Socioscientific Issues Focused Teacher Education: Place-Based Practices from Türkiye

This book explores place-based pedagogies in the context of socioscientific issues in Türkiye. From local and global contexts, it delves into research-based learning activities for science teacher educators, offering insights to educators worldwide.

The book aims to empower teachers to provide students with learning experiences centered on local socioscientific issues essential for developing scientifically literate citizens. Each chapter showcases effective practices, focusing on local topics like gold mining, nuclear power plants, and river pollution. By incorporating socioscientific elements into science lessons, teachers are encouraged to foster students’ responsibility values, argumentation, critical thinking, and awareness. Emphasizing the crucial components of place-basedness and relevancy of SSI learning environments, students are guided towards more sophisticated ways of conceptualizing and resolving SSI.

The intended audience includes science teacher educators, researchers, and educators devoted to engaging students in meaningful socioscientific learning experiences.

Dr. Bahadir Namdar earned his Ph.D. at the University of Georgia, USA. He worked as a research and teaching assistant at the Department of Mathematics and Science Education. His doctoral dissertation focused on using multiple representations for socioscientific argumentation in a computer-supported collaborative learning environment. He has published several articles in high-impact factor journals. He is currently an associate professor of science education at Ege University. His research focuses on argumentation, socioscientific issues, technology integration, and teacher education.

Dr. Engin Karahan is an associate professor of science education at Middle East Technical University. He earned his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. During his graduate studies, he worked as a researcher at the STEM Education Center on NASA and NSF-funded projects addressing socioscientific issues, culturally relevant climate change education, and STEM education. His dissertation examined teachers’ design of socioscientific instruction and its effects on students’ reasoning. His research interests include STEM education, socioscientific issues, educational technology, and agency.