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(0034) 954 187 260
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info@congresoenseciencias.org
(0034) 954 187 260
info@congresoenseciencias.org
Closing conference:
The Increasing Importance of Nurturing Scientific Literacy in a Changing Global Community.
Summary:
Scientific literacy has been a perennial goal of science education for over a century. It is becoming increasingly clear that countries and societies can no longer exist in isolation of each other. As different as we may be, there exist global challenges (e.g., climate change) that influence us all. These problems are best addressed through our mutual cooperation and collaborative efforts. Central to this situation is the importance of nurturing scientific literacy among our citizenry. Our efforts should focus, but are not restricted to, on the quality of precollege science teaching and learning. Developing the ability to understand science and how it is done (e.g., scientific inquiry/practices) and understanding the status and characteristics of scientific claims (nature of science) are two critical components of scientific literacy. This presentation will focus on defining scientific literacy, research related to nature of science and scientific literacy, and how knowledge of nature of science and scientific inquiry enable citizens to make meaning of scientific claims and make informed decisions concerning scientifically-based personal and societal issues.