Kristin Cook

Democratic Participation with Scientists Through Socioscientific Inquiry

Attempting to ground scientific knowledge in a relevant and meaningful context, the use of socioscientific issues (SSI) in the classroom seeks to encourage students to formulate a critical understanding of the interface between science, society and technology. While rhetoric on SSI in the science education community posits lofty goals such as citizenship education, enhancing students’ connections to science, and empowering students for the betterment of society (Sadler et al. 2007), more research is now needed to investigate fully the potential of these targets. Most of the SSI research focuses heavily on the development of students’ argumentation skills and consideration of multiple views in deliberation about controversial issues such as climate change and genetic engineering (Kolsto et al. 2006). While these are indeed valuable aims centered on important global issues, it is also imperative that SSI-focused education be situated in students’ local communities, connected to their immediate interests, and tied to reflections upon their personal views and the critical dissection of multiple perspectives. Bolstering the SSI and local community connection provides opportunities for students to become active participants and contributors in their community (Hodson 2003).

i STEM: A STEAM investigation: Making giant strides

Owen et al talk about emphasizing key mathematical understandings in the context of STEAM provides a critical entry point for students to experience applying mathematics content and practices to solving problems in everyday life. Proportional reasoning is about recognizing multiplicative relationships--it builds on early number sense and is the cornerstone of higher-level mathematics. This investigation provided an avenue through which students could meaningfully apply their existing knowledge of multiplication to a new idea they were still learning, which was to interpret multiplication as scaling. Students were placed in groups of five to determine the giants height. Groups brain-stormed entry points info the problem, identified potential measurement tools that could be helpful, tested various solution strategies, and checked the reasonableness of their solutions.

Evolution Education and the Rise of the Creationist Movement in Brazil

In this chapter, we analyze current educational policies such as the National Curriculum Parameters for Secondary Science Education, commonly used curricula (high school biology textbooks), and publicly available resources (media reports, organizational websites, previous studies, etc.) to ascertain the characterization of evolution education and the rise of the creationist movement in Brazil. Additionally, we provide a historical account of how larger societal forces such as religion and politics have shaped the Brazilian educational landscape over time. Our ultimate goal is to better understand not only what evolution education in Brazil is like but also how it came to be (i.e., the dynamic sociological processes behind its current state). Findings indicate that a lack of understanding about evolution as a unifying theory coupled with vague messages present in curricula and from the Ministry of Education about defining parameters regarding what should be taught in a science classroom can lead to teachers getting caught in the crosshairs of public pressure and creationist propaganda.

Our Neighborhood: A Place for Heightening Emotional Energy in Science Education

A growing body of educational research suggests science studied in one’s neighborhood becomes a valuable venue for fostering not only students’ conceptual understanding but also a connection to their place. In this chapter, we discuss this research, as well as present authentic examples from our own case studies that provide further understanding of how place-based pedagogy affects students’ emotional energy in the science classroom. More specifically, we illustrate the (1) emotional connections that result from place-based experiences, (2) value students place on solidarity-building interactions, and (3) barriers to realizing the potential of place-based pedagogy in terms of fostering students’ engagement with the community. These understandings are supported and discussed in a manner that provides science teacher educators who are interested in enhancing emotional engagement through place-based instruction with practical applications and theoretical underpinnings that could enhance their own practice or research efforts.

Using Photovoice to Explore Environmental Sustainability Across Languages and Cultures

Abstract Though work in the area of photovoice (in which students take photos to structure a dialogue that can serve to advance social action as the community responds to the participants’ perspectives and locates them in solution-generation) has been conducted in science education research to focus on learner’s experiences, little has been done to showcase community members’ perspectives resulting from the photovoice experience—though it is here that photovoice holds the most potential to effect positive change locally. The research presented here, conducted during a study abroad course taught in Costa Rica, seeks to understand the ways in which the experience of photovoice stimulated an understanding of and connection to local sustainability issues and to those for whom these issues are most pressing. The study involves a cross-cultural and cross-linguistic exchange of ideas regarding sustainable crop development between study abroad students and community members in a rural mountain town in Costa Rica. Results indicated that the experience of photovoice broadened and enriched all participants’ understanding of environmental sustainability—university students and local residents—as well as inspired critique of socio-scientific issues of personal relevance and impact. Photovoice is thus presented as a rich and engaging instructional technique that also serves as a community participation tool with potential for connecting students and communities from distinct cultures and languages.