A goal of K-12 science education is for learners to develop scientific
literacy. However, realizing this goal is being complicated by the availability of
abundant resources that vary strongly regarding their adherence to the Nature of
Science principles, particularly regarding socio-scientific issues, such as, for
instance, vaccination. It requires dedicated reasoning skills, often referred to as
critical thinking, to assess and value the arguments regarding such issues.
To stimulate critical thinking, we investigate the use of interactive concept
cartoons. Instead of a single cartoon our instrument provides a sequence of
concept cartoons. The cartoons are alternated with a diagram and concepts that
learners have to place in the diagram, leading to a systems’ view on the subject
matter.
The instrument has been presented to teachers for expert review and evaluated
in three classrooms (6th grade) of one school (70 learners). In this paper, we
present the interactive concept cartoon instrument and report on the study. The
results indicate that learners are engaged when working with the instrument and
learn relevant knowledge regarding the subject matter and the Nature of Science.