Scientific literacy as social practice: Implications for reading and writing in science classrooms

Abstract

This article provides an introduction to what it means to adopt a view of literacy as social practice for science education. This view of literacy builds on the idea that reading and writing are best regarded as situated social practices involving text, not as a set of decontextualised and universally applicable skills. First, we draw on sociocultural perspectives on literacy to show how these perspectives inform our understanding of literacy when the context is science. Second, we use related research literature, mainly concerning the role of text in science education, to present a framework for approaching literacy in science classrooms from a sociocultural perspective. Finally, we discuss how a social view of literacy enables us to consider how literacy occurs in contexts relevant to a transcending science subject for scientific literacy.

Tiedeopetuksen muuttuvat tavoitteet

“…esim. Buchholz & Pyles, 2018;Norris & Phillips, 2003;Sørvik & Mork, 2015) Eräs useisiin luonnontieteellisen lukutaidon määritelmiin läheisesti liittyvä tavoite on, että tiedeopetuksen tulisi olla relevanttia -eli hyödyl-listä tai kiinnostavaa (vrt. Stuckey, Hofstein, Mamlok-Naaman, & Eilks, 2013) -niillekin oppilaille, jotka eivät tähtää luonnontieteellisille aloille.…”

“…Lukutaito sen kirjaimellisessa merkityksessä tuo luonnontieteellisen lukutaidon käsitteen lähelle monilukutaidon käsitettä. Näitä käsitteitä ei tyypillisesti ole käsitelty rinnakkain, mutta toisinaan luonnontieteellinen lukutaito on rinnastettu monilukutaidon kanssa tai nähty monilukutaidon eräänä osana (Lavonen ym., 2010;Sørvik & Mork, 2015). Itse asiassa Norris ja Phillips (2003) tekevät eksplisiittisesti eron luonnontieteellisen lukutaidon ja perinteisen lukutaidon välille, sillä heidän mukaansa edellinen eroaa jälkimmäisestä substantiaalisen sisältönsä vuoksi.…”

Students as researchers: What and why seventh‐grade students choose to write when investigating their own research question

“…Historically, emphasis on the actual use of texts in science education has been limited, but a broader view on literacy and a concern for students’ literacy practices is emerging in contemporary research (Blikstad‐Balas & Sørvik, ; Howes et al., ; Norris & Phillips, ; Osborne, , ; Sørvik et al. ; Sørvik & Mork, ). Sørvik and Mork (, p. 276) explained how a social view of literacy “provides science education with the theoretical perspectives to examine the role of literacy in a transcending science subject.” As they emphasized, a theoretical perception of reading and writing as situated within a social context, enables researchers to “consider how literacy is a part of contexts that influence science education and are relevant to the long‐term goal of scientific literacy” (Sørvik & Mork, , p. 276).…”

“…Texts and socially meaningful ways of using them are essential parts of science (Knorr‐Cetina, ; Norris & Phillips, ; Osborne, ; Sørvik & Mork, ). Research has demonstrated that professional researchers and scientists engage in a variety of textual activities not only for documenting their research and presenting it to peers in a number of ways but also for reading, discussing, and commenting on others’ research.…”

Representing to learn in science education: Theoretical framework and analytical approaches

“…We use the term scientific literacy in a functional sense, meaning that scientific literacy enables participation in science discourses (Knain, 2015;Sørvik & Mork, 2015). Roberts (2007Roberts ( , 2011 outlines what he calls different 'visions' of the purposes for learning school science: Vision I and Vision II.…”