Authentic Topics as Organizers for Instruction

Abstract

Context based approaches including STS, STSE, and SSI instruction have the potential to promote student content knowledge, deepen student understanding of the nature of science tenants, strengthen student argumentation skills, and promote student motivation and interest in science. This capstone project is a compilation of forty meaningful, curriculum generated science topics, which can be used as a foundation for designing lessons that incorporate strategies to promote written or verbal argumentation in living environment courses. The topics were selected such that their implementation would not significantly disrupt the existing organization of science content within a district curriculum. The project demonstrates the potential for context based approaches including STS, STSE, and SSI to be used in courses where science content to be taught is dictated by state standards and a major reorganization of the curriculum is not possible.