Culture, as defined by Nieto on page 129, is "the ever-changing values, traditions, social and political relationships, and worldview created, shared, and transformed by a group of people bound together by a combination of factors that can include a common history, geographic location, language, social class, and religion." I tried to think back to one of our first classes and remember discussing some of the aspects of science as a culture. I believe the definition of the culture of science would be quite similar to this definition. The culture of science is constantly changing as new discoveries are made or as previous discoveries are disproved, for example, the fact that Pluto is no longer considered a planet. Science is a culture in which all people share a common history and are bound together based on this shared history, language and interest. For example, I wouldn't consider myself an active participant of the science culture and often I feel uncomfortable around this culture because I don't understand the language. I am exposing myself to science more in order to become more comfortable with this culture, but since it really has a language of it's own, it is difficult to be a part of this culture if you do not understand a lot of the vocabulary and subject matter, which is similar to the culture discussed in the article. It is difficult for people to be parts of many cultures because they do not speak the languages or have the same interests and common bonds with all cultures.
On page 138, Nieto explains that culture is usually learned through interactions with families and communities, which I believe is similar to science. Many science concepts are learned at a young age through discussions with parents about observations made by children. For example, kindergarteners at my inernship notice how leaves are changing colors and ask their parents and teachers how and why this happens. They also notice that it is getting colder out and wonder why that happens as well. By having discussions like this with their families and others in the community, they are constantly observing and explaining different concepts, many of which deal with science. People also use many of the process skills in throughout everyday interactions. For example, we are always planning our schedules and predicting what will happen in upcoming interactions and communicating our ideas to others. Because of this, I believe the culture of science may be learned through family and members of the community, as well as ethnic and religious cultures.
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5 comments:
Hi Amy,
I'm glad you made the connection in your blog that science as a culture changes just as other cultures are constantly changing. In my own science experience, I always felt like science was a set body of knowledge. I don't know if I had many teachers who taught me that science ideas are always being revisited and rethought. I think it's important to bring this idea to our own students.
Nicole
I think that what you said is incredibly fitting after reading this article. I think that it is important for people to know when they are out of their comfort zone and also to try to learn the norms for a particular culture. I am a science major so I would say that I understand a majority of the culture of science, even though I do not understand all that goes along with being a research scientist. It took a while for me to learn what necessary to be able to consider myself as part of the science community; most of which was not learned until my college classes and labs. It takes time to learn new things and it is good to hear that you are trying to become more familiar with science. Keep it up and I am sure it will pay off!
Your post stirred some genuine thinking for me. First, I realized that the non-school science taking place as families discuss the world is often a resource we can use to help connect science to children's lives. The other reminder was that science is much more interesting for all of us when we move past the belief that it's all gathered up in books. When science is a learned, changing, community-based way of looking at the world, then it's another culture. Being aware of that, as teachers of science as well as for our students, helps open our minds to a great variety of possibilities.
i think you've shown how science can be embedded in so many contexts, not just schools, like talking with your family. That's something you should tell your students too, especially the ones that think they don't know anything about science. Even understanding everyday actions like eating, sleeping, getting on the bus- all involve science.
I made some of the same connections in my blog on this article. I relate to you when you say you feel uncomfortable with science. I think it may make students feel even more uncomfortable if they enter a science environment in which they may be one of the few who isn't fluent in the culture, just as if you were at an event in which you weren't of that culture. I think it opens your eyes to the experiences of children with science, especially since I have felt that way as well.
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