The more opportunities students have to engage in activities related to MSL , the more successfully they will develop their MSL and be able to navigate the different socioscientific contexts. It is important for teachers and students to understand that the overall goal is, to become aware of what it means to navigate an (mis-)information society competently and make responsible decisions. It is therefore suggested to teachers to discuss with their students from the beginning of a lesson what it means to be Meta-Scientifically Literate. Both teachers and students should be aware of the different skills and competences they need to acquire in order to make critically informed decisions, and how these are interlinked. Teachers and students should be aware that Meta Scientific Literacy is an umbrella term for a broad range of competencies that need to be acquired, as these are presented in the learner dimension of the SciLMi framework. Teachers can support students to understand both the complexity of MSL but also how they are developing their own MSL by frequently showing them where the learning activity (HOW) they experience in class is located in the SciLMi Framework.
\nThe more consistently SciLMi competences are embedded across teaching, the more effectively they can be developed. Teachers are encouraged to begin with manageable approaches and gradually broaden their implementation as confidence and experience grow. Because MSL development is a gradual and continuous process, teachers are encouraged to integrate individual framework elements in a progression way across lessons and subjects. Even small scale activities (HOW) can contribute to the development of MSL. The following overview table summarises key pedagogical considerations, transversal teacher competences and practical teaching approaches that can support the planning and implementation of the SciLMi lessons and the SciLMi framework. The table is intended as a flexible orientation tool rather than a fixed sequence of steps. It aims to connect classroom practices, attitudes linked to discussion in the classroom, and student-centered teaching methods across the SciLMi framework domains. More detailed explanations and practical guidance of the teaching practices and methods are provided in the section During the Implementation.
\nYour take way message as a teacher from this page:
\n| Category | \nTeaching Practice / Method | \nPractical Guidance & Examples for SciLMi Lessons | \n
|---|---|---|
| Pre-Lesson Stage | \nIdentify an SSI relevant to the curriculum | \nIdentify meaningful connections between the curriculum and an SSI topic, even if the connection is indirect. For example, an English lesson may focus on media representation, persuasion, rhetoric, or misinformation related to climate change. SSIs should be narrowed into a clear inquiry question that students can critically investigate. Teachers can use the briefs in the wiki for support in choosing appropriate questions. You may want to ask your students to come up with questions themselves; these will be the ones they are most motivated to answer. However, be aware that you will still be able to support them properly while they are working on finding appropriate answers. | \n
| Select texts, sources, media and materials | \nUse the SciLMi Wiki, SSI briefs, media sources, scientific articles, videos, graphs, and social media posts. Include examples of misinformation, emotional appeals, or manipulated media so students can critically evaluate credibility and bias. | \n|
| Link SSI to the learners' dimension | \nIdentify which MSL competences you want students to develop. Let students know which learning goal you are heading for and want them to achieve. For example, climate-change misinformation may focus on evaluating source credibility and recognising emotional language (= Scan before you trust), while AI and energy lessons may focus on ethical reasoning and evaluating impacts on different communities (= Take your stand) . Use the lesson plan template | \n|
| Select teaching methods appropriate for MSL | \nYou may want to adapt existing lessons using SciLMi methods or design new SSI lessons. Suggested student-centred methods include role-play, debates, inquiry tasks, Claim - Evidence - Reasoning (CER) activities, escape rooms, group discussions, ethical reflection activities, gamification, etc. Approaches and details can be found in the Educators Dimension in the wiki. | \n|
| Organisation of the setting | \nEstablishment of a supportive classroom climate | \nEstablish classroom discussion rules collaboratively with students before discussing controversial SSI topics. Rules may include: "Challenge ideas, not people," "Use evidence to support opinions," "Listen without interrupting," and "Be open to reconsidering your viewpoint." Act as a role model for respectful communication, empathy, and neutrality while encouraging students to safely express differing viewpoints. | \n
| Flexible social groupings | \nUse heterogeneous groups to ensure multiple perspectives are represented. Smaller groups of 3–5 students allow all learners to participate. You may use "physical consensus lines" where students move to different sides of the classroom to indicate agreement or disagreement with statements, such as "AI is beneficial for society" and justify their positions and group them afterwards. | \n|
| Atmosphere for discussion | \nOpenness | \nExplicitly teach student to listen actively and communicate respectfully. Encourage students to focus on the speaker, maintain appropriate eye contact, and monitor verbal and non-verbal reactions. You may introduce phrases such as "Listen to understand, not just to respond." Students should learn to separate disagreement with ideas from criticism of people by using sentence starters, such as "I understand your perspective, but I interpret the evidence differently." Reflection activities can encourage emotional awareness and empathy. | \n
| Respect | \nReinforce the rule of treating others respectfully. Encourage active listening, paraphrasing, acknowledging others' ideas, apologising when necessary, and recognising thoughtful contributions. Provide examples how to express respectful disagreement and encourage students to challenge arguments by using evidence rather than attacking individuals. | \n|
