Construction of a paper-and-pencil Test of Basic Scientific Literacy based on selected literacy goals recommended by the American Association for the Advancement of Science

Abstract

We describe the construction of a paper-and-pencil Test of Basic Scientific Literacy (TBSL) specifically designed for high-school leavers entering technikon and university in South Africa. The `true-false-don't know' scientific literacy test-items are based on a pool of 472 items developed previously from selected literacy goals recommended by the AAAS in Science for all Americans. Test-items were pilot-tested on 625 technikon and university students and were included in the 110-item TBSL on the basis of item discrimination, item difficulty and student feedback. The TBSL consists of three subtests based on Jon Miller's three constitutive dimensions of scientific literacy: the nature of science (22 items); science content knowledge (72 items); and the impact of science and technology on society (16 items). About 260 South Africa-based members of various South African professional science and engineering associations participated in setting a performance standard for each of the three dimensions of scientific literacy. These standards were validated using a `contrasting groups' approach. The internal consistency of the individual TBSL subtests, and the reliability of mastery-nonmastery classification decisions based on the performance standard, was found to be about 0.80. The reliability of the overall 110-item TBSL was 0.95.

A Mixed Method Research Study on the Effectiveness of Socioscientific Issue-Based Instruction

“…Araştırmada incelenen birinci bağımlı değişken, fen ve teknoloji okuryazarlığı, Miller (1983) ile Laugksch ve Spargo (1996) tarafından belirtilen bilimin doğası, içerik bilgisi ve fen-teknoloji toplum etkileşimleri alt boyutları açısından incelenmiştir. Araştırma sonucunda, fen bilgisi öğretmen adaylarının temel fen ve teknoloji okuryazarlığı gelişim seviyelerinin; uygulamaların sosyobilimsel konu temelli öğrenme yaklaşımına dayandırılarak yürütüldüğü deney grubu lehine istatistiksel olarak anlamlı olduğu belirlenmiştir [t(80)=-0,250, p<0,05].…”

Korean Secondary Students’ Perception of Scientific Literacy as Global Citizens: Using Global Scientific Literacy Questionnaire

“…In order to investigate this, we developed an instrument called the Global Scientific Literacy Questionnaire (GSLQ) based on our conceptualization of scientific literacy. Many existing instruments that measure students' competencies related to scientific literacy are useful (see examples, Aikenhead & Ryan, 1992;Laugksch & Spargo, 1996;Manhart, 1997), but most of them were developed in the 1990s and consequently, do not adequately measure the competencies that global society demands. Thus, this study has two research aims.…”

Linking introductory astronomy students’ basic science knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, sources of information, and information literacy

“…Examples include the work of Miller and colleagues who have continually assessed adults' knowledge of basic scientific knowledge, contemporary scientific issues, interest in science, and support for science, comparing responses across countries [14]. The Test of Basic Scientific Literacy was developed for high school graduates in South Africa and based on the work of Miller to assess students' understanding of "(the nature of science, science content knowledge, and the impact of science and technology on society)" (p. 331) [35]. The Test of Scientific Literacy Skills was developed as a robust survey of students' scientific literacy skills related to "recognizing and analyzing the use of methods of inquiry that lead to scientific knowledge and the ability to organize, analyze, and interpret quantitative data and scientific information" (p. 364) for use in determining the impact of curriculum reform on students' scientific literacy [36].…”