- 4202 East Fowler Ave., EDU105
Department of Secondary Education
College of Education
University of South Florida
Tampa, FL 33620-5650 USA - 813-974-5650
Dana Zeidler
University of South Florida, Science Education, Faculty Member
- Social Justice, Epistemology (Anthropology), Argumentation, Critical Thinking, DIscourse, Nature of Science, Character Education, Scientific Literacy, and 8 morePublic Understanding of Science (Education), Moral and Cognitive Reasoning, Moral and Ethical Issues in Science, Socioscientific Issues, Philosophy of Science (Education), Science Education, Environmental Sustainability, and Discourse Analysis(Public Understanding of Science (Education), Moral and Cognitive Reasoning, Moral and Ethical Issues in Science, Socioscientific Issues, Philosophy of Science (Education), Science Education, Environmental Sustainability, and Discourse Analysis)edit
- Distinguished University Professor, University of South Florida, Tampa, FloridaDr. Dana L. Zeidler (PhD, MS, BS, AAS)... moreDistinguished University Professor, University of South Florida, Tampa, FloridaDr. Dana L. Zeidler (PhD, MS, BS, AAS) is the Distinguished University Professor of Science Education in the College of Education at the University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida. He has developed an international research program in the field of Science Education 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. Professor Zeidler’s recent distinctions include: serving as the Co-Editor of the Journal of Research in Science Teaching, receiving the Distinguished Career Award from NARST: A Worldwide Organization for Improving Science Teaching and Learning through Research(Distinguished University Professor, University of South Florida, Tampa, FloridaDr. Dana L. Zeidler (PhD, MS, BS, AAS) is the Distinguished University Professor of Science Education in the College of Education at the University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida. He has developed an international research program in the field of Science Education 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. Professor Zeidler’s recent distinctions include: serving as the Co-Editor of the Journal of Research in Science Teaching, receiving the Distinguished Career Award from NARST: A Worldwide Organization for Improving Science Teaching and Learning through Research)edit
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As society navigates complex socioscientific issues (SSI) in an increasingly digitalized world, science education faces evolving challenges and opportunities. This study aimed to conduct a literature review by systematically analyzing and... more
As society navigates complex socioscientific issues (SSI) in an increasingly digitalized world, science education faces evolving challenges and opportunities. This study aimed to conduct a literature review by systematically analyzing and synthesizing existing research and publications on SSI pedagogy and the digital age. The steps involved in this method include: identifying the research scope, searching and selecting relevant literature, analyzing and synthesizing relevant literature, identifying gaps and trends, and critical evaluation and interpretation. The study explores the intersection of SSI pedagogy and the digital age, shedding light on both emerging trends and uncharted frontiers. The review delves into the dynamic landscape of SSI education, emphasizing the integration of digital technologies as a means to engage students in authentic, real-world problem-solving. It examines the role of technology in enhancing SSI learning experiences, from virtual simulations to online collaborative platforms. Furthermore, the review critically evaluates the impact of digital tools on student decision-making, argumentation skills, and ethical reasoning in the context of socioscientific dilemmas. This review also addresses the challenges and opportunities of teaching SSI in online and blended learning environments, particularly in light of the global shift toward remote education. In summary, this review informs educators, and researchers, and underscores the pivotal role of digital technologies in preparing students to navigate the complex socioscientific challenges of the 21st century.
The purpose of this study was to test predictability of environmental moral reasoning patterns of preservice science teachers (PSTs) by their epistemological beliefs and values. Four environmental moral dilemma scenarios that reflect... more
The purpose of this study was to test predictability of
environmental moral reasoning patterns of preservice
science teachers (PSTs) by their epistemological beliefs
and values. Four environmental moral dilemma scenarios
that reflect different environmental moral
dilemma situations taking place in four outdoor recreation
contexts (i.e., hiking, picnicking, fishing, camping)
were used to trigger and examine environmental moral
reasoning of PSTs. Centers of moral concerns
(i.e., ecocentric, anthropocentric, egocentric) and
underlying reasons of environmental moral considerations
(e.g., aesthetical concerns, justice issues) were
used to investigate PSTs' environmental moral reasoning
patterns. Data were collected from 1524 PSTs
enrolled in six universities located in Central Anatolia
region of Türkiye. A path model was proposed to test
relationships of PSTs' epistemological beliefs and
values to their environmental moral reasoning for each
environmental moral dilemma scenario. Results indicated
good-fit between study data and the path model
tested for each environmental moral reasoning scenario.
