (IBSE) 
Inquiry teaching and 
learning is the pedagogy 
adapted in SSIBL. IBSE 
actively involves students 
in pursuing authentic 
problem-solving, which 
involves them in core 
scientific practices such 
as developing and testing 
hypotheses, collecting 
and interpreting data and 
building evidence-based 
explanations.   
The four pillars which 
comprise the SSIBL 
framework, and which 
guide the PARRISE    
approach to learning and 
teaching of science are 
as follows: 
Responsible Research 
and Innovation (RRI) 
Developments in science 
and technology can     
facilitate human progress. 
Any such progress should 
take into account societal 
needs and priorities, be 
ethical, democratic, and 
responsible.   
Citizenship Education 
(CE) 
Democratic deliberation is 
a crucial characteristic of 
SSIBL. Students are 
called to critically engage 
in dialogic scientific    
reasoning,  respecting 
and trying to understand 
each other’s view point.  
Through this pillar        
students are expected to 
inquire about individual 
and collective rights and    
responsibilities that     
accompany decision 
making around a socio-
scientific issue. 
Socio-scientific issues 
(SSI) 
As part of the SSIBL   
approach students      
engage with controversial 
socio-scientific issues, 
with no clear answers.  
Resolving these issues 
will require taking into 
account conflicting view 
points, prioritizing values 
and critically examining 
WHAT IS SSIBL 
T E A C H E R S ’  P R O F E S S I O N A L  D E V E L O P M E N T
The teaching of science 
in schools has traditional-
ly and intentionally sepa-
rated science content 
from societal values and 
ethical dilemmas, with the 
focus being on the for-
mer.  SSIBL seeks to re-
integrate the social and 
personal into the scien-
tific, and as a result, ap-
proaches the teaching 
and learning of science 
much more broadly and 
encompassing. 
Examples of SSIBL 
CPD activities 
PARRISE plans extended 
professional development 
programmes in the 11 
participating countries.  
These TPDs can take a 
variety of forms.  A      
sequence of key activities 
for a SSIBL TPD could be 
based on the idea of 
teachers’ guided partici-
pation, scaffolding, and 
legitimate peripheral par-
ticipation. According to 
one version of this ap-
proach, teachers are first 
introduced to the four 
pillars, discuss examples 
of SSIBL scenaria, con-
trast these scenaria with 
non-SSIBL ones, and  
gradually begin to        
Eleni  A.  K yza,  Cypr us  Univer si ty o f  Technology & Ralph  Levinson,  Inst i tute  o f  Educat ion  
Eleni .Kyza@cut.ac.cy,  Ralph. levinson@ ioe.ac.uk  
  
SSIBL: A theory-informed instructional framework 
for enhancing students' understanding and action on 
socio-scientific issues through an inquiry approach 
develop their own scenaria and 
activities or adapt existing 
ones.  The final step would be 
for teachers to enact and en-
gage in action research, in  
order to reflect and revise their 
approach. We anticipate that 
teachers will need guidance to 
move through their own ZPD; 
this will be provided by their 
TPD mentors but also through 
reflection on their own practice. 
www.parrise.eu 
Roundtable presented at the EAPRIL 2014 Conference—November 26, 2014, Nicosia, Cyprus 
A representation of the main 
aspects of the Socio-
Scientific Inquiry Based 
Learning Framework (SSIBL)  
You are a member of a scientific board which 
needs to decide whether your government 
should allow the growing of genetically modi-
fied organisms (GMOs).  
There are strong opinions both for and against 
GMOs.  Review scientific data on genetically 
modified (GM) crops and their effect on three 
areas: the environment, economy and health.  
In your group, examine your data in order to 
reach an evidence-based answer to the follow-
ing question: “Would you allow the growing of 
GM plants in your country? Why or why not?”   
Finally, your group will participate in a class 
debate on this topic with your classmates.  To 
prepare for this debate you will need to review 
your evidence and reach a group decision 
based on how you prioritize the issues 
(environment, economy, health). 
Length of lessons 
Lessons can be short-
er or longer; SSIBL 
discussions can occur 
at any stage of teach-
ing and learning, and 
their length, extend 
and  authenticity will 
depend on the back-
ground of the students, 
the teacher, and local 
contexts.  
 
