Healthy living : teaching socioscientific issues (SSI) : a teacher’s guide

Abstract

This project-based dissertation explores how socioscientific issues (SSI) can help improve the teaching of the Year 8 Healthy Living topic which is part of the Maltese Science Learning Outcomes Framework (2018). The written part of the dissertation explains how SSI-based learning supports scientific literacy together with critical thinking, and evidence-based decision-making. It also describes how ideas from the literature, together with curriculum requirements and classroom realities in Malta, shaped the design of the project through a practice-based and pragmatic approach. The second part of the dissertation presents the teacher’s guide, Healthy Living – Teaching Socioscientific Issues (SSI): A Teachers’ Guide. This guide includes full lesson guides based on debatable questions, and also all the complementary resources that help teachers move from teaching scientific content to guiding thoughtful discussion. The lessons give students chances to understand scientific ideas while also giving them the opportunity to analyse real evidence and discuss issues that affect their everyday lives. Overall, the project aims to offer a practical and easy-to-use resource that helps Maltese science teachers build students’ scientific literacy and support them in making informed health decisions.