Variances in environmental moral reasoning
scores that were explained by the path models had small to medium effect size values of 0.06 to 0.26. Statistical
significance and direction of the tested relationships
showed changes depending on the moral
dilemma scenario context and focus of environmental
moral reasoning. Nevertheless, path analyses consistently
revealed positively significant relationships
between environmental moral reasoning categories and
epistemological beliefs in omniscient authority and
self-transcendence and tradition values. Implications
for science education policy and practice are discussed.
environmental moral reasoning patterns of preservice
science teachers (PSTs) by their epistemological beliefs
and values. Four environmental moral dilemma scenarios
that reflect different environmental moral
dilemma situations taking place in four outdoor recreation
contexts (i.e., hiking, picnicking, fishing, camping)
were used to trigger and examine environmental moral
reasoning of PSTs. Centers of moral concerns
(i.e., ecocentric, anthropocentric, egocentric) and
underlying reasons of environmental moral considerations
(e.g., aesthetical concerns, justice issues) were
used to investigate PSTs' environmental moral reasoning
patterns. Data were collected from 1524 PSTs
enrolled in six universities located in Central Anatolia
region of Türkiye. A path model was proposed to test
relationships of PSTs' epistemological beliefs and
values to their environmental moral reasoning for each
environmental moral dilemma scenario. Results indicated
good-fit between study data and the path model
tested for each environmental moral reasoning scenario.
Variances in environmental moral reasoning
scores that were explained by the path models had small to medium effect size values of 0.06 to 0.26. Statistical
significance and direction of the tested relationships
showed changes depending on the moral
dilemma scenario context and focus of environmental
moral reasoning. Nevertheless, path analyses consistently
revealed positively significant relationships
between environmental moral reasoning categories and
epistemological beliefs in omniscient authority and
self-transcendence and tradition values. Implications
for science education policy and practice are discussed.
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Socioscientific issues (SSI) have been found to improve scientific literacy skills among K—12 students. Existing literature shows, however, that elementary preservice teachers are reluctant to implement SSI due to a lack of confidence... more
Socioscientific issues (SSI) have been found to improve
scientific literacy skills among K—12 students. Existing
literature shows, however, that elementary preservice
teachers are reluctant to implement SSI due to a lack of
confidence with subject matter knowledge and knowledge
of instruction concerning SSI. Previous research
has focused on helping elementary preservice teachers
overcome these concerns through microteaching,
adapting existing curricula, and experiencing SSI
through methods courses. While it has been noted that
formal preparation is required for preservice teachers to
feel confident in their abilities to facilitate SSI, little has
been done to prepare elementary preservice teachers to
facilitate SSI during field experiences. In this study, we
explored the factors that influenced elementary preservice
teachers' instructional decision-making while
planning and enacting SSI-based instruction in the
classroom. Community of practice (CoP) meetings provided
formal training to prepare these elementary preservice
teachers to facilitate SSI. Recordings of the CoP
meetings, reflective journals, observations, and interviews
served as data sources. Our findings revealed
knowledge of students, instructional knowledge, and context as most influential in these elementary preservice
teachers' pedagogical reasoning concerning SSIbased
instruction, while subject matter knowledge was
the least considered. We discuss these findings and
offer recommendations for how to use these considerations
when planning future research to study elementary
preservice teachers' SSI-based instructional
practice.
scientific literacy skills among K—12 students. Existing
literature shows, however, that elementary preservice
teachers are reluctant to implement SSI due to a lack of
confidence with subject matter knowledge and knowledge
of instruction concerning SSI. Previous research
has focused on helping elementary preservice teachers
overcome these concerns through microteaching,
adapting existing curricula, and experiencing SSI
through methods courses. While it has been noted that
formal preparation is required for preservice teachers to
feel confident in their abilities to facilitate SSI, little has
been done to prepare elementary preservice teachers to
facilitate SSI during field experiences. In this study, we
explored the factors that influenced elementary preservice
teachers' instructional decision-making while
planning and enacting SSI-based instruction in the
classroom. Community of practice (CoP) meetings provided
formal training to prepare these elementary preservice
teachers to facilitate SSI. Recordings of the CoP
meetings, reflective journals, observations, and interviews
served as data sources. Our findings revealed
knowledge of students, instructional knowledge, and context as most influential in these elementary preservice
teachers' pedagogical reasoning concerning SSIbased
instruction, while subject matter knowledge was
the least considered. We discuss these findings and
offer recommendations for how to use these considerations
when planning future research to study elementary
preservice teachers' SSI-based instructional
practice.
