Connecting Canonical Science Content and Students' Everyday Knowledge Through Community-Based Science Practices

• In Event: Socioscientific Issues and Community Knowledge

Abstract

The structured nature of K-12 curriculum can make it difficult to engage students’ everyday knowledge in science classrooms. Including community and cultural knowledge in classrooms, however, can serve to connect school science content to students’ everyday lives. This study seeks to provide evidence as to how locally situated, co-designed science curriculum, focused in a community-based environmental justice (CBEJ) framework can: (1) provide opportunities for students to use their funds of knowledge (FOK) to inform classroom practice, and (2) help students develop stronger connections between canonical science content and their lived experiences. This work contributes to research seeking to reframe community knowledge as scientific data and create active classroom environments of meaningful scientific learning.

Author

• Symone Gyles, University of California - Los Angeles