Preface
This letter was developed for the Institutions and Processes in Education Course taught by Dr. Gretchen Lopez at Syracuse University. This letter aims to reach future science teachers to reveal why they are important as a teacher, as a citizen, and as a person who has the power to work on cultural inequalities.
Dear Science Teachers of the Future,
I am writing this letter to thank you all for being brave enough to take responsibility in changing the lives of others. Several people around you are or will be telling you that “it is not worth it”, “you are smarter than being just a teacher”, “why don’t you be an engineer if you are already studying science”, or “as a teacher, you will never make good money”. As a former middle school science teacher, as a current teaching assistant who is teaching science to non-science major students at a private college in the United States, as a daughter of a science teacher and a school administrator, let me tell you that what you have chosen to do is worth it. I am not telling you that it is going to be easy, but it is worth to see the impact you had on your students with every effort you put on your teaching and every difficulty you face with throughout your teaching career.
I am writing this letter to kindly remind you about your important role as a citizen and as a facilitator of citizens around you. Teachers, who play an essential role in the learning process, need to be knowledgeable citizens because teachers’ perceptions and intended actions have an influence on their students’ understanding and attitude (as cited in Ceyhan, 2016). Moreover, we live in an interconnected world where there is a wide diversity of students’ knowledge, skills, and culture in the science classrooms. One way of having better science education is being supportive of cultural differences (Grimberg & Gummer, 2013). In other words, science education, with cultural perspectives, has a potential to explain the inequity in educational contexts (Parsons & Carlone, 2013). Therefore, you, as a science teacher of the future, need to be aware of the structures and mechanisms of culture in science classrooms and students’ scientific knowledge construction process.
Here I want to point out a few things I believe you should keep in your mind as you start working as a science teacher.
First of all, you should be aware that You are Important!
One of the major aspects of better schools is better teachers. Research suggests that teachers’ understanding, their way of teaching and their classroom practices have roles in students’ understanding (as cited in Ceyhan, 2016). Therefore, it is crucial for you to be prepared as knowledgeable and skillful teachers who can meet the challenges of today’s demanding classrooms. I know some of the questions that come to your mind as “what teachers need to learn” and “how teachers need to learn”. No worries, your teacher preparation program has been helping you to achieve several aspects for your successful preparation as a future science teacher such as understanding learning theories, content knowledge, curriculum development, understanding learners and learning, student development and their motivation to learn (Darling-Hammond, 2006). You just need to use this information in your instructional design, and curricular goals.
You are the key point here to integrate your content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge to let your students get the highest benefit from your classes. In order to raise scientifically literate individuals, you need to be aware of your students’ individual differences including their subcultures mostly identified by race, ethnicity, religion, gender, social class, etc. (Aikenhead, 1996). Also, you need to pay attention to the subcultures of science itself, which are the fields of study such as physics, earth science, space science, botanic, and origins of institutions that are Western and Euro-American cultures. If the subculture of science integrates with the students’ personal subculture, learning science contributes to the development of the scientific understanding of students (Aikenhead, 1996). However, if the subculture of science interferes with the students’ personal subculture, interventions in science classrooms may disturb the students’ understanding of the world “by trying to replace it or marginalize it” (Aikenhead, 1996, p. 4). Therefore, have a detailed plan for each of your lesson but be flexible to change according to the classroom environment, individual differences, and various student needs.
Lastly, I would suggest you to be culturally flexible because it promotes taking part and interacting efficiently with various cultures, and enriching the communication in the classroom setting (Grimberg & Gummer, 2013). Self-esteem is also considered to be a motive of cultural flexibility where people with high self-esteem might be comfortable with being in places with diverse identities (Carter, 2010). As self-esteem plays a role in students’ confidence in their abilities and their academic achievements, it plays a crucial role in their sustainability in science fields as well. Besides, literature presents differences in the self-esteem of students from different social, ethnic and racial backgrounds which results in differences in their participation in school, their interactions with their peers from divergent backgrounds, and their academic traits (as cited in Carter, 2010). Therefore, it is your responsibility to create a culturally flexible classroom where each student has a voice and develop self-confidence.
I hope this letter helped you see how important you are as a citizen who has the power to raise scientifically literate citizens and work on eliminating inequalities regarding cultural differences in science education. With your help, maybe one-day cultural inequalities in science education will disappear and cultural variety will be an aid for the improvement of science and science education.
All My Best,
Gaye
References
Aikenhead, G. S. (1996). Science education: Border crossing into the subculture of science. Studies in Science Education, (27), 1-52.
Carter, P. L. (2010). Race and cultural flexibility among students in different multiracial schools. Teachers College Record, 112, 1529–1574.
Ceyhan, G. D. (2016). Pre-service teachers’ plausibility perceptions of global climate change: The role of cognitive, behavioral and personal variables. (Master’s Thesis, Bogazici University, Istanbul, Turkey).
Darling-Hammond, L. (2006). Powerful teacher education: Lessons from exemplary programs. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Grimberg, B. I., & Gummer, E. (2013). Teaching science from cultural points of intersection. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 50(1), 12-32.
Papadimitriou, V. (2004). Prospective primary teachers’ understanding of climate change, greenhouse effect, and ozone layer depletion. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 13 (2), 299-307.
Parsons, E. C., & Carlone, H. B. (2013). Culture and science education in the 21st century: Extending and making the cultural box more inclusive. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 50(1), 1-11.