Preparation and evaluation of a professional development program for science teachers on the use of digital stories in teaching socio-scientific issues

In this study, it was aimed to prepare and evaluate the professional development program on the use of digital stories in the teaching of socio-scientific issues for science teachers. The study group of the research consists of 9 science teachers (8 female, 1 male) working in Sinop province and its districts between the 2020-2021 academic year. The case study design, which is a qualitative research designs, was adopted in the study. The data source of the study consisted of Web 2.0 Tools Questionnaire, Understanding Form for Socio-Scientific Issues, Digital Story Evaluation Rubric, View Form for the Teaching Process with Digital Story, Professional Development Program Evaluation Form and field notes. The data collection tools of the study were developed by the researcher. The data obtained from the data collection tools used in the study were analyzed by content analysis and descriptive analysis. At the end of the research, it was determined that the science teachers mostly found the inclusion of Socio-Scientific Issues (SSIs) in the science program positive, and that, unlike other science subjects, they thought that SSIs could improve students problem solving skills by gaining different perspectives and would increase the development of critical thinking, decision making and discussion skills. While the science teachers emphasized the classroom use of SSIs, digital stories, which attract the attention of the students, ensure their active participation, and enable the positive development of many skills, on the other hand they also mentioned the negative aspects such as the students technology addiction and the time- consuming application. When the result of the research were evaluated in general, it was concluded that the use of digital stories in the teaching of socio-scientific issues would be effective for students and teachers.