Sixth grade students’ problematization of and decision-making about a wind energy socio-scientific issue

Little is known about how middle school students problematize socio-scientific issues (SSIs), particularly contemporary energy challenges. To address this need, we developed and implemented an instructional module focused on a local wind energy issue and conducted research to explore how sixth-grade students frame, reason, and make decisions about the issue using Construal Level Theory (CLT). Results from analysis of student artifacts (n = 116) and interviews (n = 16) suggest concrete thinkers have negative perceptions, whereas abstract thinkers have positive perceptions. This study’s findings have important implications for the design of SSI-based curriculum and instruction.