 
Authenticity 
Students’ engagement 
with authentic, open-
ended inquiry is a 
gradual process which 
needs to be scaffolded 
over time.  Depending 
on where students are, 
students may initiate 
inquiries into research-
able phenomena or 
can be guided to do so 
by the teacher.  
 
Responsibility 
Action is crucial to the 
approach and should 
not be omitted. It can 
take many different 
and innovative formats 
(i.e. posters, YouTube 
videos, presentations, 
story-telling, etc.). Ac-
tion-oriented problem 
solving can help stu-
dents appreciate the 
full spectrum of re-
sponsible research and 
innovation. 
S C E N A R I O   
TA K I N G  A C T I O N !  
SSIBL 
scenaria 
culminate 
with students 
taking action 
on things that 
matter! 
Page 2 
SSIBL:  A T HEORY - INFORMED INST RUCT IONAL FRAMEWORK FOR ENHANCING ST UDENT S'  UNDERST ANDING AND ACT ION ON  SOCIO -
SCIENT IF IC ISSUES T HROUGH AN INQUIRY APPRO ACH  
Examining the data in each of 
the three areas (environment, 
economy, health) will provide 
different answers for different 
GM plants and different results 
for each of the 3 areas. As 
such, this topic cannot be fully     
resolved.  
How should the decision be 
reached? In debating this is-
sue,    students will need to 
consider the following issues: 
 What are our local priorities 
as to what is most im-
portant?  
 What do we value most? 
(The environment, health, 
or the economy?)  
Teacher notes 
 What is the best decision 
for whom and why? 
As an extension, students 
can consider if the decision 
they have reached is also fair 
in other contexts: e.g. scien-
tists using GM crops to pre-
vent diseases or famine.   
Through group collaboration 
and whole class discussions 
students are expected to ap-
preciate the connections be-
tween values, understanding 
of science and of    scientific 
evidence, and public  deliber-
ation. 
 Draw on different 
funds of knowledge; 
 Connect to relevant 
science knowledge in 
the curriculum; 
 Foster democratic de-
liberation of different 
perspectives; 
 Allow the liaising with 
different agencies ei-
ther within or outside 
the school setting, i.e. 
active networks of ex-
change; 
 Should culminate with 
students taking action 
based on research.   
CRITERIA FOR A GOOD SSIBL SCENARIO  
SSIBL scenaria revolve 
around problems that can 
be solved through        
research.   
The following criteria guide 
the selection of appropri-
ate scenaria.  The problem 
should: 
 Have a genuinely open 
solution; 
Roundtable presented at the EAPRIL 2014 Conference—November 26, 2014, Nicosia, Cyprus 
The Teachers’ Professional Develop-
ment Programme includes a variety of 
activities ranging from presentations, 
and discussions to curriculum design 
work relating to: 
 The four pillars of SSIBL  
 Mapping controversies and setting 
instructional objectives 
 How to develop or adapt appropri-
ate authentic scenaria 
 Designing matching activity      
sequences 
 
 Use of digital media and multime-
dia to promote engagement and 
enhance understanding 
 Assessment of SSIBL 
 Strategies on supporting student 
dialogue and informed deliberation 
in open-ended inquiry 
 Challenges in implementing SSIBL 
(local & global)  
 Supporting students’ understand-
ing of the nature of science in 
SSIBL investigations 
 How to support student action 
and communication of culmi-
nating decisions 
Teachers are expected to build 
confidence over time at which 
time they can consider enacting 
a SSIBL informed unit they de-
signed. 
In Cyprus, teachers will be asked 
to enact and bring back videos of 
their classroom practice for re-
flective conversations with the 
group. 
 
