Rethinking Time to Conceptualize STEM as Place

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Friday 1:30 pm Four Seasons Ballroom 1
  In Roundtable Session: Praxis in Otherwise Spaces (Table 13)

Abstract

Despite claims to the contrary, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics), when embedded in Western education as a method to solve economic and global issues, perpetuates the social-cultural-environmental (i.e., ecological) crisis. Current STEM discourses prioritize abstract and universalized knowledge, creating a conceptual impasse between human actions and impacts on place. This work builds upon previous studies focused on STEM as place, informed by Indigenous and ecological ways of knowing. As curriculum inquiry, we revisit the often asked question, What should we teach? Here we explore unquestioned assumptions regarding concepts of time with the aim towards revealing vital considerations, including those that are more-than-human, when Earth is recognized as first teacher.

Authors

• Meredith Lemon, University of Victoria

• Jennifer S. Thom, University of Victoria

• Edward Doolittle, First Nations University of Canada

• Florence A. Glanfield, University of Alberta

• Cynthia C. Nicol, University of British Columbia