Implementation of Reality Pedagogy in a Chemistry Class for Young Adult Recent Immigrant Students

• In Event: Multicultural/Multiethnic Education: Emerging Lines of Inquiry

Abstract

Student culture has previously been suggested as the last unexplored frontier in reforming urban science education. Reality Pedagogy has been birthed out of an understanding of hip-hop cultural dynamics, as well as the broader aim of culturally relevant science teaching for socio-political action. This phenomenological paper situates Reality Pedagogy in the context of a unique chemistry classroom and offers an exploration of the effects of implementing this pedagogical model with a population of students facing significant educational and societal challenges due to linguistic, socioeconomic, racial, and age-related factors.

Authors

• Jeremy Benjamin Heyman, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Christopher Emdin, Teachers College, Columbia University