scholarly journals Still Joy: A Call for Wonder(ing) in Science Education as Anti-racist Vibrant Life-Living

2021 ◽  
pp. 135-161
Author(s):  
Christie C. Byers

AbstractWonder is an elusive yet ever-present dynamic phenomenon that deserves more attention in (science) education. What might wonder have to do with critiquing science (as the hegemonic and “neutral” discipline it has become) and living out a more life-affirming and anti-racist vision of science education? In this chapter I share a meta-assemblage research-creation: a researcher-created experimental exhibit of found poetic data assemblages about wonder, joy, Black life, neurodiversity, love, science, and science education. The intention of this meta-assemblage research-creation is to explore the affective flows of the phenomenon of wonder, while also inviting consideration of how the multiple forces and co-components of the body(ies) assembled here move together in an uneasy and historically traceable tension. These co-movements suggest how “traditional” science and school science education are not only complicit with, but also may be directly implicated as primary protagonists in the violent anti-Black racism and planet-wide suffering happening today. A more wonder-filled approach to science education may be necessary now more than ever.

Author(s):  
Олег Петунин ◽  
Oleg Petunin

<p>The article is devoted to an actual problem of integration of school courses in physics, chemistry, biology, ecology and physical geography. The author analyzes the content of the concept of integration of science education and enumerates the positive effects of its implementation. The article also presents the three levels of the integration: intra-, inter- and transdisciplinary. The author thoroughly describes methods of interdisciplinary integration, stopping on interdisciplinary communication, integrated lessons and integrated courses. The article revealed issues of interdisciplinary integration and suggest ways to overcome them. In conclusion, the author comes to the conclusion that the integration of science education is an urgent 9mki0problem of general education. To date, there are a number of successful solutions for this problem. In this article we have tried to summarize some material on this issue.</p>


Author(s):  
Senay Purzer ◽  
Jenny Patricia Quintana-Cifuentes

AbstractThis position paper is motivated by recent educational reform efforts that urge the integration of engineering in science education. We argue that it is plausible and beneficial to integrate engineering into formal K-12 science education. We illustrate how current literature, though often implicitly, discusses this integration from a pedagogical, epistemological, or methodological argumentative stance. From a pedagogical perspective, a historically dominant argument emphasizes how engineering helps make abstract science concepts more concrete. The epistemological argument is centered on how engineering is inherently interdisciplinary and hence its integrative role in support of scientific literacy and more broadly STEM literacy is natural. From a methodological perspective, arguments focus on the engineering design process, which is compatible with scientific inquiry and adaptable to answering different types of engineering questions. We call for the necessity of spelling out these arguments and call for common language as science and engineering educators form a research-base on the integration of science and engineering. We specifically provide and discuss specific terminology associated with four different models, each effectively used to integrate engineering into school science. We caution educators against a possible direction towards a convergence approach for a specific type of integrating engineering and science. Diversity in teaching models, more accurately represents the nature of engineering but also allows adaptations based on available school resources. Future synthesis can then examine student learning outcomes associated with different teaching models.


