期刊名称：International Journal of Environmental and Science Education
电子版ISSN：1306-3065
出版年度：2010
卷号：5
期号：4
页码：511-514
出版社：IJESE
摘要：Over the past two decades there have been some profound changes in our views of what consti-tutes an appropriate education in science and technology. Some of these changes focus on the ways in which teaching and learning are conceptualized – in particular, recognition of the impor-tance of taking account of students’ existing knowledge and experiences, paying much more careful attention to the social and affective dimensions of learning, and providing opportunities for more active learning. Other changes concern the shift from a primary focus on preparing stu-dents for further study and subsequent employment in science-related and technology-related careers to a consideration of how science and technology education can play a more prominent role in education for responsible citizenship. Notions of scientific and technological literacy havebeen substantially expanded to include emphasis on the nature of science in its disciplinary, so-cial, cultural, historical, political, environmental and economic contexts. Increasingly, students are being invited to confront socioscientific issues (SSI) and to reach decisions on where they stand on issues that confront them and their families in daily life. SSI have a number of character-istic features: they have a basis in science, frequently at the frontiers of scientific knowledge, where data and evidence may be incomplete, conflicting or confusing; they involve the formation of opinions and making of choices at a personal and societal level; they address local, national and/or global issues, with attendant political and societal implications; they involve some cost-benefit analysis in which probability and risk interact with values; and they often feature prominently in the media. Dealing rationally and critically with SSI requires students to have a certain level of understanding of the relevant science, a rigorous understanding of the nature of science, appreciation of the sociocultural location of science and technology, a firm grasp of the distinctions between science and technology and the criteria for judging potential solutions and policies, and a high level of media literacy.
