"It happened, what’s the problem?" and "A guide through the problem": A model for consideration of ecological issues in chemistry education

Abstract

In order to improve the ability for application of knowledge of chemistry (acquired in the existing educational system) in real life the Model for Consideration of Ecological Issues was developed and applied in high school. The Model consists of the continuous text (?It Happened, What?s the Problem??) and the test with non-continuous text (?A Guide Through the Problem?), which are prepared for consideration of the problem of eutrophication. All results obtained (average achievement of 70.9?14.3 %) showed that the application of the Model enabled: understanding of an ecological problem based on scientific representations of the term eutrophication given in the continuous text, realization that the pollution of our environment may be directly related to modern life, application of acquired knowledge of chemistry to observe and understand the cause and effect of eutrophication in our environment, to draw a scientific conclusion, and understanding the importance of science and technology discoveries for solving ecological problems. In addition, Model contributed to the development of student?s environmental literacy (ecological knowledge and cognitive skills), ability to think critically, and provided possibilities for classroom knowledge to become applicable in real life. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 179048]

Do Serbian high school students possess knowledge of basic chemical facts related to real life as a prerequisite for chemical literacy?

“…PISA tends to focus on practical knowledge in action, namely recognizing questions as scientific, identifying relevant evidence, critically evaluating conclusions, and communicating scientific ideas. [30][31][32][33] The last results of scientific literacy for 15-years-old students assessed under the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA 2018) showed that a mean score (440) of students from Serbia in scientific literacy was statistically significantly below the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) average (489), so that the students from Serbia ranked 45 th from 79 countries. 34 Although the TIMSS results show solid achievements of younger primary school students, PISA assessment results are warning signs that we should be concerned about the scientific literacy of the country's population.…”

Promoting Students’ Scientific Habits of Mind and Chemical Literacy Using the Context of Socio-Scientific Issues on the Inquiry Learning

“…Furthermore, socioscientific issues (SSIs) were reported as a potential topic to make chemistry learning relevant (e.g., Eilks et al, 2018;Zowada et al, 2020) since it helped students to connect the scientific concepts and social problems in their daily lives (Capkinoglu et al, 2019). Previous studies showed that bringing SSI in science learning improved students' decision making (Rizal et al, 2017;Christenson et al, 2014, and students' awareness toward environmental and daily problems (e.g., Juntunen and Aksela, 2013;Korolija et al, 2015;Drury et al, 2016;Shamuganathan and Karpudewan, 2017).…”