Chapter 1 Introduction to Science and Culture

1. Chapter 1Introduction to Science and Culture Reading Assignment Foreward, Preface, and Chapter 1 in Teaching Science to Every Child: Using Culture as a Starting Point

2. Children’s Perceptions of Scientists • What image comes to your mind when you think of a scientist? • Is the following True of your image? • “Scientists are … ... middle aged white males who wear lab coats and glasses. Their peculiar facial features are indicative of their generally deranged behavior. They work indoors, alone, perhaps underground, surrounded by smoking test tubes and other pieces of technology. An air of secrecy and danger surrounds their work.” • Children, when asked to draw a scientist, often draw a similar image. You may ask your students to draw a scientist.

3. The Scientific Worldview As a culture, science looks at the world through a particular viewpoint. (Settlage & Southerland, 2007, p.2). • There are patterns in the world that we can understand. • Scientific ideas are subject to change. • Scientific knowledge is durable & rejects the notion of absolute truth. • Science cannot provide the answers to all questions (opinions and faith). From Science for All Americans http://www.project2061.org/publications/sfaa/onlinechap1.htm#sci

4. Scientific Habits of Mind The National Science Education Standards (NSES) Teaching Standard B states that: Teachers encourage and model the skills of scientific inquiry and the curiosity, openness to new ideas and data, and skepticism that characterizes science. Project 2061 of the American Association for the Advancement of Science published, Benchmarks for Science Literacy (Benchmarks) in 1993. http://www.project2061.org/publications/bsl/online/index.php?chapter=12

5. Scientific Habits of Mind Check each habit of mind that you already possess. ___I am curious about the world around me. ___I try to figure out why things happen. ___I try to figure out how things work. ___I sometimes look for problems to solve. ___I have a love for knowledge. ___I have a sense of wonder about the world around me ___I try to withhold making judgments until I have enough information on which to base them. ___I take a fairly positive approach to failure and am willing to change my approach when it isn’t working. ___I am a thinker; I think about things and talk about them. ___I don’t allow myself mental blacks about science or math or technology. ___I try to be honest.

6. Images of Teaching Unlike other professions, teaching is the one that the largest number of people have experienced for the greatest amount of time. 3 Cultural Myths Among New Teachers That Need to be Replaced • Everything depends on the teacher. • The teacher is the expert. • Teachers are self-made. Did you think this way at the beginning of your teaching career?

7. Science Teaching for the Purpose of Learning – A Few Challenges • Becoming scientifically literate, which means more than just learning content. • Teaching science to every child. • Increasing the legitimacy of science within the curriculum; which help students 1) apply knowledge in their daily lives, 2) have greater economic and career opportunities, 3) become good citizens, and 4) pass scientific knowledge on to future generations.

8. What does it mean to be Scientifically Literate? According to Science for All Americans, a scientifically Literate Person…. • Is familiar with the natural world. • Understands the key concepts and principles of science • Employs scientific ways of thinking. • Recognizes that science is a human enterprise, and • Uses scientific knowledge and ways of thinking to make informed decisions.

9. Who is “Every Child?” All students, regardless of age, sex, cultural, or ethnic background, disabilities, aspirations, or interest and motivation in science, should have the opportunity to attain high levels of scientific literacy. From the NSES

10. How can we define Cultural Background? • “The ever-changing values, traditions, social, and political relationships, and worldviews shared by a group of people bound together by a combination of factors that can include a common history, geographic location, language, social class, and/or religion. Thus it includes not only tangibles such as tools, holidays, and artistic expression but also less tangible manifestations such as communication style, attitudes, values, and family relationships.” Two Components - Objects and Actions Sonia Nieto (1992)

11. Science Education and the “Quiet Crisis” As Thomas Friedman (2005) explains his recent bestseller, “The World is Flat,” we are facing a “quiet crisis” involving the steady erosion of America’s scientific and engineering base. • Numbers Gap - • Among the science and engineering doctorate holders in the labor force, 44% are age 50 or older (National Science Board, 2006). They are not being replaced by the numbers needed to continue the U.S.’s lead in the global economy. • Ambition Gap – • Students do not have positive attitudes toward science and are not interested in pursuing science careers. • “in China today, Bill Gates is Brittany Spears. In America, Britney Spears is Britney Spears – and that is our problem.” • Draw a Scientist Studies • Education Gap – • High end research jobs are going abroad because the talent is as or more educated than American workers. U.S. students are weaker in science and mathematics than its peer countries.

12. Countries Participating in Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) (in Green) Approximately a half a million students from 41 countries were assessed in 4th- and 8th- grade science and mathematics.

13. Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) A Comparison of Results Between 1995 and 2003 • No measurable changes were detected in the average science scores of U.S. fourth-graders between 1995 and 2003. • U.S. fourth-graders performance was lower in 2003 than 1995 relative to 14 other countries that participated in both studies.

14. National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) (2005) NAEP Testing has been occurring for 35 years. 300,000 U.S. students were assessed in science. Compared to middle and high school students, younger students are making more progress in science.

15. Summary of Fourth and Eighth Grade Results Since 1996 • Most states showed no significant improvement. • Average achievement scores increased for all fourth grade groups: white, black, and Hispanic, but only for whites and Hispanics in eighth grade. • Achievement gaps have decreased between fourth grade whites and blacks and whites and Hispanics, but have remained the same for eighth grade whites, blacks, and Hispanics. • 68% of the fourth grade students and 59% of the eighth grade students performed at or above the Basic level. • Scores in eighth grade physical science declined.

16. National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Science Achievement for Different Ethnicities

17. Reasons for the Achievement Gap in Science • Deficit mentality • Culture of science • Traditional way of teaching science • The self-fulfilling prophecy • Actual content of science

18. No Child Left Behind Act of 2002 Required that states mandatory test reading and mathematics and develop standards in sciences and assess students’ achievement of those standards by 2007-2008. Prior to 2008, nearly half of the nation’s school districts reported • 75 fewer minutes of teaching science, • 140 additional minutes of teaching reading, & • 87 additional minutes of teaching math.

19. President Obama’s Agenda for Education • Reform No Child Left Behind – by increasing funding, improving assessments and the accountability system. • Make math and science education a national priority – recruit math and science graduates to the teaching profession, ensure that all children have access to a strong science curriculum at all grade levels. View Obama’s speech to the National Academy of Science at http://www.nationalacademies.org/morenews/20090428.html

20. The Quiet Crisis and What WE Can Do “It takes 15 years to create a scientist or an advanced engineer, starting from when that young man or woman first get hooked on science and math in elementary school. Scientists and engineers do not grow on trees.” Quote from Shirley Ann Jackson Sally Ride, Science Education, and Climate Change http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjwb0KVo0qM www. sallyridescience.com The Quiet Crisis – Part 1 of 10 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIeLv7rkTVU The Year of Science www.yearofscience2009.org

21. Use Culturally Relevant Pedagogy to Address the “Quiet Crisis” • Academic Achievement Students study and learn at high levels. • Cultural Competence Students’ cultures are logically and meaningfully incorporated into the curriculum. • Sociopolitical Consciousness Students understand the way that citizens in a democratic society need scientific knowledge to make informed decisions.

22. Teaching Science from a Cultural Perspective • According to the authors, teachers need to serve as a “tour guide” to help students become comfortable and proficient in the culture of science. • Learning about the culture of science “should not be left to students to figure out for themselves.” • The habits of mind (curiosity, openness, and skepticism) is a good starting point. Perhaps teaching science through culturally relevant pedagogy may help solve the ambition gap that Friedman talks about.