 
PARRISE is coordinated by the Freudenthal Institute for 
Science and Mathematics Education (FIsme) at Utrecht 
University in the Netherlands. 
For more information on the PARRISE project visit 
www.parrise.eu 
PARRISE is a four-year programme (2014-2018)    
funded by the European Commission’s FP7 scheme, 
under grant agreement 612438. 
PARRISE aims at introducing the concept of Responsi-
ble Research and Innovation in formal and informal 
science learning settings.    
The consortium reflects a multidisciplinary team who 
will facilitate networking activities among teachers, 
teacher educators and educational researchers of 18 
institutions in 11 countries.   
T E A C H E R S ’   P R O F E S S I O N A L  D E V E L O P M E N T  
A B O U T  PA R R I S E  
What are the epistemological 
and ontological difficulties in 
moving from experience of IBSE 
to SSIBL?  
Researchers 
How might (a) SSIBL; (b) teach-
er development for SSIBL, be 
assessed?  
What criteria and competences 
are appropriate? 
T H I S  R O U N D TA B L E  D I S C U S S I O N  
During this roundtable we 
would like to receive feedback 
on the SSIBL framework and 
TPD approach from teachers 
and researchers. 
Teachers 
What are the pedagogical chal-
lenges in integrating distinct 
epistemic domains, e.g. social 
and political questions with sci-
entific aspects?  
 
What challenges 
do you see in 
implementing 
SSIBL in your 
classroom? 
 
How might we 
assess SSIBL 
and our 
professional 
development 
programme? 
Page 3 
SSIBL:  A T HEORY - INFORMED INST RUCT IONAL FRAMEWORK FOR ENHANCING ST UDENT S'  UNDERST ANDING AND ACT ION ON  SOCIO -
SCIENT IF IC ISSUES T HROUGH AN INQUIRY APPRO ACH  
Roundtable presented at the EAPRIL 2014 Conference—November 26, 2014, Nicosia, Cyprus 


SSIBL: A theory-informed instructional framework for enhancing students' understanding and action on socio-scientific issues through an inquiry approach

