The Five-Dimensions Model as a Lens on Teaching Socio-Scientific Issues

Abstract The goal of this study is to capture the nature of socio-scientific issues (SSI) teaching and to explore how teachers’ knowledge about SSI is manifested in their teaching. This is done using a multiple case study methodology, collecting data from 21 teachers from 10 European countries. The context of the study was an EU-funded project, which provided SSI teaching materials for teachers as well as workshops and online courses. In this study, the teachers could teach an SSI lesson of their choice. Data collection tools included classroom observation, teachers’ reflective interviews after the lesson, and teachers’ background questionnaires. The 5-dimensions model of practice framework was used to analyze the data and to create a personal map for each teacher. Strong correlation between dimensions that reflects teachers’ internal personal variables—knowledge, beliefs, and conceptions regarding SSI teaching—and external variables that could be observed in their practice was found. Some teachers tended to perceive their role as facilitators (in contrast to dispensers of knowledge, which characterizes less experienced SSI teachers). Some teachers acted as active agents of taking SSI outside their classrooms. The dimension of “Teachers’ knowledge of SSI” has the lowest score among all our case studies. These findings and more detailed ones may inform SSI curriculum designers and SSI professional development facilitators on the foci and ways to scaffold teachers toward expertise in SSI teaching.