| Tolerance | \nPromote tolerance by establishing clear norms for disagreement and perspective-taking. Teachers should acknowledge different viewpoints neutrally and encourage students to examine why people may hold different opinions. Activities, such as role-play, stakeholder analysis, debates, and think-pair-share, can support empathy and respectful dialogue. Reflection questions such as "What did you learn from someone you disagreed with?" With this approach you can help students develop tolerance and self-awareness. | \n|
| Constructive criticism | \nStudents should learn how to critique ideas constructively rather than personally. You may provide sentence starters, such as "I agree with part of your argument, however…" or "What evidence supports this claim?" Activities, such as peer feedback, structured debates, and evidence comparison tasks, help students practise giving and receiving constructive criticism respectfully. | \n|
| Ethics & reflection | \nIntroduce principles of ethics | \nEthical discussions help students explore fairness, responsibility, sustainability, and human rights within SSI contexts. You may use ethical questions such as "Who benefits and who may be harmed by this decision?", "Is this solution fair for all communities?" or "Which impact does it have on non-human living organisms?".Activities may include stakeholder analysis, debates, ethical dilemmas, awareness campaigns, or role-play activities connected to issues, such as AI, vaccination, renewable energy, or climate change. | \n
| Questioning & responding | \nQuestioning techniques and IRF model | \nUse open, closed, probing, reflective, evaluative, comparative, and ethical questions. Try to guide students through stages of find out about their prior knowlegde, evaluating evidence, identifying misinformation, and forming informed viewpoints (Open up Your Mind; Be Wise & Think Twice; Make up Your Mind; Speak out & Take Action). Show them how the learning activity contributes to acquiring Meta-Scientific Literacy Skills The IRF model (Initiation–Response–Feedback) should be used flexibly by extending student thinking through follow-up questions such as "What evidence supports your idea?" or "Can someone offer another perspective?". Provide feedback to the response yourself or ask your students to give feedback to their peers. | \n
| Teaching methods & forms | \nClaim–Evidence–Reasoning (CER) framework | \nUse evidence cards, scientific claims, graphs, statistics, and media extracts to help students distinguish between opinion and evidence-based reasoning. Students can classify information as supporting, challenging, or irrelevant to a claim. You may want to add false claims and ask you students to find out which are thoes. | \n
| Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL) & Problem-Based Learning (PBL) | \nSSI lessons should encourage students to investigate authentic problems, analyse evidence, and develop informed conclusions. Data Sets Analysis (DSA) activities may include interpreting graphs, statistics, expert opinions, or conflicting reports related to climate change, vaccination, AI, or renewable energy. Students answer inquiry questions, such as "What will happen if current trends continue?" or "Which evidence is most reliable?" | \n|
| Learning café ("Am I fooled?") | \nStudents circulate between tables containing news articles, social media posts, statistics, videos, or images connected to an SSI. At each station, students evaluate reliability, identify misinformation, analyse persuasive techniques, and reflect on how media influence perceptions and public discourse. Introduce this activity by showing them where this learning activity (HOW) is located in the SciLMi Framework. | \n|
| \n | Gamification | \nGamification introduces elements such as missions, storytelling, collaboration, challenges, and problem-solving into SSI learning. Gamified activities increase behavioural, emotional, and cognitive engagement while supporting critical thinking and collaborative decision-making.Check whether the game you choose is supporting these learning outcomes. | \n
| Escape rooms | \nEducational escape rooms require students to solve SSI-related challenges collaboratively in order to "unlock" clues. For example, students investigating climate-change misinformation may analyse manipulated images, compare media reports, evaluate source credibility, or identify emotional language. Teachers can assign roles such as fact-checker, data analyst, ethics advisor, or discussion leader. Introduce this activity by referring to the SciLMi Framework to show how each role offers them to develop different skills | \n|
| Role play | \nStudents adopt stakeholder roles connected to SSI topics such as nuclear energy, vaccination, AI, or renewable energy. Activities may include mock elections, public hearings, or "talk shows with experts." Students debate environmental, social, ethical, financial, and political dimensions of the issue while using evidence-based arguments. Teachers should provide stakeholder cards, evidence packs, and guiding questions. Reflection after the activity helps students to evaluate how perspectives influence reasoning. | \n|
| Fake news bingo | \nStudents analyse social media posts, headlines, or videos to identify manipulation techniques, such as emotional language, exaggeration, clickbait, misleading statistics, or one-sided arguments (= Scan Before You Trust). | \n|
| Interactive lectures & experiential learning | \nUse "Talking Points" where students evaluate whether statements are reliable, contentious, or misleading. Students can also create "2-Minute Pitch" videos where they present concise evidence-based arguments connected to an SSI topic. | \n|
| Scaffolding group discussions | \nStructured discussion support | \nAssign roles such as facilitator, evidence checker, summariser, critical thinker, timekeeper, or well-being monitor. Teachers should provide discussion prompts and sentence starters to support respectful communication and deeper analysis. During discussions, teachers circulate, ask probing questions, support quieter students, and encourage students to justify their reasoning using evidence. | \n