Thai pre-service science teachers’ struggles in using Socio-scientific Issues (SSIs) during practicum

The findings from the data analysis are presented in three parts: 1) PSTs’ current use of SSI-based teaching, 2) PSTs’ difficulties in using SSI-based teaching, and 3) PSTs’ needs for professional development in SSI-based teaching.

Most PSTs used noncontroversial issues related to science rather than SSIs for student understanding of scientific concepts.

When the researchers asked the PSTs’ views in the questionnaire on the meaning of SSIs, 10 PSTs had a correct understanding of SSIs as social, controversial, relevant, real-world problems that are informed by science and often include an ethical component. One respondent said, “It occurs in society related to science, but there are still no clear, correct answers, and it is related to ethics. It depends on people’s view point” (P09). On the other hand, 32 PSTs answered that SSIs were hot social issues and were related to science. They were not concerned about the controversial aspects of the issue. One PST said, “It (SSI) is related to science by a social situation about which everyone has recently been interested” (P45). This example showed that PST’s understanding of SSIs was different from the correct SSI definition. In addition, 10 PSTs did not answer this question. The reason they gave in their informal interviews was that they had no idea.

When they were asked whether they bring SSIs into their classes, some reported that they took SSIs into their classes to link with scientific concepts. These concepts can be divided into seven groups: health and behavior, chromosomes and genetic materials, weather, the environment, natural resources, and energy, as shown in Table I.

Table I. The group of scientific concepts and related issues that PSTs used in their classrooms

Scientific concepts	Examples of related issues	Frequency(Percentage)
1. Health and behavior	Providing medical care for a superstar infected with Dengue fever, using herbal anti-obesity drugs or glutathione, surrogacy, and believing in child angel dolls	5 (26.32)
2. Chromosomes and genetic materials	GMOs, stem cell treatments to cure disease, identifying birth parents, and cloning	4 (21.05)
3. Natural resources	Constructing of a dam in a national park, selling endangered species, and rearing alien species	4 (21.05)
4. Weather	Climate change, global warming, El Nino-southern oscillation, ozone depletion, and acid rain	2 (10.53)
5. Environment	Oil spills in the ocean, noise pollution from airplanes, garbage dust from coal-fired power plants, use of chemical fertilizer in rice fields, and earthquakes	2 (10.53)
6. Chemical agents	Using chemical agents in the wrong way	1 (5.26)
7. Energy	Constructing a nuclear power plant	1 (5.26)

However, some issues in the table above were used PSTs’ classrooms for their noncontroversial aspects related to the scientific concepts that PSTs were teaching rather than for controversial SSIs with no clearly defined single outcome or answer and about which reasonable people might be expected to disagree. These ideas were shown again in their lesson plan and teaching practice. For example, a PST who was investigating food and nutrition introduced the issue “fast food is bad for health” by showing her students a video clip about the dangers of fast food and encouraging her students to answer questions about why the food shown in the video clip was dangerous. After that, she asked her students to do an experiment provided in the textbook examining nutrition in food. When her students finished their experiments, she asked them to present the data they had obtained, followed by a discussion. She ended her class by asking students some questions about the concepts of nutrition as part of a summative assessment: “What is nutrition?” “How many types of nutrition are there?” “How can we examine types of nutrition in food?” In her focus group interview, she stated, “I intended to use the issue about the dangers of fast food issue to attract my students’ interest in the scientific concepts about nutrition” (P51).

In contrast, another PST brought up the “dietary supplement” issue in his lesson on food and nutrition. He started by asking students to read an article that included a variety of positive and negative opinions on dietary supplements. Then, he let students make claims and warrants about whether dietary supplements were good for their health. His students also had the chance to do experiments from the textbook or to search for information about food and nutrition from the Internet to support their ideas. Afterward, he asked the students with different ideas to debate the topic “is it essential to eat dietary supplements?” based on the data they had collected. At the end of the debate, he also let his students discuss those aspects of law, economy, ethics, and consumer safety that had led them to make their decision. Before his class finished, he used guided questions to allow students to complete their discussion of the concept of food and nutrition. In his focus group interview, he stated, “I think that the dietary supplement is good for my students to link their knowledge about nutrition to daily life through debate and discussion about this issue” (P13). Therefore, the issue this PST used in his class was a SSI because it was a controversial, socially relevant, real-world problem informed by science and included an ethical component.