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The purpose of this study was to explore science content used during college students’ negotiation of biology-based socioscientific issues (SSI) and examine how it related to students’ conceptual understanding and acceptance of biological... more
The purpose of this study was to explore science content used during college students’ negotiation of biology-based socioscientific issues (SSI) and examine how it related to students’ conceptual understanding and acceptance of biological evolution. The Socioscientific Issues Questionnaire (SSI-Q) was developed to measure depth of evolutionary science content use during SSI negotiation. Fifty-two upper level undergraduate biology and non-biology majors completed the SSI-Q and also the Conceptual Inventory of Natural Selection to assess evolution understanding and the Measure of Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution to appraise evolution acceptance. A multiple regression analysis tested for interaction effects between the predictor variables, evolution understanding and evolution acceptance. Results indicate that college students primarily use science concepts related to evolution to negotiate biology-based SSI including variation in a population, inheritance of traits, differential success, and change through time. The hypothesis that the extent of one’s acceptance of evolution is a mitigating factor in how science content related to evolution is evoked during SSI negotiation was supported by the data, in that such content was consistently evoked by participants for each of the three SSI scenarios used in this study.
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This investigation examined how a 6 week environmental topics course that included place‐based socioscientific issues (SSI) instruction in the Greater Yellowstone Area (GYA) in the United States of America influenced 21 postsecondary... more
This investigation examined how a 6 week environmental topics course that included place‐based socioscientific issues (SSI) instruction in the Greater Yellowstone Area (GYA) in the United States of America influenced 21 postsecondary students' expressed socioscientific orientations of Ecological Worldviews (including Interconnectedness and Sustainable Development); Social and Moral Compassion (including Moral and Ethical Sensitivity, Perspective Taking, and Empathetic Concern); Socioscientific Accountability (including Feelings of Responsibility and Willingness to Act); and Scientific Evidence Views (including Affordances and Constraints of Scientific Evidence). The students, who were enrolled in diverse academic majors, provided significantly different and better contextualizedtu qualitative responses across all eight socioscientific orientation dimensions after the SSI course. For instance, the students often referred to SSI they experienced, such as when indicating feeling more connected to nature and accountable for compassionate and sustainable environmental issues resolution. Moreover, the students were better able to utilize the perspectives of those they interacted with who were incurring SSI impacts (e.g., ranchers and Native Americans in the GYA) to knowledgably articulate how effective SSI resolution requires weighing scientific evidence in juxtaposition with sociocultural and ethical considerations. The coherence to which our methodological approaches and socioscientific orientation rubrics revealed how the students expressed complex cognitive, emotive, and intentional variables highlight the importance of the SSI field's need to use such standardized qualitative measures. Pedagogical considerations addressed include how to effectively implement place‐based instruction where students engage diverse groups of people experiencing and resolving SSI where they occur.
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Examines how the socioscientific issues framework can be situated in (environmental) climate change education. (Book Chapter)
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Through an oversight, the authors of a Journal of Elementary Science Education manuscript, ‘‘Using socioscientific issues in primary classrooms’’ by Thomas J. Dolan, Bryan H. Nichols, and Dana L. Zeidler, omitted a citation from the... more
Through an oversight, the authors of a Journal of Elementary Science Education manuscript, ‘‘Using socioscientific issues in primary classrooms’’ by Thomas J. Dolan, Bryan H. Nichols, and Dana L. Zeidler, omitted a citation from the manuscript. This manuscript appeared in Issue 21, Volume 3, Summer 2009, of the Journal of Elementary Science Education. The activity ‘‘The Black Bear Necessities’’ in the Dolan, Nichols, and Zeidler article should have included a reference citation to ‘‘How Many Bears Can Live in This Forest?’’ from the Project WILD K-12 Curriculum & Activity Guide published by the Council for Environmental Education (2003) in Houston, TX.
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Page 1. The Central Role of Fallacious Thinking in Science Education DANA L. ZEIDLER Department of Secondary Education, College of Education, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620-5650, USA Received 7 November ...
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This work is dedicated to my mother, Margaret and to her sister, my Aunt Clare, who ignited the spark for the love of learning in my sisters and me. Through them was transmitted the curiosity, the excitement, and the joy of teaching from... more
This work is dedicated to my mother, Margaret and to her sister, my Aunt Clare, who ignited the spark for the love of learning in my sisters and me. Through them was transmitted the curiosity, the excitement, and the joy of teaching from a long line of educators who have influenced the minds of generations of students. I also want to thank you both for your patient and persistent attention to detail. Thank you Naraiya, Meg and Andy, you never doubted for a moment that I would succeed; you each inspire me every day in countless ways. Dad, I love you, thank you for always being there for me. The P in this Ph.D. is officially yours Mama- you are Perfect in every way.
