President’s Column
MnSTA Fall Newsletter, 2007
“ When are we ever going to use this in real life?” It is the question that can cause even the most dedicated teacher to run, screaming into the streets. Real life? What does the average ____ grader (plug in your favorite grade) know about real life? The answer is probably not much, but, that is irrelevant – and much as we would like to think otherwise, sometimes so is our teaching to today’s real students in a real world.
My daughter and husband have long teased me about being the family “science nerd”. My husband took only as much science in school as he was required, and never felt much need to know what was going on in the research realm. All of that changed 5 1/2 years ago when his kidneys failed due to hypertension and he began dialysis. Suddenly science was relevant. Genetics, stem cells, tissue typing, and related research all became the subjects of his internet searches. This summer, as he finally received a transplant from an anonymous living donor, that science remained relevant as a whole new set of considerations fell into place.
As with my husband, what is relevant can change over night. However, as teachers, we also need to consider what may be a relevant means of teaching a concept. For several years we have taught a unit on cancer to our 10th grade biology class. Unfortunately, for most of these students and their families, cancer will become a relevant topic at some point. This was brought home forcefully a year ago, when twins in that same grade lost their mother to cancer. But how does this matter of relevancy fit with all the standards that need to be taught? For us, in this instance, it was a direct link to cell division – seldom a “jump up and down” topic, but one that takes on meaning when tied with the topic of cancer.
Relevancy extends beyond life science to every area of science. As I write this, the news has continuous coverage of the I-35W bridge collapse. Physics will play a huge part in the analysis of this event, and how to prevent a similar occurrence in the future. Earth science explains the causes of flooding in the Red River Valley and should play a part in land use and development in the future. Chemistry is the source of the myriad of products and life-saving drugs we use on a daily basis. Each can be tied back into required science skills and concepts. As teachers, we need to make deliberate connections from real life to classroom.
Science, of course, is more than a body of factual knowledge, but a process. The body of knowledge develops from the fundamental process of questioning. Questioning leads to investigation, which yields data that may (or may not) allow the question to be answered. Although, real life may not often involve actual laboratory or field investigation for the average individual, questioning skills are of paramount importance. Asking pertinent questions allows the patient to understand the disease and to select the best option for treatment. Questioning allows the home buyer to evaluate the soundness of the building structure and the land on which it resides. As teachers, our charge is not just to pass on the knowledge base, but to help students develop the ability to evaluate and expand that knowledge through skilled questions – questions that deal with real life situations, as well as those that may be real life tomorrow.
As this school year swings into action, find ways to tweak your current curriculum to engage students in relevant situations. Allow them to wrestle with local and world problems. Allow them to formulate questions to investigate real science right outside their back door. Find ways to make science concepts alive through the world that surrounds your students. Kids deserve an answer to that pesky question, “How will I use this in real life?”