When in the questionnaire the researchers asked PSTs how they used SSIs in their classrooms, a majority reported that they provided examples or situations with SSIs and discussed them in the introductory part of the lesson. Others used SSIs as a theme for driving the whole lesson. However, a few provided examples or situations of SSIs and discussed them in the elaboration part of the lesson. Only one PST provided examples and informed students about information related to SSIs, as shown in Table II.

Methods	Frequency(Percentage)
1. Provided examples or situations of SSIs and discussed them in the introductory part	22 (50.00)
2.Used SSIs as a theme for driving the whole lesson	19 (43.18)
3. Provide examples or situations of SSIs and discussed them in the elaboration part	2 (4.55)
4. Only provided examples and gave students information related to SSIs	1 (2.27)

From classroom observation, the researchers found that most PSTs who used SSIs in their classes focused on SSIs only in the introduction portion of their teaching to attract students’ interest in the lesson and did not mention them again. As one PST revealed in a focus group interview, “I launched my lesson by telling the news about gays asking woman to do surrogacy for them to motivate my students’ interest in reproduction before letting them search various kinds of reproduction on academic websites on their cell phones” (P26). These PSTs’ uses of SSIs were confirmed by the cooperating teachers’ reflections on their teaching practices. One said: “A PST told his students news related to SSIs in the introductory part. Sometimes, he talks about SSIs in the elaboration part to link scientific concepts to daily life” (C07). Their university supervisors reported their use of SSIs in the same way: “My PSTs that I supervised sometimes brought hot issues to their classes to attract student interest. I sometimes found they used SSIs in their teaching especially in the introductory part or elaboration part because they think that SSIs are related to their teaching concept” (U06).

Video clips were used as the main type of media by PSTs bringing SSIs into the science classroom.

Data from the questionnaires show that PSTs used various media to link SSIs to their lessons. These media can be divided into seven groups: video clips, newspapers, social media, local learning resources, books, pictures, and leaflets, as shown in Table III.

Table III. Media that PSTs used to bring issues into their science classrooms

Media	Frequency(Percentage)
1. Video clips from radio/television	33 (29.46)
2. Newspapers	28 (25.00)
3. Social media/websites	26 (23.21)
4. Local learning resources such as museums, libraries, experts in the community	9 (8.04)
5. Books/journalss	8 (7.14)
6. Pictures from various media	6 (5.36)
7. Leaflets	2 (1.79)

As shown in the table above, video clips were the main media used for bring SSIs into a lesson. Focus group interviews revealed the reasons for this. One PST stated, “I used SSIs in my class by asking my students to read newspapers, but they did not like reading. In addition, they could not discuss the SSIs they read about because they did not have prior knowledge or experience about the SSIs. To deal with these problems, I used video clips to let students learn about the SSI. Consequently, they were more interested and discussed the topic more in a short time” (P09). These perceptions were also found in PSTs’ lesson plans in which video clips were used to present SSIs to their students. An example is found in one lesson plan: “Introduction part: 1) Students watch a video clip about the protest about the construction of a dam in a national park. 2) The teacher asks questions about student ideas on what they saw in the video clip. 3) Students explain the way to solve this problem” (P37).

From observing the classrooms, the researchers found that most PSTs used video clips to provide facts about SSIs, followed by discussion. For example, one PST used a video clip about the greenhouse effect in the teaching step of her lesson on the concept of change in world temperatures. After that, she asked her students about facts in the video: What is global warming? Which gas is a greenhouse gas? What are the effects of the greenhouse effect on the world? Their university supervisors agreed about the use of media to deliver knowledge concerning SSI; one stated, “Most of the time PSTs used a video clip related to issues to present scientific concepts to their students.” However, some PSTs used video clips to motivate students’ curiosity and used the inquiry process to elicit knowledge related to SSIs. For example, on the topic of biotechnology, one PST used a video clip about a couple of guys who asked a Thai woman to be a surrogate mother for them. She agreed to do that, but when she gave birth she did not want to give them the baby. After the PST let his students watch the video clip, he asked questions not only about the process of surrogacy, but also about the impact of this SSI on society, such as law, ethics, culture, and so on. In addition, he provided the opportunity for his students to search for information from various learning resources provided in his classroom, such as the textbook and websites, to answer his questions and to discuss the topic together, which led to conclusions on the concept and process of surrogacy and its link to real situations. For this teaching practice, his cooperating teacher seemed to be satisfied with his activities and stated: “His activity is excellent. He started his lesson with a video clip that could attract student interest and enabled the students to find the answers to the questions he asked. I think that it is meaningful learning” (C04).

