The CASE for Community-Centered Science Education

• In Event: Learning to Use Science to Build Just and Sustainable Futures

Abstract

Biodiversity and ecosystem services are rapidly declining, due to human pressures; however, addressing threats to biodiversity offers unique opportunities for youth to leverage learning and local action in ways that are relevant and accessible to them. This study explores how the Community and Sustainability Education project, using problem-based learning sequences and teacher professional learning, influences instructional practices related to local communities and students’ feelings of agency related to understanding and addressing sustainability issues. After participating in the project, instructional practices shifted towards more incorporation of issues, topics, and projects relevant to the local context. This may have translated to students’ perceptions that the science instruction they received was more connected to them and grounded in their communities.

Authors

• Katherine Joy Nilsen, WestEd

• Aaron Soo Ping Chow, WestEd

• Sara Salisbury, WestEd

• Ashley Iveland, WestEd