Imagine a student ten years after college graduation: what would it mean for that student to be scientifically literate? In our view, scientifically literate students have a set of basic skills that allow them to:
Access the scientific information they need when confronting a real-world problem or question.
Critique claims that utilize scientific evidence and, in particular, to reconcile conflicting claims about scientific evidence,
Understand human factors that influence the creation, interpretation, and communication of scientific evidence; and
Integrate thinking scientifically about a question with knowledge from other fields.
This definition is heavily influenced by Noah Feinstein’s development of the “competent outsider” model of science literacy. In Feinstein’s view, a competent outsider to science is someone who can develop satisfying, accurate, actionable answers to the science-related questions emerging from their lives.