How do people come to opposite causal judgments about societal problems, such as whether a public health policy reduced COVID-19 cases? The current research tests an understudied cognitive mechanism in which people may agree about what "actually" happened (e.g., that a public health policy was implemented and COVID-19 cases declined),…

The main goal of this research is to study the effect of modelling with system dynamics on learning. Specifically, this research studies if using inductive or deductive learning methods applied during modelling with system dynamics has any effect on problem solving skills of students. This research has three other goals: Firstly, the successful…

Learners are expected to discuss and debate, using scientific evidence, the Socio-Scientific Issues (SSI) that often overlap with personal experiences and ethical dilemmas. This study investigated the reasoning of 24 Grade 8 Lebanese students when arguing about a scientific scenario as opposed to an SSI. It also examined how students make…

Purpose: Since developing science literacy is a primary objective of science education and socio-scientific (SSI) decision-making is an important aspect of science literacy, it is valuable to explore how students structure their decisions related to SSIs, and how they discuss and solve SSIs. The aim of present study was to examine elementary…

This dissertation offered insights into the repercussions of safetyism within societies shaped by cognitive distortions and political correctness. Safetyism, which prioritized emotional safety over intellectual liberty and a multitude of viewpoints, contributed to heightened vulnerability among individuals. Protecting individuals from provocative…

Our current cultural climate is marked by a convergence of pressing issues, including the rise of the post-truth situation, which has recently been described as an epistemic crisis (Hoggan-Kloubert & Hoggan, 2023). This conceptual paper outlines why adult education institutions must reclaim the pursuit of truth as undergirded by rationality,…

Civic argumentation refers to societal problems that may affect various scientific disciplines. Societal problems are complex and their possible solutions controversial. Making informed and reasoned decisions on these problems requires domain-specific content knowledge and domain-specific argumentation skills. This study addresses argumentation on…

A central goal of civic and multicultural education is preparing young people to participate in deliberatively informed action on important social issues. In order to achieve this goal, educators need to cultivate young people's innate but partial 'sprouts' of benevolence, which are rooted in feelings of empathy and compassion. Without a sense of…

This study was aimed to develop a general argumentation framework for evaluating the quality of causal arguments across scientific and social contexts. We designed a computer-delivered assessment that contains four scenario-based argumentation tasks. Each task asks students to identify relevant evidence from provided data sources and use the…

Online activism is a space of opportunity for students to encounter social justice issues, explore the possibilities of visual rhetoric, practice persuasive speaking skills, and actively contribute to the momentum of social movements. At the same time, digital activism raises concerns about "slacktivism," limiting the necessary…

The science curriculum in the Turkish education system includes socioscientific issues (SSI) as a context for developing students' reasoning skills, scientific thinking habits, and decision-making skills from an early age. Conducting activities on real problems with teachers and pre-service teachers based on SSI and making decisions considering…

Serious identification of the gifted started with the work of Lewis Terman early in the 20th century. Terman's model, based largely on IQ, may have made sense in the early 20th century, but it no longer makes sense today. The problems that society needs its gifted individuals to solve in the 21st century require much more than IQ--in addition to…

The present writer is drawn to write on this topic based on the realization that the Nigerian society seems to be one that is bereft of the practicalisation of the ideal standards of virtues. There is apparent lack of objective measures of rightness and wrongness of actions, especially in the present dispensation, irrespective of the so much…

This manuscript describes a quantitative literacy course focusing on issues of economic and racial justice, developed for a summer bridge program. The curriculum for the course, described in the manuscript, consisted of open-ended assignments that dealt with real-world issues and required basic modeling skills; whereas the culminating assignment…

The changes associated with the Renaissance, Reformation and Enlightenment moved the seat of authority from princes and bishops to the individual and made the application of rationality the measure of believability. This paper argues that the current period of socio-political and moral upheaval, triggered by disruptive technology, anger about…