Keynote Abstract (Join us Saturday afternoon as Dr. Zeidler engages SASTE participants in an exploration of the popular trend of socioscientific issues with respect to ecojustice and youth activism)
EcoJustice, Citizen Science, and Youth Activism: Enacting Transformative Transformations Through Socioscientific Issues
Socioscientific issues (SSI) involve the deliberate use of scientific topics that require students to engage in dialogue, discussion, and debate. They are usually controversial in nature but have the added element of requiring a degree of moral reasoning or the evaluation of ethical concerns in the process of arriving at decisions regarding possible resolution of those issues. The intent is that such issues are personally meaningful and engaging to students, require the use of evidence-based reasoning, and provide a context for understanding scientific information.
Empirical and conceptual research over the last decade has revealed a plethora of beneficial pedagogical outcomes, not the least of which is an enhanced and more robust understanding of scientific literacy. However, in this keynote, I wish to push the outer confidence interval of what constitutes progressive conceptualizations of scientific literacy in public practice. In doing so, I will raise questions and argue points that challenge what it means to have a shift in epistemic beliefs that are different in kind from conventional notions of scientific literacy and may properly be said to be transformative. Doing so, we will find, necessarily requires an exploration of ecojustice, citizen science and youth activism.
SPECIAL GUEST SPEAKER
Dr. George Glasson
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Special Guest Abstract (Join us Friday evening at the Botanical Garden’s Callaway Conference Center for a special guest speaker Dr. George Glasson on ecojustice in science education and evening reception)
Ecojustice Education in Marginalized Cultures
Ecojustice education has the potential to involve our youth in transforming people and communities to live more sustainably with the natural world. As teachers and students from marginalized cultures are especially vulnerable to being dominated and overshadowed by the discourses of accountability and economic competitiveness (Zandvliet. 201O), a new vision for science education is needed to inspire teachers and students to connect scientific literacy to local community knowledge and practices. In rural Malawi and Thailand, educators struggle with inadequate resources and marginalized voice in the curriculum to teach students science so that it will make a difference in their personal lives and the life of the community. However, in these two diverse cultures, transformative ecojustice pedagogies have empowered educators to question conventional socio-political ideologies that lead to unsustainable economic policies, energy use, and agricultural practices. Through an ethic of caring for the environment, connecting to the wisdom of the local culture, and active involvement of the community, students are engaged in learning about organic agricultural practices that are purposeful, sustainable, and make a difference in their everyday lives.