Wicked problems have been characterised by their high epistemological and axiological complexities. These are the kinds of problems that may invade our classrooms because many of them concern many stakeholders, including our students. Several approaches have been developed to address wicked problems in various contexts. However, little is known…

This paper provides theorisation about a novel concept for education: an integrative philosophy of knowledge (IPK). This is proposed for school curricula to relate multiple subjects to big questions of personal and existential importance. Critical contemporary issues such as climate change education require multiple subject contributions but there…

Insights and methods from the chemical sciences are directly relevant to global challenges such as climate change, renewable energy generation and storage, water purification, and food production. However, these connections are often opaque to students in general chemistry courses, who may get lost in the weeds of stoichiometry, VSEPR, and gas…

This quasi-experimental study explored the impact of inquiry-based instruction on students' conceptions of climate change and their perceptions of science learning environment. A total of 68 senior primary school students participated into the study. Data sources included Questionnaire on Global Climate Change and Constructivist Learning…

This case study applied sociocultural theory to examine the climate change ideas communicated by one group of middle school students (N = 39) in a suburban community on the U.S. East Coast. We investigated the ways in which students' participation in the sociocultural activities of their varied communities appeared to inform their understandings…

Misconceptions about climate change are common, which suggests a need to effectively address the subject in the classroom. This article describes a project-based science activity in which students report on the physical basis, adaptations, and mitigation of this global problem, adapting the framework of the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel…

Uncertainties and debates regarding the term of sustainable development are still going on, and similarly, the notion of education for sustainable development (ESD) is open to debate. There has been an attempt to make the concept of ESD evident, which is quite challenging. Palmer (1998) stated the appropriateness of ESD within environmental…

There is a remarkable difference between formal knowledge and true understanding of the subject. While the former helps students earn top grades, the latter is crucial to the solution of real-world problems. An excellent example is the computation of capacitance, with which some students have difficulty. Also, most textbooks limit problem analysis…

Practical work is often considered to be a highlight of science classes for students. However, there are few opportunities for students to engage in an investigation which is situated in a real world problem and students are required to contribute their own ideas to the design and conduct of an experiment. This paper reports on a Scientists in…

Students at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, can now take an innovative biology course in which an integrated, interdisciplinary, problem-based approach is used--one that the scientific community itself is promoting. The first course in a four-semester sequence, Biology 123--The Living World: Concepts and Connections--explores real-world…

My teaching and textbook have always covered many physics-related social issues, including stratospheric ozone depletion and global warming. The ozone saga is an inspiring good-news story that's instructive for solving the similar but bigger problem of global warming. Thus, as soon as students in my physics literacy course at the University of…

This case has the student actively investigate the regulation of expression of a novel bacterial gene in the context of attempts to solve a real world problem, clean up of the April 2010 Deep Water Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Although the case is fictitious, it is based on factual gene regulatory characteristics of oil-degrading…

Have your students ever wondered what NASA scientists do? Have they asked you what their science and mathematics lessons have to do with the real world? This unit about Earth's atmosphere can help to answer both of those questions. The unit described here showcases "content specific integration" of science and mathematics in that the lessons meet…

An interdisciplinary and context-driven course focused on global water issues was developed and taught at the college level. Students designed a semester-long research project, collected and analyzed data, and ultimately presented their results and conclusions to the larger community. As a result of the course, students' science literacy improved…

The recent international story about the death of the former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko has more than just a few wondering about radiation poisoning and the sinister sounding polonium-210. I was preparing to begin a nuclear radiation unit the Monday after Thanksgiving 2006. As it turned out, Litvinenko died Thanksgiving Day after a short and…