A Socioscientific Scenario Development Process: An Example for Space Research

The purpose of this study is to develop a socioscientific scenario related to space research. The study consists of four parts: preparation of a draft scenario, obtaining expert opinions, revising and implementing the scenario. The selection of the topic, space research, was based on the following criteria: (i) being current, (ii) being realistic, (iii) including different aspects, (iv) familiarity of students with these topics, and (v) being part of the science curriculum. In developing the scenario content, various sources such as newspaper articles, research findings, scientific publications, popular science materials, teaching resources, websites, blogs, and reports were utilized. The scenario concludes with discussion questions. After developing the draft scenario, experts in science education, special education, and Turkish language education were consulted to evaluate the readability, comprehensibility, suitability for the study, and age level appropriateness. Based on the experts' feedback, the final version of the scenario was prepared and pilot tested with five gifted students. The pilot test results demonstrated that the scenario was effective in stimulating informal reasoning and revealing patterns of informal reasoning through the discussion questions. The research findings were discussed in the context of the literature, and recommendations for future research were provided.