Capturing the Nature of SSI Teaching by using the Five-Dimensions Model of Practice

Socio-scientific issues (SSI) are effective for developing scientific and citizenship skills. However, it is challenging for teachers for various reasons: limited materials, the multi/interdisciplinarity/emerging nature of SSI, and the incongruence of SSI pedagogy with
teachers' identities and beliefs. This study's goals are to capture the nature of SSI teaching and to explore how teachers’ knowledge about SSI is manifested in practice. 22 teachers from 10 European countries were observed teaching an SSI lesson and participated in a reflective interview. Bartholomew, Osborne and Ratcliffe’s (2004) 5-dimension model of practice was used for analysis. It revealed teachers' patterns and indicated common trends. We could identify teachers with different levels of SSI knowledge (novice to expert). No correlation was found between participating in SSI-PD, or experience in teaching science with the quality of the observed lesson. A correlation was found between teachers’ conception of their own role and their learning goals with the quality of the observed lesson (Spearman coefficient 0.71, p=0.0005). Also, most teachers could articulate SSI learning goals but were less successful in providing authentic and dialogic learning environments. Looking at each dimension separately and at possible interactions between them may inform the field to improve SSI teaching.