Public engagement-oriented science education practices and research – using TV programs broadcasted by NHK in Japan
Author: Kei Kano – Shiga University, Japan
Co-authors:
Eri Mizumachi – Assistant Professor, Osaka University
Takayuki Shiose – Associate Professor, Kyoto University
Shinichi Takeuchi – Executive Producer, NHK Educational Corporation
The OECD PISA Framework (2015) defines the scientific literacy as ” the ability to engage with science-related issues, and with the ideas of science, as a reflective citizen.” A scientifically literate person is willing to engage in reasoned discourse about science and technology. The indicators for promoting and monitoring Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) in EU (2015) includes science education goals: one of the goals is boosting interest in science among children and young people with the purpose of either recruiting them to a research career or allowing them to contribute to a science-literate society, that is, to become scientific citizens. Thus, recently, science education or scientific literacy has been more likely to belong to public engagement (PE).
In this situation, in Japan, we have developed two PE-oriented science education TV programs: “Think Like a Crow -Scientific Method-” and “Viewpoint Science: Make it and See!” broadcasted by NHK (counterpart of BBC in UK, ABC in Australia etc.), and participatory PE-oriented workshops using the TV programs and their related board games, in order to foster the scientific mindsets and viewpoints of students and their parents. One of the TV programs, Viewpoint Science, awarded “US International Film & Video Festival Gold Camera Award” and “Good Design Award” in Japan. The participatory PE-oriented workshops awarded “Prize for Science and Technology (Public Understanding Promotion Category)” by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. We have been trying to export the workshops to other countries and have just implemented them in Indonesia.
From the viewpoint of science communication research, we have focused on assessing scientific mindsets and viewpoint, using a rubric, one of the evaluation methods. The rubric we have developed could bring participants clear criteria or standards for them to easily understand or improve their scientific mindsets and viewpoint.
The author has not yet submitted a copy of the full paper.
Presentation type: Individual paper
Theme: Society
Area of interest: Investigating science communication practices