Critical Thinking in Biology and Environmental Education: Facing Challenges in a Post-Truth World

Foreword
Contents
Part I: Perspectives on Critical Thinking
Chapter 1: Educating Critical Citizens to Face Post-truth: The Time Is Now
1.1 Introduction: The Need for Critical Thinking
1.2 Critical Thinking and Criticality: From a Focus on Skills to a Focus on Practice
1.2.1 Critical Thinking: Criticality, Identities and Practice
1.2.2 Knowledge-Building Dynamics: Post-truth and Science Denial in Biology and Environmental Education
1.3 A Revised Characterization of Critical Thinking
1.4 Biology Education and Environmental Education as Privileged Contexts for the Development of Critical Thinking
1.5 Concluding Thoughts
References
Chapter 2: Critical Thinking in the Flesh: Movement and Metaphors in a World in Flux
2.1 Introduction: Critical Thinking as the Invitation to Think Anew in Biology Education
2.2 Biology at the Interface Between Environment and Society
2.3 Language and Material Demarcations
2.4 Structure and Process Supporting Critical Thinking in Biology Education
2.5 Embodied Cognition and Enactivism
2.6 The `Thinking´ Body
2.7 New Clothes for the Emperor?
2.8 Enlivened Metaphors in `Rhetorical Acts´
2.9 Conclusions
References
Chapter 3: Emotional Sense-Making and Critical Thinking in the Era of Post-truth: The Case of Climate Change
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Critical Thinking in Science Education
3.3 Anti-science Stances and Post-truth
3.4 Emotions as Part of Critical Thinking
3.4.1 Emotionality of Scientific Pursuits
3.4.2 Emotions, Identity, and Interactions with Science
3.5 Climate Change, Identity, and Facts
3.6 Emotions Within and About Critical Thinking
3.6.1 Critical Thinking as a Goal of Pre-service Science Teachers
3.6.2 Intersection Between Critical Thinking and Emotions Emanating from Identity
3.6.3 Emotional Subtext of Climate Change Sense-Making and Identity
3.7 Concluding Remarks
References
Chapter 4: Culturally Relevant Science Education and Critical Thinking in Indigenous People: Bridging the Gap Between Communit...
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Theoretical Perspectives. Culturally Relevant Science Education and Critical Thinking
4.2.1 Intercultural Science Education from a Critical Perspective
4.2.2 Critical Thinking as Situated Practice
4.2.3 Students´ Knowledge, Their Identity and Critical Thinking
4.3 Methodological Approach. A Research Trajectory
4.4 Results and Discussion. Traditional Knowledge and Its Contribution to Reflections on Critical Thinking
4.4.1 Emotional Bond
4.4.2 Transforming Traditional School Roles
4.4.3 Relevant Topics with Potential to Promote Critical Thinking
4.4.4 Critical Thinking and the Identity of Students in Yochib
4.5 Concluding Thoughts. A Life Project and Critical Thinking
References
Part II: Research About Critical Thinking in Biology and Health Education
Chapter 5: The Role of Evidence Evaluation in Critical Thinking: Fostering Epistemic Vigilance
5.1 Introduction: Promoting Reasoning in Epistemically Unfriendly Contexts
5.2 Theoretical Framework: Grasp of Evidence
5.3 Instructional Context- Model-Based Inquiry in Biology
5.3.1 Argumentation Tasks
5.4 Research Questions and Analysis
5.5 Results and Discussion
5.6 Conclusion and Implications
References
Chapter 6: Supporting Critical Thinking Through Engagement in Dialogic Argumentation: Taking Multiple Considerations into Acco...
6.1 Introduction: Critical Thinking and Dialogic Argumentation
6.2 Modes of Inquiry
6.2.1 Participants
6.2.2 Procedure
6.2.2.1 Initial Assessment
6.2.2.2 Intervention
6.2.2.3 Final Assessment
6.3 Results
6.3.1 Coding
6.3.2 Preliminary Analysis
6.3.3 Number of Arguments
6.3.4 Categories of Arguments: Social, Scientific and Socio-scientific
6.3.5 Diversity of Arguments
6.3.6 Sidedness of Essays
6.3.7 Examples of Students´ Arguments at Initial and Final Assessment
6.4 Discussion
References
Chapter 7: Critical Thinking to Decide What to Believe and What to Do Regarding Vaccination in Schools. A Case Study with Prim...
