Synopsis
REVERE Award Finalist, PreK-12 Learning Group, Association of American Publishers! “Functional scientific literacy requires an understanding of the nature of science and the skills necessary to think both scientifically and ethically about everyday issues.” ―from the introduction to It’s Debatable! This book encourages scientific literacy by showing you how to teach the understanding and thinking skills your students need to explore real-world questions like these: • Should schools charge a "tax” to discourage kids from eating unhealthy foods? • Should local governments lower speed limits to reduce traffic fatalities? • Should pharmaceutical companies be allowed to advertise prescription drugs directly to consumers? At the core of the exploration is the Socioscientific Issues Framework. The framework gives students practice in the research, analysis, and argumentation necessary to grapple with difficult questions and build scientific literacy. After introducing the concept of the framework and explaining how it aligns with the Next Generation Science Standards, the book shows you how to implement it through seven units targeted to the elementary, middle, and high school levels. You even find out how to develop your own socioscientific issues curriculum. Both practical and content-rich, It’s Debatable! doesn’t shy away from controversy. Instead, the authors encourage you and your students to confront just how messy the questions raised by science (and pseudoscience) can be. After all, as the authors note, “The only way for our students to be prepared for participation in societal discourse is to have practice in their school years, and what better place than the science classroom?”
About the Authors
Dr. Dana L. Zeidler is a Distinguished University Professor in Science Education and Department Chair at the University of South Florida, USA. He has developed an international research program centered on Socioscientific Issues taking a sociocultural approach to teaching and learning about how moral and ethical issues can be a means to foster the formation of epistemological sophistication and character in the pursuit of scientific literacy.
Dr. Sami Kahn is a 30-plus-year veteran science educator with extensive experience in classroom teaching, professional development, and curriculum development. She is proud to share that she has taught science to students in almost every grade, from kindergarten through college. Dr. Kahn currently serves as Executive Director of the Council on Science and Technology at Princeton University where she works to promote scientific literacy for all through STEM education research, course development, and outreach. An awardwinning teacher and scholar, she uses her background in science education and law to inform her research and teaching on inclusive science practices, socioscientific issues (SSI), argumentation, and social justice. Dr. Kahn has authored numerous journal articles, including several in Science and Children, and has coauthored three books on enhancing scientific inquiry experiences for children and adults, including the NSTA Press book It’ s Debatable! Using Socioscientific Issues to Develop Scientific Literacy, K– 12 (2014). Her service to the field includes leadership positions with the National Science Teaching Association and the Association for Science Teacher Education. Dr. Kahn holds an MS in ecology and evolutionary biology from Rutgers University, a JD in law from Rutgers School of Law, and a PhD in curriculum and instruction with a specialization in science education from the University of South Florida, where she served as a presidential doctoral fellow. Before coming to Princeton, Dr. Kahn held positions at Ohio University, Collegiate School in New York City, and Rutgers University.
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