NSTA Newsletter on Justice-Centered Phenomena

Posted on June 08, 2020

This June, our team is finding moments of hope by reading instructional accounts that show how to promote social justice through PK-12 science education. 

In particular, we have been reading articles in the new issue of the NSTA Next Gen Navigator, featuring accounts from Megan Bang, Nikki McDaid-Morgan, Alice Tsoodle, Jordyn Frost, Anastasia Sanchez, and Jason Foster, and co-edited by Deb Morrison and Philip Bell. 

Science instruction must support the complex work of anti-racism, and these resources offer suggestions, insights, and inspiration.

Practitioner accounts and associated resources:

• Introduction: Social Justice-Centered Teaching and Learning, by Philip Bell & Deb Morrison
• Creating Science Learning Environments in Which Indigenous Students Can Thrive, by Megan Bang, Nikki McDaid-Morgan, and Alice Tsoodle
  This story on elementary education describes how science learning environments can support Indigenous student and family thriving. The authors describe how they base field investigations and complex systems reasoning on extended kin relations.
  
  
• Justice-Centered Science Pedagogy: Leaning Beyond the Boundaries of Equity and Culturally Responsive Practices, by Jordyn Frost and Anastasia Sanchez
  In this post on middle school education, the authors describe their Social Focus approach, which uses justice-centered pedagogy in NGSS implementation to support students as they learn about science through personally and locally consequential topics.
  
  
• Investigating Environmental Racism in the High School Biology Classroom, by Jason Foster
  In this story on high school education, Jason Foster describes how he uses justice-centered phenomena to help students learn to use scientific knowledge to advocate for their community and see how care should be essential for all people.

We also published a new STEM Teaching Tool entitled Focusing Science and Engineering Learning on Justice-Centered Phenomena across PK-12 with additional thinking and resources in conjunction with this issue of the NSTA Next Gen Navigator.

We are thinking of our science education community right now, and hope you take strength and hope from these resources.