7.1 Introduction
7.2 The Role of Critical Thinking and Health Literacy
7.2.1 Critical Thinking and SSIs Instruction
7.2.2 Critical Thinking and Health Literacy on the Topic of Vaccination
7.3 Methodology
7.3.1 Participants, Instructional Context and Design
7.3.2 Data Collection and Analysis
7.4 Results
7.4.1 Critical Thinking and Background Knowledge on Vaccination
7.4.1.1 Critical Thinking Skills in the Evaluation of Anti-vaccination Premises
7.4.1.2 Background Knowledge on Vaccination
7.4.2 Connections Between CT Skills and Knowledge Domain on Immunization
7.5 Discussion and Educational Implications
References
Chapter 8: Students´ Thinking Strategies and the Role of Argument as a Shared Thinking Tool
8.1 Introduction
8.2 Methods
8.2.1 Tasks
8.2.2 Participants
8.2.3 Data Analysis
8.3 Results
8.3.1 Thinking Strategies and Argumentation in Students´ Decision-Making Discussion
8.3.2 Thinking Strategies and Argumentation in Students´ Discussion on Articulating an Experimental Procedure
8.4 Discussion
References
Chapter 9: Fostering Critical Thinking About Health Issues: Facts of Success and Failure in the Case of Homeopathy
9.1 Health-Related Pseudosciences in Science and in Science Education
9.1.1 Socio-Scientific Issues in the Classroom
9.1.2 Use of Data and Critical Thinking
9.2 Methods, Educational and Regional Context
9.2.1 Controversies About Homeopathy in Spain and Europe
9.2.2 Research Questions and Design
9.3 Results: Skepticism About Homeopathy
9.4 Results About Critical Thinking: Justifications and Use of Evidence
9.4.1 Effectiveness of Homeopathic Products
9.4.2 Consideration of Homeopathic Products as Medicines
9.5 Results Concerning Critical Thinking: Breadth of Thinking and Willingness to Change
9.6 Critical Thinking: Expert Consideration
9.7 Implications for Education
References
Part III: Research About Critical Thinking in Environmental and Sustainability Education
Chapter 10: Teaching Science in Chilean Environmentally Degraded Areas: An Analysis from a Critical and Ecofeminist Perspective
10.1 Introduction: Socio-Environmental Conflicts and Science Education
10.2 Socio-Environmental Context and Theoretical Perspectives
10.2.1 Socio-Environmental Degradations in the Aconcagua Valley
10.2.2 Critical Thinking and Critical Scientific Literacy in the Context of Environmentally Degraded Areas
10.2.3 Ecofeminist Principles and Transformation from the School
10.3 Experiences of Chilean Science Teachers in Environmental Degraded Areas: From In-Service Teacher Education to Citizen Edu...
10.3.1 Case 1: Understanding Together the Sense of Educating in Sciences Through the Relationship Between Science Education an...
