Needs Analysis: Development of a Contextualized Socioscientific Issues (SSI)-Based Module for Enhancing Conceptual Understanding of the Digestive System in Health Science Education

Introduction: teaching the digestive system presents persistent challenges for science educators, particularly in promoting conceptual understanding and student engagement. Socio-scientific issue (SSI)-based instruction offers a promising approach by contextualizing biological content within real-world issues. This study aimed to develop a contextualized SSI-based module for Grade 8 science instruction on the digestive system. Methods: guided by the first three phases of the 4D Model—Define, Design, and Develop—the study employed a mixed-methods design. Five junior high school science teachers participated in a needs assessment to identify instructional gaps and content difficulties. Based on these findings, an SSI-based instructional module was designed and developed. The module was then subjected to expert validation using a standardized evaluation rubric. Results: the needs assessment revealed students’ conceptual difficulties, especially in visualizing internal digestive processes, and highlighted teachers’ limited familiarity with SSI-based strategies. The developed module integrated socio-scientific contexts such as nutrition, lifestyle diseases, and food-related decision-making. Expert evaluation rated the module as "Very Satisfactory," with a mean score of 2.67 out of 3 across all criteria, indicating strong alignment with curricular standards and learner needs. Conclusion: the study demonstrates that contextualized SSI-based instruction can enhance the relevance and pedagogical quality of lessons on the digestive system. The module offers a promising tool for bridging conceptual understanding with real-life applications and supports the integration of critical thinking and ethical reasoning in science education.