Transformative Curriculum-Making: Creating Accessible Science

• In Event: Improving Equity and Quality in Science Education

Abstract

In this case study, we explore ways to prepare preservice teachers to translate theory into
practice and make science curriculum accessible through familial curriculum. Preservice teachers engaged in a “Family Science Lesson Planning” assignment sequence where grounded in the principles of transformative curriculum making (Seiki, 2016), then identified, articulated, and translated their own familial curriculum into science lessons. As a result, preservice teachers’ own histories and familial knowledge were repositioned and valued alongside science. Our findings show how to use science curriculum and instruction to border-cross between home and school, thereby making science more
accessible.

Authors

• Sumer Seiki, University of California - Riverside

• Jolynn A. Asato, San José State University

• Ben W. Koo, University of California - Berkeley

• Manisha Hariani, University of California - Berkeley