Mike Krings, University of Kansas
Adults often bemoan the amount of time young people spend staring at a screen and browsing social media. But social media can not only be a way to teach students elements of the scientific process, those who took part in a program to learn scientific argumentation through social media learned the components of argumentation better than their peers who did not, a University of Kansas study has found.
KU researchers designed a curriculum unit to engage nearly 400 ninth-grade biology students in learning about scientific argumentation through social media use with their teachers and classmates. Argumentation is a key element of both Next Generation Science Standards and Common Core State Standards. The researchers have since authored a chapter for the book “Digital Tools and Solutions for Inquiry-Based STEM Learning,” an article in the Journal of Education in Science, Environment and Health and an article in Educational Media International, a Taylor & Francis online journal outlining the study, its results and how teachers can implement similar practices in their classrooms. full article