Students’ role focused on discussion about SSIs to understand scientific concepts.

With regard to the role of students in the use of SSIs in the classroom, most PSTs reported that the students’ role mainly related to discussing SSIs to understand the scientific concepts they were studying, as shown in Table IV.

Role of Students	Frequency(Percentage)
1. Discussion	20 (38.46)
2. Doing hands-on activities for the construction of scientific concepts	13 (25.00)
3. Doing projects	10 (19.23)
4. Searching for information about SSIs	7 (13.46)
5. Actions in the community such as communications about SSIs with others	2 (3.85)

As confirmed in their lesson plans, most PSTs provided SSI examples, situations, and discussion only in some parts of their lesson, as shown in the following example of a lesson plan: “In the elaboration part, students watched a video clip about abortion and answered a question about whether it is appropriate to do abortions and whether it is legal to have an abortion in Thailand” (P03). From the observations, discussion seemed to be the easiest way to bring SSIs into their classes. For example, one PST taught about the effect of chemical agents on the environment. She asked her students at the end of her lesson for opinions about the construction of a nuclear power plant in Thailand even though this question was not in her lesson plan. She reflected, “I asked my students to discuss the construction of a nuclear power plant because it was a hot issue at that time. I think that my students should be aware about it and they have already learned about the effect of chemical agents on the environment, so they have to use this knowledge to discuss this issue” (P41). On the other hand, in her focus group interview this PST stated, “The teacher’s role in SSI-based teaching is to bring SSIs into the classroom and moderate student discussions by asking questions and guiding student resources to support their ideas” (P41).

When the researchers asked their cooperating teachers about the method PSTs used for SSIs in their classrooms, they confirmed that discussion was the main method used. One cooperating teacher stated: “My PST always asked her students to discuss SSIs. When she taught about animal conservation, she asked her students to discuss buying wild animals to be pets” (C02). The university supervisor also confirmed that they used discussion as the main method: “They used issues from newspapers such as global warming to plan their lesson and teaching for students to encourage them to ask questions and have discussions from the beginning of the lesson” (U07).

The majority of PSTs felt a lack of confidence when using SSIs in their teaching.

Regarding constraints on their SSI-based teaching, 49 PSTs stated that they did not feel confident using these issues in their teaching because they did not have much knowledge about and experience with SSI-based teaching. One respondent said in the questionnaire, “I don’t have much knowledge about this teaching approach, so I only brought a hot issue into my class for discussion by chance” (P40). They mentioned their lack of confidence again in the focus group interview: “I am not sure whether what I teach about SSIs is correct or not” (P01). From classroom observations, some PSTs seemed awkward in controlling classroom discussion on SSIs because they were afraid of certain content. One respondent stated, “I am worried about using SSIs because they are related to many perspectives. I could not answer some students’ questions” (P36).

As confirmation, the university supervisors also commented on the PSTs’ confidence: “PSTs had to know how to control their classroom effectively. Sometimes they were reluctant to discuss some issues, so they may not be confident. I think that the cooperative teacher should empower them to use new teaching strategies in the classroom” (U05). The cooperative teacher also noticed their lack of confidence: “PSTs had insufficient experience when they used SSIs in the classroom. They had to read more. I found that they could not solve problems in the classroom when students discussed SSIs, so the cooperative teacher had to help them” (C03).

