SLH: Scientific thinking for all – building initiative

11 September 2025 - 11 September 2025

Region(s): Nationwide

Type(s): professional Development

As science teachers, how do we support students in making decisions about scientific issues? While we might teach about socio-scientific issues like climate change, vaccination, or the de-extinction of the moa – aside from teaching them the science, how do we help them make decisions on these issues?

Teacher and students discuss ethics

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Discussing ethical issues encourages students to explore their own and others’ values. It also enables them to develop their argumentation skills.

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Referencing Hub media

The Nobel Prize Outreach team in association with the University of California in Berkeley have developed resources for science teachers called ‘Scientific thinking for all’. Some of their units are finished and published online and ready for teachers to use.

As part of this project, the Nobel Prize Outreach team are giving a 45-minute online workshop on helping students make decisions about controversial scientific issues. The team have also developed an online decision-analysis application and will facilitate how to use it during the session.

If you are teaching or want to teach socio-scientific issues in your classroom, join us to hear from world-leading science educators and to connect with science educators across Aotearoa New Zealand.

Please note that due to the interactive nature of this workshop it will not be recorded.

This session will be most valuable for teachers of 14–18-year-old students, but anyone interested in developing thinking skills is welcome to join.  

This session is being coordinated by BEANZ and presented by the Nobel Prize Outreach team. 

Joining the online workshop

Follow these simple steps to join the webinar:

1. Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android by clicking on the link that we will send to all those who register on Wednesday, 10 September to the webinar, then follow the instructions.

2. Find the chat box located in the toolbar.

3. Using the chat box, introduce yourself, where you teach and, if you are in a group, how many people are there.

4. Set up your screen for optimal viewing. If you are using a mobile device, you may wish to view in landscape.

Then you can:

• watch, listen and respond via chat to the presentation and discussion

• ask questions using the chat box

Please note:

• it is a 7:30 am start

• the session will be using Zoom

• it will not be recorded

• if you have not received the email with the meeting link information by Wednesday evening, please check your email spam/junk folder. If it is not there – please email: Sarah Oliveira at beanz.facilitator@gmail.com.