Kyza, E

Levinson, R

UCL Discovery

Abstract This project aims at science teachers’ professional development (TPD).  The TPD is based on four pillars, described in the Socio-Scientific Inquiry Based Learning (SSIBL) framework (Levinson & The PARRISE consortium, in progress).  It focuses on pre- and in-service science teachers at the elementary and secondary school levels, and is implemented in 11 Euro-pean countries.  The SSIBL pedagogy integrates four important pillars for promoting young students' scientific  literacy: responsible research and innovation, citizenship education, socio-scientific issues and inquiry-based science education.  The SSIBL approach is a novel approach to scientific literacy; at this roundtable we invite conference delegates to explore the feasibility of the SSIBL pedagogy from their point of view and identify pedagogical, epistemological or pragmatic challenges relating to the implementation of SSIBL curricula in science classrooms across Europe.  evidence.  Such an     approach will provide opportunities for rich dis-cussions that will illustrate the complexity of modern decision-making in socio-scientific debates. Inquiry-Based Science Education (IBSE) Inquiry teaching and learning is the pedagogy adapted in SSIBL. IBSE actively involves students in pursuing authentic problem-solving, which involves them in core scientific practices such as developing and testing hypotheses, collecting and interpreting data and building evidence-based explanations.   The four pillars which comprise the SSIBL framework, and which guide the PARRISE    approach to learning and teaching of science are as follows: Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) Developments in science and technology can     facilitate human progress. Any such progress should take into account societal needs and priorities, be ethical, democratic, and responsible.   Citizenship Education (CE) Democratic deliberation is a crucial characteristic of SSIBL. Students are called to critically engage in dialogic scientific    reasoning,  respecting and trying to understand each other’s view point.  Through this pillar        students are expected to inquire about individual and collective rights and    responsibilities that     accompany decision making around a socio-scientific issue. Socio-scientific issues (SSI) As part of the SSIBL   approach students      engage with controversial socio-scientific issues, with no clear answers.  Resolving these issues will require taking into account conflicting view points, prioritizing values and critically examining WHAT IS SSIBL T E A C H E R S ’  P R O F E S S I O N A L  D E V E L O P M E N TThe teaching of science in schools has traditional-ly and intentionally sepa-rated science content from societal values and ethical dilemmas, with the focus being on the for-mer.  SSIBL seeks to re-integrate the social and personal into the scien-tific, and as a result, ap-proaches the teaching and learning of science much more broadly and encompassing. Examples of SSIBL CPD activities PARRISE plans extended professional development programmes in the 11 participating countries.  These TPDs can take a variety of forms.  A      sequence of key activities for a SSIBL TPD could be based on the idea of teachers’ guided partici-pation, scaffolding, and legitimate peripheral par-ticipation. According to one version of this ap-proach, teachers are first introduced to the four pillars, discuss examples of SSIBL scenaria, con-trast these scenaria with non-SSIBL ones, and  gradually begin to        Eleni  A.  K yza,  Cypr us  Univer si ty o f  Technology & Ralph  Levinson,  Inst i tute  o f  Educat ion  Eleni .Kyza@cut.ac.cy,  Ralph. levinson@ ioe.ac.uk    SSIBL: A theory-informed instructional framework for enhancing students' understanding and action on socio-scientific issues through an inquiry approach develop their own scenaria and activities or adapt existing ones.  The final step would be for teachers to enact and en-gage in action research, in  order to reflect and revise their approach. We anticipate that teachers will need guidance to move through their own ZPD; this will be provided by their TPD mentors but also through reflection on their own practice. www.parrise.eu Roundtable presented at the EAPRIL 2014 Conference—November 26, 2014, Nicosia, Cyprus A representation of the main aspects of the Socio-Scientific Inquiry Based Learning Framework (SSIBL)  You are a member of a scientific board which needs to decide whether your government should allow the growing of genetically modi-fied organisms (GMOs).  There are strong opinions both for and against GMOs.  Review scientific data on genetically modified (GM) crops and their effect on three areas: the environment, economy and health.  In your group, examine your data in order to reach an evidence-based answer to the follow-ing question: “Would you allow the growing of GM plants in your country? Why or why not?”   Finally, your group will participate in a class debate on this topic with your classmates.  To prepare for this debate you will need to review your evidence and reach a group decision based on how you prioritize the issues (environment, economy, health). Length of lessons Lessons can be short-er or longer; SSIBL discussions can occur at any stage of teach-ing and learning, and their length, extend and  authenticity will depend on the back-ground of the students, the teacher, and local contexts.    