By Melanie Landon-Hays and Tracy L. Smiles
In our first blog post we presented a framework for how we think about constructing classroom experiences that, through the stories of that discipline, apprentice students into disciplinary learning that fosters authentic, and relevant knowledge and presents opportunities for inquiry. This week we are examining science.
In the book, Teaching science through trade books, the authors Royce, Morgan, and Ansberry (2012) contend that in their many years of teaching workshops for science teachers, when they told teachers about their favorite childhood books, “in more than 10 years of facilitating workshops we have never heard anyone reply, ‘my fourth-grade science textbook was my favorite book as a child’” (p. 5). Though many science classrooms use textbooks to convey information efficiently, as evidenced by the number of science textbooks found in schools or the current battle for Science textbook content being waged in Texas, textbooks are hardly the answer to fully meeting the diverse standards and expectations for science learners. One look at the National Science Education Standards provides evidence of rich and multifaceted learning in this discipline. The expected standards like physical science, life science and earth science combined with standards like science as inquiry, science and technology, science in personal and social perspectives and the history and nature of science indicate that diverse perspectives and stories hold a central place in preparing students in this discipline.
Further, the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) has a history of identifying quality children’s literature for use in the classroom. Since 1973, NSTA has, with the children’s Book Council, jointly published an annual list of Outstanding Science Trade Books. This list serves an important purpose for classroom teachers. According to Royce, Morgan and Ansberry (2012), “our understanding of scientific principles and phenomena are constantly changing—often at a much more rapid pace than schools or districts are able to keep up with by updating their science textbooks…. The ability to have current and cutting-edge information available to children is essential for fostering their understanding that science is a dynamic and ever-changing field” (p. 3). Essentially, the integration of trade books, many of them conveying information in engaging, aesthetically appealing formats and tending toward a narrative style, are imperative for cultivating students’ scientific knowledge.
An example of how to do this well can be found in in a vignette authored by Jennifer Davis, a middle school biology teacher in Oregon.
Prior to becoming a middle school science teacher, Jennifer worked at a university as a soil scientist. Moving from a laboratory to a classroom presented particular challenges for Jennifer, as she explains, “It was only recently that I discovered my passion for teaching. During my first year as a teacher, pulling multicultural literacy into my science classroom was an ideal I had to implement intentionally–my background as a practicing scientist [was] grounded in the foundations of science as being unequivocally technical and objective in nature. In my observation and attempted explanation of the natural world, I sought to remove the subjective nature of the human condition from my research and writings thereby making the dissemination of scientific information as close to the “truth” as possible.” However, as I guide the next generation of citizen scientists, I found that I needed ways to integrate the objective nature of science with an understanding of how we, as a society, shape and are shaped by scientific information. Decisions and policies we create regarding natural resources are intricately woven into human placement of value on these resources. The problem is that there is not always a clear pathway to integrate culture into teaching science content.”
But Jennifer found those pathways through stories from other parts of the world. She had the following realization during the teaching of an 8th grade water unit, “In order to fully explore the interconnectedness of culture and resources, it was critical that I find and use “authentic” literature. I knew students would encounter narratives from students who had access to fewer resources than they do. I did not want my students to pity the young people they read about, rather, I wanted them to feel connected to and develop a respect for the ability of humans to adapt to their natural environments. I also wanted them to become aware of the role that water takes in shaping culture.” Through thoughtful integration of international children’s literature she was able to accomplish her goals. She began her unit by reading with her students A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park (2010) and Our World of Water: Children and Water around the World by Beatrice Hollyer (2008).
Jennifer found that through the narrative of Nya, a young Sudanese girl whose primary responsibility was to provide water for her family, sometimes walking 8 hours a day through the scorching desert, coupled with Hollyer’s text documenting the relationships people from around the world have with water, students gained both a sense of who they were as cultural beings and an appreciation for a precious resource they were prone to take for granted living in the verdant Willamette Valley. It was through the inquiry that merged international stories with scientific content that students made connections that expanded their perspectives not only on water, but on who they were as people and learners. As a student in Jennifer’s class so aptly explains in his reflection on the experience,
Doing this project has really changed my perspective on how we use water. For example, I didn’t realize how valuable it is to people in Ethiopia. They have to walk long ways just to find small ponds, while we can access it by turning on our sinks. I also realized that we take water for granted. We sometimes leave the sink running while we brush our teeth or take a long shower. So this project has made me think twice when I use water and think if I need to use it or not. Matt
What are some of the ways in which you have used international literature to explore scientific content? What texts and engagements have you found effective in implementing intercultural understanding with the knowledge systems of a discipline in order to invite students to expand their perspectives on both content and culture, in order to apprentice them into that discipline?
In our next blog post we will explore the narratives of math through global inquiry.
Please visit wowlit.org to browse or search our growing database of books, to read one of our two on-line journals, or to learn more about our mission.
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