Learning Sciences Lunch and Learn with Dr. Symone Gyles

Science, as a discipline, has traditionally been positioned as objective, ahistorical, and apolitical. These dominant views of science are reproduced in science education where disciplinary learning is often disconnected from students’ everyday knowledge, experiences, ways of making sense of the world, and, consequently, science content. Building on justice-centered science and familial rightful presence frameworks, this study examines the design and implementation of a community-based science unit in a third grade classroom. The talk will explore the co-design process, how family and student knowledge was integrated into the design of a formal science curricular unit, as well as the impacts of the work on families, students and the teacher. By centering community knowledge in the design of formal science curriculum, this work seeks to move beyond simply making science relevant to students’ lives and toward (re)defining ideas of what counts as scientific knowledge and who holds scientific knowledge. Ultimately, this work seeks to consider how community-based science can reimagine the relationship between schools and communities, support multiple ways of knowing and engaging in science, and contribute to more just and thriving community futures.