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  • Problematizing intuitive universals in socioscientific reasoning: using strategic meta-epistemic reasoning practices to link a larger set of science ideas and context across multiple levels

    Description:
    This study focuses on scientific literacy and how we can extend our findings from our previous work on socioscientific engagement, where Meta-Epistemic Reasoning Practices (MERPs) are defined as a situated epistemic resource model that indicates that participants may be shifting between aims, ideals, and reliable processes (AIR model) as they work through a situation. Since MERPs could interact on the domain-general strategic knowledge for mechanistic reasoning, we decided to focus on epistemic heuristics for mechanistic reasoning, how these can be applied with the use of MERPs, and with the science ideas citizens used to construct a mechanism to evaluate contextual relevance of an authentic SSI. WE conducted interviews with 7 members of a town that had recently experienced hurricane-induced flooding. Participants included activists, policy makers, planners, scientists, and infrastructural managers, rather than students in order to explore diversity. We included "levels," like levels of description, to characterize a system, as well as the analysis of science-related ideas for mechanistic reasoning of each participant. WE found that participants used a combination of science and situational knowledge for evaluating causal propositions, that MERPs guide the use of a diverse set of aims and ideals, and that different individuals integrate different science ideas, where together the community rises to a more sophisticated evaluation of the SSI proposal. By studying the real world we aim to incorporate constructive civic engagement into the classrooms, and empower the next generation of citizens, not only future scientists.
    Subject:
    Biology
    Creator:
    Infante, Masiel Carolina
    Contributor:
    Dr. John Ruppert, Thesis Advisor
    Owner:
    lsquillante@saintpeters.edu
    Publisher:
    Saint Peter's University
    Date Uploaded:
    06/09/2021
    Date Modified:
    06/09/2021
    Date Created:
    Spring 2021
    Rights Statement:
    In Copyright
    Resource Type:
    Research Paper

  • Refining a Quantitative Assessment of Socioscientific Reasoning

    Description:
    Socioscientific Reasoning (SSR) is the reasoning practices that a person uses to make sense of and think of solutions for SocioScientific Issues (SSI). In 2016, Romine et al. designed a Quantitative Assessment of Socioscientific Reasoning (QuASSR) to assess and characterize SSR; however, characterization of the independent dimension of SSR was not achieved. Our study builds upon and improves QuaSSR by using a new model of epistemic cognition called the vAIR model, which is a community-oriented framework that accounts for limitations of the previous SSR model. The vAIR model of SSR is designed to more clearly distinguish the dimensions of SSR and their interactions in evaluating information in the context of how students reason through a complex issue regarding their school and their diet. The instrument’s design consists of a survey-type assessment programmed to select personally meaningful context through a series of questions and then present the participant with an argument exchange scenario, embedded with elements of SSR, that asks them to evaluate and choose which side makes the best arguments based. The instrument records the participants' selections and helps observe epistemic cognition patterns that can help us understand how SSR takes place and how it is affected by epistemic dimensions.
    Subject:
    Biology
    Creator:
    Lobo, Oswaldo
    Contributor:
    Dr. John Ruppert, Thesis Advisor
    Owner:
    lsquillante@saintpeters.edu
    Publisher:
    Saint Peter's University
    Date Uploaded:
    06/10/2020
    Date Modified:
    06/10/2020
    Date Created:
    April 20, 2020
    Rights Statement:
    In Copyright
    Resource Type:
    Research Paper

  • Usefulness of Science in Everyday Life

    Description:
    Scientific literacy has been a growing topic of discussion, with claims about the usefulness of science being the root of it. Even so, the goals of education writ suffers from a lack of empirical basis to support these claims about usefulness. Considering some citizens don't have domain-specific knowledge of science, we recognize the notion that science can be useful it if can help citizens when making everyday decisions. We used an anonymous survey to ask individuals to describe meaningful decisions they face in everyday life and if they view science as relevant to those decisions. Our results show that most participants have an interest in diet, medical health, and exercise, while using knowledge that they views as fact, sourced from their own experience or undistinguished. Even though they recognized science as relevant to their everyday decisions, they mostly did not consider multiple sources or bias. By understanding what respondents found meaningful and how they source and view that knowledge, we were able to get a better vision of how science can play a role in someone's life. Our results show we can also provide empirical evidence in order to create a skeletal frame that further studies could use to determine what people find to be relevant.
    Subject:
    Biology
    Creator:
    Ram, Ambika
    Contributor:
    Dr. John Ruppert, Thesis Advisor
    Owner:
    lsquillante@saintpeters.edu
    Publisher:
    Saint Peter's University
    Date Uploaded:
    06/09/2020
    Date Modified:
    06/09/2020
    Date Created:
    April 20, 2020
    Rights Statement:
    In Copyright
    Resource Type:
    Research Paper