I have been writing about STSE (Science, Technology, Society and Environment) action projects and my attempt to implement the STEPWISE framework in the last several posts. As a reminder, the STEPWISE framework is designed to help students explore various socio-scientific issues by carrying out secondary and primary research and to use their research to inform activism in science. I have implemented the framework in three stages:
i) students carry out secondary research on a choice of one of the four STSE issues presented to them in the chemistry unit and devise an action plan to address the issue (see the sample video below that was developed by one group of students)
ii) students engage in both secondary and primary (correlational studies) research on STSE issues in the climate change unit and devise an action plan to address the issue- this is still teacher guided, but open-ended
iii) students perform student-lead, open-ended STSE action projects in the biology unit – a list of STSE issues is given to students, but the choice of what secondary and primary research to do is left up to students
So far I have had a lot of success with the STEPWISE framework. Students are more engaged on average. My weaker students (ie. those who generally do poorly on knowledge-based tests) have done a lot better in class with the STEPWISE. Students like discussing socio-scientific issues and being empowered to act and make a difference in our society. Students’ inquiry projects (experiments and correlational studies) have more meaning since they are contextualized.
I’m attaching a sample of an educational activist video that was developed by three girls in my class. I thought that they did a very good job on their first STSE action project.
