Going Beneath the Surface: Using Socioscientific Issues to Explore Human Impacts on Soil

Abstract

Socioscientific issues (SSIs) can help students think about the moral and ethical issues related to science. When SSI issues are based on local phenomena and issues within students’ communities, they can also resonate more with students. This article uses the SSI of tilling to help students understand the pros and cons of this farming practice, but also helps us teach some basic soil principles such as light absorption based on soil coverage, permeability in compact vs non-compact soil samples, wind erosion, water erosion, and the concept of buffers (partially addressing HS-ESS3-4 and HS-ESS2-5).

Keywords:

• Earth science
• socioscientific issues
• soil
• place-based learning

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jesse Wilcox

Jesse Wilcox ([email protected]) (ORCID: 0000-0001-8285-7013) is an assistant professor in Biology an Science Education at the University of Northern Iowa. He works to promote effective science teaching practices across the state and country through publications, presentations, and professional development. Billy Lange is a former student at the University of Northern Iowa and will be starting his first year of teaching. Shane Breheny is a quality manager at POET Biorefining in Menlo, Iowa.