Module II: Part IV

Essential Question: How is everything connected from the perspectives of indigenous peoples and Western scientists? What are the advantages to knowing both ways?

Engage:

“How strange that Nature does not knock, and yet does not intrude!” ~ Emily Dickinson

Engage:
I believe that the ability of the indigenous Peoples and Western scientists to coexist is well-represented within this quote by Emily Dickinson. It is very important that we find the usefulness of both traditional knowledge of the indigenous and the analytical knowledge of science. While finding ways to represent these two different views of science, it is imperative that we respect and maintain an open mind about the two different methods of understanding and explaining the processes of the natural world.

Explain:
The idea of interconnectedness that is represented in the indigenous peoples lives was very well depicted in the video “The Spirit of Subsistence Living.” The video was the recognition of Alaska Native cultural ways and how these methods of survival are truly an appreciation of their surroundings and the spirits that provide them with life. The indigenous people take what they need, but are sure to give back to these resources and provide their giver with a spiritual appreciation. It is humbling to recognize that what we “Westerners” view as “survival” is looked at as a way of being - a culture - that is desired and respected by those that live it.

This same interconnectedness in Western science is shown within the video “String Theory: A Strange New World.” Through this video we see how closely the relationships between two complex units of science, such as gravity and electromagnetism, can be analyzed. Although they can be looked at separately, they are better understood by looking at them in conjunction with each other. It is important that we recognize the relationship between these two studies of science in-order to be aware of the multi-disciplined world of physics. If we study these sciences as individual units we, as scientists, will miss the bigger picture of science as a whole.

Extend:
While currently teaching middle school science I constantly struggle with the fact that I have to cover so many different units of science from all different disciplines. I do not struggle because it is difficult to teach the different units but because I feel that I fall short when trying to find some “connectedness” between the units. I do not want it to seem as though I am ending “Weather and Climate” and beginning “Forces and Motion”, but the reality is that is exactly what I do. I close that unit folder, I put the textbooks in the storage closet and I move on to new concepts. How do I create a connection between the individual disciplines of science that engages higher levels of thinking yet solidifies the traditional science idea that all sciences are connected?


Evaluate:
As I work on this blog I realize that I need to incorporate more indigenous methods of knowing into my science curriculum, and that this transition can be used to truly push my students to recognize some of their own cultural ways of knowing. I think this is the first step towards exposing my students to alternative methods of knowing and learning.