Exploring Resources and Reasoning Practices in Socioscientific System Modeling for Justice-Centered Science...

Area of Science:

• Science Education
• Social Justice
• Socioscientific Systems

Background:

• Integrating science education with social justice is crucial for addressing societal issues like climate change and pandemics.
• Justice-Centered Science Pedagogy (JCSP) provides a framework for this integration.
• Socioscientific issues require understanding complex social and scientific dimensions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the effectiveness of socioscientific system modeling within JCSP.
• To enhance middle school students' understanding of social justice science issues.
• To explore how system modeling scaffolds reasoning about complex social systems.

Main Methods:

• The study involved 27 middle school students.
• Students used system models to explore the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The research focused on integrating students' lived experiences and identities into the learning process.

Main Results:

• System modeling effectively scaffolds students' reasoning about socioscientific issues.
• Students' diverse backgrounds and experiences were leveraged as valuable contributions to learning.
• The study demonstrated the potential for transformative learning environments.

Conclusions:

• JCSP, utilizing socioscientific system modeling, enhances students' understanding of complex science issues.
• Instructional design should incorporate multifaceted, responsive activities aligned with JCSP principles.
• Empowering students as agents of societal transformation is a key outcome.