Tim Barko

TL;DR: This paper explored the use of Mission Biotech and the associated curriculum by three high school teachers and their students and found that students from two of the classes showed gains on a standards-aligned test of content; students from the third class did not demonstrate statistically significant gains.

TL;DR: In the Star Trek universe, the Borg are a race of cybernetic humanoids intent on assimilating all other sentient beings into a collective consciousness through the elimination of difference as discussed by the authors.

TL;DR: The authors argue for an expanded understanding of what constitute data, posit the need to shift away from examining the found world exclusively, and assert that researchers not only create their reality, but their data as well.

TL;DR: Popular science fiction provides classroom teachers with multiple rich opportunities to adopt a critical lens in examining the ways in which governments and their people interact as discussed by the authors, which can be used to teach about and around socioscientific issues (SSI) and controversial public issues.