Authenticity Students’ engagement with authentic, open-ended inquiry is a gradual process which needs to be scaffolded over time.  Depending on where students are, students may initiate inquiries into research-able phenomena or can be guided to do so by the teacher.   Responsibility Action is crucial to the approach and should not be omitted. It can take many different and innovative formats (i.e. posters, YouTube videos, presentations, story-telling, etc.). Ac-tion-oriented problem solving can help stu-dents appreciate the full spectrum of re-sponsible research and innovation. S C E N A R I O   TA K I N G  A C T I O N !  SSIBL scenaria culminate with students taking action on things that matter! Page 2 SSIBL:  A T HEORY - INFORMED INST RUCT IONAL FRAMEWORK FOR ENHANCING ST UDENT S'  UNDERST ANDING AND ACT ION ON  SOCIO -SCIENT IF IC ISSUES T HROUGH AN INQUIRY APPRO ACH  Examining the data in each of the three areas (environment, economy, health) will provide different answers for different GM plants and different results for each of the 3 areas. As such, this topic cannot be fully     resolved.  How should the decision be reached? In debating this is-sue,    students will need to consider the following issues:  What are our local priorities as to what is most im-portant?   What do we value most? (The environment, health, or the economy?)  Teacher notes  What is the best decision for whom and why? As an extension, students can consider if the decision they have reached is also fair in other contexts: e.g. scien-tists using GM crops to pre-vent diseases or famine.   Through group collaboration and whole class discussions students are expected to ap-preciate the connections be-tween values, understanding of science and of    scientific evidence, and public  deliber-ation.  Draw on different funds of knowledge;  Connect to relevant science knowledge in the curriculum;  Foster democratic de-liberation of different perspectives;  Allow the liaising with different agencies ei-ther within or outside the school setting, i.e. active networks of ex-change;  Should culminate with students taking action based on research.   CRITERIA FOR A GOOD SSIBL SCENARIO  SSIBL scenaria revolve around problems that can be solved through        research.   The following criteria guide the selection of appropri-ate scenaria.  The problem should:  Have a genuinely open solution; Roundtable presented at the EAPRIL 2014 Conference—November 26, 2014, Nicosia, Cyprus The Teachers’ Professional Develop-ment Programme includes a variety of activities ranging from presentations, and discussions to curriculum design work relating to:  The four pillars of SSIBL   Mapping controversies and setting instructional objectives  How to develop or adapt appropri-ate authentic scenaria  Designing matching activity      sequences   Use of digital media and multime-dia to promote engagement and enhance understanding  Assessment of SSIBL  Strategies on supporting student dialogue and informed deliberation in open-ended inquiry  Challenges in implementing SSIBL (local & global)   Supporting students’ understand-ing of the nature of science in SSIBL investigations  How to support student action and communication of culmi-nating decisions Teachers are expected to build confidence over time at which time they can consider enacting a SSIBL informed unit they de-signed. In Cyprus, teachers will be asked to enact and bring back videos of their classroom practice for re-flective conversations with the group.   PARRISE is coordinated by the Freudenthal Institute for Science and Mathematics Education (FIsme) at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. For more information on the PARRISE project visit www.parrise.eu PARRISE is a four-year programme (2014-2018)    funded by the European Commission’s FP7 scheme, under grant agreement 612438. PARRISE aims at introducing the concept of Responsi-ble Research and Innovation in formal and informal science learning settings.    The consortium reflects a multidisciplinary team who will facilitate networking activities among teachers, teacher educators and educational researchers of 18 institutions in 11 countries.   T E A C H E R S ’   P R O F E S S I O N A L  D E V E L O P M E N T  A B O U T  PA R R I S E  What are the epistemological and ontological difficulties in moving from experience of IBSE to SSIBL?  Researchers How might (a) SSIBL; (b) teach-er development for SSIBL, be assessed?  What criteria and competences are appropriate? T H I S  R O U N D TA B L E  D I S C U S S I O N  During this roundtable we would like to receive feedback on the SSIBL framework and TPD approach from teachers and researchers. Teachers What are the pedagogical chal-lenges in integrating distinct epistemic domains, e.g. social and political questions with sci-entific aspects?   What challenges do you see in implementing SSIBL in your classroom?  How might we assess SSIBL and our professional development programme? Page 3 SSIBL:  A T HEORY - INFORMED INST RUCT IONAL FRAMEWORK FOR ENHANCING ST UDENT S'  UNDERST ANDING AND ACT ION ON  SOCIO -SCIENT IF IC ISSUES T HROUGH AN INQUIRY APPRO ACH  Roundtable presented at the EAPRIL 2014 Conference—November 26, 2014, Nicosia, Cyprus 

http://eprints.ioe.ac.uk/21300/1/PARRISE_EAPRIL_2014_roundtable_handout_2_.pdf

SSIBL: A theory-informed instructional framework for enhancing students' understanding and action on socio-scientific issues through an inquiry approach

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Institute of Education EPrints

UCL Discovery