The Science Controversies On-line: Partnerships in Education (SCOPE) project will promote knowledge networking among natural scientists and among science learners exploring current scientific controversies. The research combines expertise in natural science, pedagogy, technology, and classroom instruction from the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Washington, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science's SCIENCE Magazine, as well as from national and international school partners (see letters from San Francisco School, Project 2061 San Antonio Schools, London, England Schools; Campbell McRobbie, Brisbane, Australia Schools; BatSheva Eylon, Israeli Schools).
The SCOPE Project will develop controversy communities of scientists and science learners, focusing on controversies that concern leading research scientists and also connect to interests of citizens, such as the prediction of earthquakes, the evidence for life on Mars, or the control of Malaria worldwide. The Project will create new tools as needed and also draw on powerful, available tools to support these learning communities.
SCOPE project will focus on four specific questions, which will be addressed through a research program consisting of design studies as well as learning studies. First, how can we design resources that bring controversies to life for the full range of users including scientists and science learners? SCOPE Research Forums will feature materials primarily for scientists interested in the controversy, while SCOPE Controversy Forums will feature materials primarily for science instructors and students investigating the controversy. Second, how can we create incentives and technological environments that attract global, multidisciplinary, and diverse communities to collaborate on central scientific controversies? Our prior research designing environments for on-line learning communities and studying their impact illustrates the benefits of productive community interactions while at the same time demonstrating the need for research to overcome drawbacks. Third, how can networking and electronic technologies authentically represent and encourage rich, interactive work on scientific controversies? The Project will explore how tools like the SCOPE Argument Map and Argument Analyst improve controversy research, make novel evidence and issues visible, help diagnose misunderstandings, and scaffold interactions. Finally, how can we establish new, more global work practices that enable controversy communities to grow and flourish?