Thirty-four PSTs said they had difficulty linking scientific content with SSIs. One mentioned in the questionnaire, “I think that not every scientific concept can be linked to SSIs. For example in physics, one hardly finds SSIs related to physics concepts except issues about the construction of a nuclear power plant” (P52). For their lesson plans, they tried to connect issues to biological concepts rather than chemical or physical concepts. They reflected after their practice that if the content were related to an issue, they would not hesitate to link it to that issue. Most of the time, they accidentally linked issues to their lesson depending on the situation, as mentioned before. They did not make a plan beforehand: “In the case of the actor who got infected with Dengue hemorrhagic fever, it was a hot issue at that time. The doctor said that he had to cut off this actor’s leg. I taught about the concept of blood circulation, so I asked my students how come the actor had to have his leg cut off and is it related to blood circulation?” (P28). Their practices were confirmed by the cooperative teacher, who stated: “PSTs brought hot issues to discuss in the classroom for some concepts. Most of the time I see them link with biology concepts; for example, one of my PSTs brought up an issue about the actor who became pregnant before getting married to link with the concept of human reproduction” (C01).

Before they brought SSIs into their classes, all of the PSTs were worried about students’ basic knowledge about SSIs. One said in the questionnaire: “Students have to have basic knowledge about the SSI that is being discussed. If they don’t have it when they discuss SSIs, they might not understand” (P11). During PSTs’ teaching practices, their students always kept quiet when they were asked questions about SSIs. Most PSTs who used SSIs in their classes seemed to be disappointed. Some of them directly asked their students for the reasons why they did not answer the questions about SSIs. Eventually, they found that most of their students did not have much knowledge or experience discussing SSIs. One PST revealed in a focus group interview: “At the launch, I found that my students could not answer my question about GMO plants because they had not known about it, so I had to provide basic information about GMOs before letting them share their opinions again. I found that they discussed more after that” (P34). This problem was confirmed by a university supervisor who said: “I found that only a few students asked questions or shared ideas about SSIs. It seemed to be the classroom culture that students waited for the teacher to tell them the main concept, so they acted like passive learners. Thus, PSTs have to encourage their students to practice searching for information about SSIs and sharing ideas” (U02).

When asking PSTs about their needs for professional development about SSI-based teaching after they graduated, most stated in the questionnaire that they intended to participate in a professional development program for various reasons. In particular, they wanted to know how to use SSIs in teaching, as shown in Table V.

Reasons	Frequency(Percentage)
1. To know how to use SSIs correctly for teaching	23 (58.97)
2. To promote students’ understanding of scientific concepts	4 (10.26)
3. To promote students’ application of knowledge in daily life	4 (10.26)
4. To promote students’ awareness of the importance of science	2 (5.13)
5. To promote students’ interest in science	2 (5.13)
6. To promote students’ argumentation skills	2 (5.13)
7. To promote students’ awareness of the impact of science, technology, society, and the environment	1 (2.56)
8. To promote students’ thinking skills	1 (2.56)

They also expressed their need for professional development during the focus group interview. One of the PST stated, “I am sure that I will participate in the professional development program because I want to develop my SSI-based teaching. I would like to see an example of an SSI-based lesson and adapt it to my class” (P08). The university teachers support their ideas about participating in a professional development program. One stated: “I think that most PSTs did not have much knowledge about SSI-based teaching. The science teaching program focused on inquiry-based teaching and a constructivist approach. Fortunately, I found they tried to bring a context related to the content they taught to their class, but most contexts they brought were not concerned with SSIs. To promote their SSI-based teaching, I think that PSTs should first participate in a professional development program to gain knowledge about SSI-based teaching” (U06). When asked about the characteristics of the professional development program they needed, most of PSTs mentioned convenient access to resources on SSI-based teaching, as shown in Table VI.

Table VI. The characteristics of a professional development program to promote PSTs’ SSI-based teaching

The characteristics of a professional development program	Frequency(Percentage)
1. Convenient access	29 (61.70)
2. Having clear examples of SSI-based teaching	7 (14.89)
3. Direct discussion with experts	6 (12.77)
4. Providing channels to share opinions	5 (10.64)

Their supporting reasons for participating in a professional development program for SSI-based teaching were confirmed during the semi-structured interviews. One PST said, “I think that the best way to promote my SSI-based teaching is by having some data about SSI-based teaching that are easy to assess. Providing suggestions from and discussion with experts is needed” (P37). Their ideas were similar to those of their university supervisors. One university supervisor said, “I think that there should be a learning package that is easy to assess for PSTs to develop their SSI-based teaching. This package should provide examples of learning units, learning media and materials, and CDs of examples of SSI-based teaching, as well as examples of research” (U01).