This paper provides a framework for examining the role of argumentation and thinking and is consistent with the research on pedagogical and theoretical misconceptions.. The focus is on presenting a framework to discuss and illustrate how... more
This paper provides a framework for examining the role of argumentation and thinking and is consistent with the research on pedagogical and theoretical misconceptions.. The focus is on presenting a framework to discuss and illustrate how argumentation is related to social thinking (dialogic reasoning) and conceptual change, and provide common examples of fallacious argumentation with an emphasis on socio-scientific reasoning. These include: (1) validity concerns; (2) naive conceptions of argument structure; (3) effects of core beliefs on argumentation; (4) inadequate sampling of evidence; and (5) altering representation of argument and evidence. Further, the role of anomalous information in changing pedagogical and conceptual misconceptions is addressed. Hypothetical samples of students ' thoughts for analysis which exhibit various fallacious arguments and thinking and implications for science teaching are included. Contains 44 references. (LZ) Reproductions supplied by EDRS ar...
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The purpose of this study was to test predictability of environmental moral reasoning patterns of preservice science teachers (PSTs) by their epistemological beliefs and values. Four environmental moral dilemma sce
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The purpose of this study was to test predictability of environmental moral reasoning patterns of preservice science teachers (PSTs) by their epistemological beliefs and values. Four environmental moral dilemma sce
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The purpose of this investigation was to examine, from a cross-cultural perspective, stu- dents' epistemological patterns of reasoning about socioscientific issues (SSI), and to identify potential interactions of cultural and... more
The purpose of this investigation was to examine, from a cross-cultural perspective, stu- dents' epistemological patterns of reasoning about socioscientific issues (SSI), and to identify potential interactions of cultural and scientific identity. Mediating factors associated with students' argumentation and discourse about SSI, as well as the public's understanding of science, has been identified as an important area of investigation in the field of science education. This mixed-methods design included over 300 students from Jamaica, South Africa, Sweden, Taiwan, and the United States. Students responded to instruments designed to assess their epistemological conceptualizations and justifications related to distributive justice, allocation of scarce medical resources, and epistemological beliefs over five dimensions related to scientific knowledge. Four iterations of a coding scheme produced over 97% inter-rater agreement for four independent coders. Results indicate the...
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Daftar artikel: 1. A Learning Progression Should Address Regression : Insights From Developing Non-Linear Reasoning in Ecology (Tasos Hovardas) 2. Developing a Learning Progression for Sea Level Rise, a Major Impact of Climate Change :... more
Daftar artikel: 1. A Learning Progression Should Address Regression : Insights From Developing Non-Linear Reasoning in Ecology (Tasos Hovardas) 2. Developing a Learning Progression for Sea Level Rise, a Major Impact of Climate Change : (Wayne Breslyn,
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Approach socioscientific issues in your classroom from an evolutionary perspective using tested educational resources! EuroScitizen and EvoKE offer you the ebook "Learning evolution through socioscientific issues". Produced by... more
Approach socioscientific issues in your classroom from an evolutionary perspective using tested educational resources!
EuroScitizen and EvoKE offer you the ebook "Learning evolution through socioscientific issues". Produced by professionals from 15 different countries, this book provides you 6 theoretical chapters on the teaching and learning of biological evolution and on the socioscientific issues pedagogical approach, and 6 chapters with practical activities and educational materials on a variety of topics and grade levels, which you can adapt and apply in your own classes.
Sá-Pinto, X., Beniermann, A., Børsen,
T., Georgiou, M., Jeffries, A., Pessoa, P., Sousa, B., & Zeidler,
D.L. (Eds.). (2022). Learning Evolution Through Socioscientific
Issues. UA Editora.
EuroScitizen and EvoKE offer you the ebook "Learning evolution through socioscientific issues". Produced by professionals from 15 different countries, this book provides you 6 theoretical chapters on the teaching and learning of biological evolution and on the socioscientific issues pedagogical approach, and 6 chapters with practical activities and educational materials on a variety of topics and grade levels, which you can adapt and apply in your own classes.
Sá-Pinto, X., Beniermann, A., Børsen,
T., Georgiou, M., Jeffries, A., Pessoa, P., Sousa, B., & Zeidler,
D.L. (Eds.). (2022). Learning Evolution Through Socioscientific
Issues. UA Editora.
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Examines how the socioscientific issues framework can be situated in (environmental) climate change education. (Book Chapter)