Author(s):  
Lynda Dunlop ◽  
Lucy Atkinson ◽  
Maria Turkenburg-van Diepen

AbstractHydraulic fracturing (‘fracking’), like other complex social and environmental issues, is a controversy about science which raises educational questions about how best to prepare young people to understand, respond to and, where necessary, act (or not) in response. It raises political questions. We present a state-of-the-art review of research literature on fracking and education using systematic strategies, with a view to finding out how it is framed in educational situations and how politics enters the science classroom. This serves as an illustrative case of how contested scientific and technological interventions with implications for the environment and society are treated in school science. The review is supplemented by interviews with 10 teachers of science and engineering working in schools or colleges near sites of operational exploratory fracking. We find that the research literature on teaching hydraulic fracturing is sparse, with only 25 studies relating to teaching and learning about fracking. Few studies (n = 7) relate to high school education. Where it features in science education, fracking is used as a context for interdisciplinarity and critical thinking, and lends itself to approaches using discussion, dialogue and modelling. Outcomes from fracking education range include knowledge gains and critical thinking. Teachers interviewed tended not to see a place for fracking in the curriculum or in the classroom and were averse to including politics in upper high school science education. Our analysis suggests depoliticization through absence of this specific complex environmental issue from the public (education) sphere, reinforced by the desire for ‘balance’ in high school science education and instrumental approaches to science education which prioritize assessed learning outcomes. Dealing with complex social and environmental issues such as hydraulic fracturing in the years of compulsory science schooling is necessary because scientific knowledge is necessary but not sufficient to prepare young people for the critical scientific literacy required to meet sustainable development goals. There is a need to assess and respond to the educational needs of local communities affected by industrial interventions such as fracking. These findings are likely to be relatable to other issues where there are local and global consequences of action or inaction and where the environment and health are pitted against economic and energy demands.


2000 ◽  
Vol 70 (3) ◽  
pp. 370-405 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zachary Dean Sconiers ◽  
Jerry Lee Rosiek

In this article, middle school science teacher Zachary Sconiers and university researcher Jerry Rosiek introduce the sonata-form case study, a narrative structure designed to document teachers' understandings of how subject matter and sociocultural influences intersect in the classroom. Written in collaboration with the Fresno Science Education Equity Teacher Research Project, this case study is told from the perspective of Jerome Jameson, a fictional chemistry teacher, whose story is based on Sconiers's actual teaching experiences. Also integrated into the narrative are Sconiers's in-depth reflections on the connections between his commitment to science education and his commitment to promoting educational equity. The sonata-form case study is followed by an afterword, written by Rosiek and Sconiers, that describes this unique methodology for teacher inquiry in full detail. The writing process for the case study was extensive and iterative: the two authors worked closely over the course of a year to develop the narrative, with Rosiek taking the lead on revising and editing. With this case study, Sconiers and Rosiek highlight the critical need for a new form of educational research, one that "builds bridges between the discourses of educational excellence and educational equity, as well as between theory and practice."


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Hiria Stacey McRae

<p>This thesis aims to provide a pathway to improve Māori student engagement with science education. Internationally, some indigenous communities have worked with schools in the delivery of science programmes, resulting in positive indigenous student engagement. These outcomes show that together indigenous students, schools and indigenous communities can contribute to the development of their particular place when science programmes allow the exploration of self, relating to others, the local environment and the wider world. This thesis investigates the perceptions of Māori students, teachers and kaumātua of science education in the Māori tribal community of Ngāti Whakaue to identify how Ngāti Whakaue is recognised in school science programmes. Individual and focus group interviews were conducted with local Māori elders, Māori secondary science students, and secondary science teachers from six English and Māori medium secondary schools in Rotorua. Data analyses revealed that participant perceptions and experiences of place, science and the Māori culture were disconnected from Ngāti Whakaue, despite its rich potential as a setting for science education. Participants held diverse perceptions and views within and between groups, including student and teacher understandings of Māori culture, attitudes regarding the place of Māori culture and knowledge in science education, and preferences regarding teaching and learning styles. Findings are examined as to how schools and Ngāti Whakaue could work together to better support positive Māori student engagement with science education and suggestions are made about how these relationships could be improved.</p>


The flipped classroom is one of the approaches used in 21st-century teaching practices. Contrary in primary education, various works of literature on the flipped classroom approach were studied in the secondary and tertiary education level. Thus, continuing the contribution to the body of knowledge, this preliminary research is done to explore the main themes in conducting a flipped classroom approach to promote 21st-century learning in primary school science. From the selection of a teacher, series of interviews, classroom observations and document reviews were analyzed systematically. The findings reveal three themes in primary science flipped classroom implementations including the affordances, assistance, and challenges. There are various aspects taken into consideration from the teacher and teaching surrounding for the flipped classroom settings to be conducive. The teacher realized that although flipped classroom helped her in many ways yet there are challenges that she needs to resolve. These findings provided a foundation for preliminary direction for the researcher to do further research planning


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