Teaching to Transform: (W)holistic Science Pedagogy

Abstract

As the scientific and technological divide widens, access to quality science instruction has become a civil rights issue: those equipped with the knowledge and skill will remain caretakers of status and power. This inequality is especially salient for students in marginalized communities and schools where stereotypes fuel low expectations for academic achievement and success. For many students the classroom represents their earliest formal experience with both the content and process of science, placing science teachers in a unique and precarious position: getting students excited and engaged about science while simultaneously preparing the next generation of STEM professionals. We offer the (W)holistic Science Pedagogy (WSP), a student-centered approach of instruction to disrupt patterns and hierarchies. The WSP approach requires 5 commitments from the teacher: A commitment (1) to an ever-developing self-awareness, (2) to science and its practices, (3) to science as a transformative agent, (4) to their students’ social emotional wellness, and (5) to restorative practices. In this article, we define the 5 commitments and present an example lesson that reflects the commitments.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional Resources

1. Gorski, P. C. (2013). Reaching and teaching students in poverty: Strategies for erasing the opportunity gap. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

This book considers the multi-faceted impact of poverty and other social injustices have on students learning. Teachers are encouraged to recognize, respond to, and redress bias, discrimination, and inequity in their personal belief systems and in their classroom. Gorski introduces readers to his Equity Literacy framework and provides strategies and other resources to help teachers develop their self-awareness and curriculum that centers equitable and just learning for all students.

2. Koenig, D. (2013). Just Science. Teaching Tolerance, 44. Retrieved from https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/summer-2013/just-science

This article explores how teachers can bring social justice issues into the science classroom. In addition to the article there are resources including a toolkit that offer additional support and information about how science teachers can create classrooms where science is an agent of transformation. The toolkit can be accessed here: https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/summer-2013/toolkit-for-just-science

3. Lindahl, A. (2012). Facing Cancer: Social justice in biology class. Rethinking Schools, 26, 14-18. Retrieved from https://www.rethinkingschools.org/articles/facing-cancer-social-justice-in-biology-class

This article provides an example of one teacher’s approach to teaching science as a transformative agent. Ms. Lindahl, a high school science teacher, shares with statistics from national and intercultural cancer databases with her students. Her goal: to help students see how corporate and government policies, pollution, and racism play a role in the disparities of incidences of cancer and mortality rates across low-income communities and communities of color. This article is important because it also highlights the need for teachers to attend to and address the harm teaching about social injustices can cause students.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Alexis Patterson

Alexis Patterson is at the School of Education, University of California, Davis. Salina Gray is at Inglewood Unified School District.