10.3.1.1 How Is Science Teaching Understood in a Professional Education Community?
10.3.1.2 What Is the Focus of the Groups´ Lesson Plans? Views for a Teaching Sequence on ``Water´´
10.3.1.3 Teachers Report Their Own Learning
10.3.2 Case 2: To Include Students, the Experience of a Teacher in the City of Los Andes
10.3.2.1 Highly Degraded Territory and Citizens´ Response
10.3.2.2 Classroom Practices in the Local Context and Development of Critical Thinking
10.3.3 Case 3: Critical Scientific Literacy Outside School
10.3.3.1 Building Collaborative Work in the Community
10.3.3.2 Critical Scientific Literacy Outside of School in Highly Deteriorated Territories
10.3.3.3 Education of Critical Citizenship in Interdisciplinary Spaces
10.4 Discussion and Implications
10.4.1 Educational Practices Contextualized to the Territory
10.4.2 Promotion of Critical Thinking Inside and Outside of the Classroom
10.4.3 Principles of Ecofeminism That Facilitate the Development of Critical Thinking
References
Chapter 11: Spatial and Temporal Dynamics in Climate Change Education Discourse: An Ecolinguistic Perspective
11.1 Re-imagining Climate Change Education for Next Generations
11.2 Critical Thinking and Scientific Learning
11.3 The Spatial and Temporal Nature of Climatic Change
11.4 Modes of Inquiry
11.4.1 Context and Data Collection Process
11.4.2 Data Analysis Approach
11.5 Epistemic, Relational, Emotional Aspects of Climate Change in Students´ Explanations
11.5.1 Temporal Indexicality for Climate Change Core Ideas
11.5.1.1 Effects of Climate Change in the Future
11.5.1.2 Humans Are Altering the Climate Change NOW
11.5.2 Spatial Indexicality for Climate Change Core Ideas
11.5.2.1 Global Perceptions: Planet Is Impacting and Affected by the Climate Change
11.5.2.2 Local Perceptions: Region & Family Is Impacting and Affected from the Climate Change
11.5.3 Positional and Emotional Sensemaking of Change Core Ideas
11.5.3.1 Collective Problem and Action
11.5.3.2 Unexpected Mechanisms and Effects of Climate Change
11.5.3.3 Empathy and Concern for the Environment
11.6 Conclusions
References
Chapter 12: Social Responsibility and Critical Disposition for Considering and Acting upon Conflicting Evidence in Argumentati...
12.1 Introduction and Objectives: Critical Thinking and Conflicts
12.2 Theoretical Framework
12.2.1 Education for Sustainable Development and Environmental Agency: Sustainable Food Choices
12.2.2 Critical Thinking Framed in Criticality and Action
12.2.3 Argumentation About Socio Scientific Issues: The Role of Values and Conflicts
12.3 Methods and Instructional Context
12.4 Findings
12.4.1 Critical Character: Open-Mindedness and Consideration of Inconvenient Evidence
12.4.2 Thinking and Social Responsibility: Making Decisions and Overcoming Conflicting Evidence
12.4.3 Critical Action: Change Towards Sustainability and Identification of Obstacles
12.5 Discussion and Significance
References
Chapter 13: Epistemic Beliefs as a Means of Understanding Critical Thinking in a Socioscientific Environmental Debate
13.1 Dealing Critically with Unfriendly Epistemic Contexts
13.2 Towards a Theoretical Framework Connecting Critical Thinking and Epistemic Beliefs
13.2.1 Critical Thinking
13.2.2 Epistemic Beliefs
13.2.3 Epistemic Beliefs and Socioscientific Argumentation
13.2.4 Research Questions
13.3 Methodology
13.3.1 Context: The AREN Project and the Participants
13.3.2 Data Analysis
13.3.2.1 Analysis of Students´ Argumentation
13.3.2.2 Analysis of Epistemic Beliefs
13.4 Results Concerning Students´ Arguments and Epistemic Beliefs
13.4.1 Analysis of Students´ Argumentation and Epistemic Beliefs
13.4.2 Cross-Analysis of Argumentation and Features of Epistemic Beliefs
13.5 Discussion and Conclusion
Appendix: Questions of the Interview Guide
References
Chapter 14: Primary School Teachers´ Understanding of Critical Thinking in the Context of Education for Sustainable Development
14.1 Introduction
14.2 Critical Thinking-A Complex Idea
14.3 Critical Thinking in the Context of Education for Sustainable Development
14.4 Methods, Context, and Participants
14.5 Results
14.5.1 Teachers´ Understanding of CT
14.5.2 Teachers´ Understanding of CT in the Context of ESD
14.6 Discussion
14.6.1 Primary School Teachers´ Understanding of CT
14.6.2 Primary Teachers´ Ability to Enact CT in ESD
Appendix
References
Part IV: Concluding Remarks
Chapter 15: The Integration of Critical Thinking in Biology and Environmental Education. Contributions and Further Directions
15.1 Introduction
15.2 Integration of Critical Thinking in Biology and Environmental Education: Main Ideas and Contributions
15.3 Future Directions for the Integration of Critical Thinking in Biology and Environmental Education
References