Course Identification

Scientific literacy is one of the main goals of the contemporary effort to educate the citizens of tomorrow towards decision-making. The two main meanings of scientific literacy, which support and complement each other, are: (1) the ability to read, interpret and write scientific text, and (2) the knowledge of scientific ideas and the ability to use them in a scientific manner.
The main goal of the course is to promote scientific literacy through scientific reading and writing practices, which are inextricably linked to the very nature and fabric of science, and by extension, to learning science. To this end, participants will:

• get acquainted with various scientific text genres which are used for science communication and learning,
• develop and apply strategies for critically reading scientific texts,
• depict the standards of scientific writing and reporting,
• analyze the reading and writing -related difficulties students and teachers encounter,
• design teaching strategies that integrate scientific texts, and
• explore novel paradigm-changing research articles and adapt them to classroom learning materials.

All aspects are taught using the constructivist and socio-cultural perspectives about learning, through integration of research-based theoretical foundations, practical skills, and reflective and critical standpoints on teaching, learning and learning outcomes.

Upon successful completion of the course- students should be able to:

1. Recognize and distinguish between different genres of scientific texts (various types of scientific papers, adapted primary literature, text books, and popular articles) and to describe their unique attributes.
2. Understand the role and importance of scientific texts in science communication.
3. Characterize reading strategies of scientific texts of diverse genres.
4. Develop and apply critical reading skills.
5. Portray the standards of scientific writing and reporting.
6. Classify and map the difficulties involved in scientific writing and means to cope with them.
7. Develop and apply teaching strategies that integrate scientific texts.
8. Search, evaluate and adapt primary literature to classroom learning materials.

TBA for each topic, will be attached in the course website