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ERIC Number: ED476253
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2003
Pages: 23
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Dilemmas with Dilemmas...Exploring the Suitability of Dilemma Stories as a Way of Addressing Ethical Issues in Science Education.
Settelmaier, Elisabeth
Traditionally, many science educators have taught science without addressing ethical questions. However, the inclusion of moral discourse in science teaching may help educators to bring to the fore problematic issues in relation to science, and it may offer an opportunity for students to practice their future engagement in the public discourse about science. This paper presents the results of a qualitative evaluative case study using several methodological lenses. The focus of the study was on the appropriateness of dilemma stories as a standard tool to initiate critical reflection and moral discourse within the theoretical framework of constructivism, as well as on the multiple perspectives of the students, teachers, and the researcher. The context of the study was a project conducted in a public senior high school in Austria with one biology teacher and one mathematics/physics teacher and their classes. The results indicate that teaching using dilemmas can promote multiple intelligences and can lead to self-examination, to critical assessment of assumptions, and to perspective transformation, all of which form part of transformative learning. On the teachers' side, this type of teaching challenges a teacher's skills with regard to facilitation, moderation, and self-restraint in order not to impose one's opinion on the students. (Author)
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Austria
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A