Ways to enhance scientific literacy

Scientific literacy is the ability to apply scientific concepts, identify problems, draw well-founded conclusions to understand the world around us and those changes human activity produces, in order to make appropriate decisions.   

On November 21, 2024, Örken East Kazakhstan Regional Scientific and Methodological Center for Informatization and Education Development of Education Administration of East Kazakhstan region, jointly with the Ust-Kamenogorsk city branch of Teaching Excellence Center held an interactive webinar for primary school teachers on the topic “Ways to enhance scientific literacy”. The speaker of the webinar was Didar E. Usenova, a trainer of the Ust-Kamenogorsk city branch of Teaching Excellence Center. She highlighted the importance of scientific literacy and offered practical strategies for integrating it into lessons.

One of the goals of the webinar was to analyze approaches that foster students’ research skills. The webinar emphasized the importance of applying students’ scientific knowledge (content knowledge), identifying problems (procedural knowledge), understanding the world and human impact, as well as showed reasonable conclusions for effective decision-making, all illustrated with practical examples aimed at developing scientific literacy skills.  

The trainer explained how each task aligns with learning objectives, and the value of students’ research skills, building on their subject knowledge. She shared effective methods like role-playing games, experiments, observations. She introduced the “experiment table” tool, which helps students develop their ability to formulate hypotheses and predictions.