Next Generation Socioscientific Issues Education: Incorporating Practices in SSI Learning Experiences

The socioscientific issues movement has grown and evolved significantly over the last two decades. During this same time period, science education in the US has experienced substantial policy changes with the advent and implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS; National Research Council, 2013). One of the major contributions of the NGSS is its emphasis on science and engineering practices. This chapter presents two different projects which exemplify SSI teaching, learning, and research that prioritize learner engagement in scientific practices. The first project presents a case of student engagement in the practices of modeling and computational thinking to learn about the issue of the emergence of antibiotic resistant bacteria and how natural selection and evolutionary processes drive this issue. In the second project, students explore viral epidemics through engagement with different types of models. These models include a systems model that encourages learners to consider both the scientific and social dimensions of socioscientific issue systems. Findings from this work suggest that learners are able to leverage scientific practices to reason about complex issues, their underlying causes, and potential solutions, outcomes that align very well with the goals for SSI education.