Student reasoning during socio-scientific issues-based learning with a role play: a case study of breastfeeding versus milk formula

This research aimed to understand the features of the informal reasoning skills performed by students who debated the socio-scientific contentious issue of breastfeeding versus milk formula during an Indonesian biology lesson. A class of 30 students in grade 11 discussed this issue by participating in a role play represented by four organisations in Indonesia viewed to have important roles or authority in society in dealing with the issue being discussed. Data were collected from informal reasoning worksheets and by capturing students' arguments, with the justifications and criteria that underpinned their arguments reflecting their reasoning. The students were able to generate justifications based on a distinct perspective towards the issue with either emotive or rationalistic thought. This finding showed that prior learning experience as well as knowledge plays an important role as a modality for students to perform their reasoning skills in responding to socially context-based problems in their biology learning. Furthermore, the SSI-based learning implemented in this study functioned well to engage students in fostering their reasoning as well as decision-making skills through a social-like learning environment through which students shared, as well as confronted, ideas with well-informed opinions and argumentation.