It's not just a science thing: Educating future STEM professionals through mis/disinformation responsive instruction
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abstract
AbstractInformed scientific thinking is a vital component of engaging all socioscientific issues (SSI) such as climate change and the COVID19 pandemic. However, socioscientific engagement may be influenced by sociocultural factors and mis/disinformation efforts to the widespread detriment of human and environmental wellbeing. The purpose of this mixedmethods study was to determine how 506 postsecondary life science majors' COVID19 related nature science (NOS) views and COVID19 vaccine acceptance/support and conspiracy resistance changed through pandemic responsive instruction on COVID19 science, viral biology, and vaccines with integrated focus on NOS and mis/disinformation. This investigation also sought to reveal factors (e.g., sociocultural group membership, NOS views) that associated with changes in those students' COVID19 vaccine acceptance/support and conspiracy resistance. After experiencing the pandemic responsive instruction, the students' COVID19 vaccine acceptance/support and conspiracy resistance and trust in COVID19 science and cognizance of its reliable and revisionary character (i.e., NOS) significantly improved from a small to large extent. Through the pandemic responsive instruction, the students' development of NOS views significantly associated with their development of higher levels of vaccine acceptance and conspiracy resistance and increases in students' vaccine conspiracy resistance significantly associated with increases in vaccine acceptance. Changes in students' vaccine acceptance and conspiracy resistance from before to after the pandemic responsive instruction also varied significantly based on sociocultural grouping (e.g., race/ethnicity and political orientation). Despite the promising impact demonstrated by the pandemic responsive instruction, vaccine conspiracy views and resistance appeared to linger among the students who notably were entering fields that deal with viruses, vaccines, and public health. Implications discussed include the importance for helping students to understand NOS relevant to SSI and analyze how sociocultural membership, motivated and identity protective reasoning processes, mis/disinformation, and trust in science influence socioscientific decisionmaking.
