Reconceptualizing nature‐of‐science education in the age of social media

Abstract

Individuals are increasingly relying on social media as their primary source of scientific information. Science education needs to adapt. Nature of science (NOS) education is already widely accepted as essential to scientific literacy and to an informed public. We argue that NOS now needs to also include the NOS communication: its mediation, mechanisms, and manipulation. Namely, students need to learn about the epistemics of communicative practices, both within science (as a model) and in society. After profiling the current media landscape, we consider the implications of recent major studies on science communication for science education in the 21st century. We focus in particular on communicative patterns prominent in social media: algorithms to aggregate news, filter bubbles, echo chambers, spirals of silence, falseconsensus effects, fake news, and intentional disinformation.We claim that media literacy is now essential to a complete view of the NOS, or "Whole Science." We portray that new content as an extension of viewing science as a system of specialized experts, with mutual epistemic dependence, and the social and communicative practices that establish trust and credibility. K E Y W O R D S media literacy, nature of science, science media literacy, social media ---This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.

Aspects About Science in the Context of Production and Communication of Knowledge of COVID-19

“…The different information about scientific studies disseminated by different sources raises the discussion of the importance of scientific literacy involving the media, highlighting the need that science teaching contribute to the development of students’ critical reading skills also with respect to the media – which Hodson ( 2013 ) names media literacy. In this same perspective, Höttecke and Allchin ( 2020 ) articulate the integration of aspects of NOS and socioscientific issues for the promotion of scientific literacy by addressing the development of a broader understanding of NOS in the context of scientific communication (its mediation, the mechanisms involved, and its manipulation), naming it science media literacy .…”

“…In general, people have access to research into the coronavirus pandemic through the media, thereby making the pandemic better understood by the general population by means of clippings, simplifications, and adaptations of information (Höttecke & Allchin, 2020 ). These clippings are essential to avoid excessively scientific or detailed language, for example.…”

“…However, in the current context, it is important to try to understand any bias, possible distortions, and misinformation that may be lurking behind some news, especially, but not exclusively, those published in free media, such as social networks, blogs, and video-sharing websites, among others, places where anyone, whether an expert or not, can post opinions or (mis)information. According to Höttecke and Allchin ( 2020 ), individuals rely on social media as their main source of scientific information, this being due to cultural changes. This is a cause for concern because this is where fake news is often broadcast and spread.…”

“…Considering (i) the potential of the approach of a rich contemporary and prominent context in society for discussion of aspects of NOS and as a way to enhance teachers’ knowledge of NOS (Wong et al, 2009 , 2011 ), and (ii) the contributions of teaching approaches based on socioscientific contexts to promote the development of students’ knowledge of NOS and scientific literacy (Aikenhead, 2006 ; Allchin, 2011 , 2014 ; Hodson, 2014 ; Höttecke & Allchin, 2020 ; Ryder, 2001 ; Sadler, 2011 ; Zeidler & Nichols, 2009 ), this paper analyses the context of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic to identify and promote thoughts on aspects of NOS involved in it.…”

Validating of Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Questionnaire for Prevention of COVID-19 infections among Undergraduate Students: A RASCH and Factor Analysis

“…The implementation of science learning should also equip students to understand the causes of a pandemic and know what actions are needed to help the government overcome the outbreak (Grace & Bay, 2011;Jacque et al, 2016). Science education should also be able to act as a bulwark against disinformation and fake news related to the disease (Höttecke & Allchin, 2020;Jones-Jang et al, 2019). Science education is also expected to be able to rectify and prevent students from engaging in harmful practices and increase their positive attitudes in order to minimize negative impacts during the outbreak.…”