I teach to share my passions. Initially, my passion was the discipline of science, and I taught to inspire others to recognize the beauty and power of the natural world. As I taught about science, I became passionate about the children in my urban classroom. I became passionate about their opportunities or lack of opportunities to learn, to be respected, to be successful citizens. These children did not need nor respond to my experiences. Rather, they responded and grew intellectually when they were given personal, interactive experiences which in turn guided them to recognize the beauty and power of the natural world.
When I became a teacher of pre-service teachers, my passions broadened into multiple domains. With adult learners, even more so than with young children, the process of teaching should guide individuals toward cultural and self-knowledge, as well as in the knowledge of a discipline.
One fundamental topic in the discipline of biology is the process of evolution. As a biologist, and as a science educator, there was no doubt in my mind about the singular importance of teaching this concept to my students, and of sharing with them the importance of their inclusion of evolution in their science classrooms. As I taught at the high school, and even more so at the college level, I became aware of the sensitive nature of teaching evolution to my students. In my early days of teaching, I would preface the brief unit on evolution by telling my high school sophomores, “Evolution is something you need to know, but don’t need to believe.” I taught the concept in a straightforward, discipline-focused way. The one student who brought in a note from her parents telling me that they didn’t want her to learn about evolution was excused from the class for the few days, and she had an alternative library assignment.
One of my teaching colleagues used a different approach in his biology classroom. He introduced the concept of evolution, but then invited his students to share their “beliefs” about creation with the class. I disagreed with his approach, thinking that he “watered down” the importance of evolution as a biological principle.
My ideas about teaching evolution to students started to expand when I began teaching at
Kent. In the early days of the Middle Childhood program, one of my students, Mary, was a devout Mennonite. She was also intellectually curious, hard-working, outspoken, and had a great sense of humor. Mary would frequently come in my office during office hours (imagine that!) just to chat with me about science education and the middle childhood program. During one of our conversations, Mary brought up the issue of teaching evolution. One of her teaching concentrations was science. In our frank conversation, Mary told me that her religious beliefs were inconsistent with “believing in” evolution. Appreciating her frankness, I responded in kind, telling her that if she intended to teach in a public school, it was her ethical obligation to teach evolution as a scientific principle. I also informed her that even in some religious-affiliated high schools, the teaching of evolution (for knowing, not believing) was expected. Mary agreed that she could and would teach evolution in a public school setting.
As she and I continued our conversation, I reminisced about the myriad of high school students whose faces appeared in my memory - eager, trusting, open-minded children-adults who depended on me to guide their educational experiences. I remembered their mothers, too, who trusted me with their children, to do the right thing, to respect their values, while imparting my own values into the formation of a safe and equitable classroom. Some of those children had very defined religious beliefs, some had none, either by choice or by chance. But whatever their belief systems were, my choices in how and what I taught in my science classroom were also guided by the principles of science, my interpretation of those principles, and my values as a person and as a teacher. How could I best serve the needs of my students, as a community of learners, to engage in scientific thinking?
So back to Mary. I kept thinking about her honesty, and mostly about her intellectual maturity in separating her personal religious beliefs from her “duty” as a public school teacher. I felt the need to demonstrate recognition and respect for each Mary that I would have in class, yet at the same time promote unequivocally the importance of teaching science, not religion, in science class.
The Structured Academic Controversy unit was born! Use of this constructivist strategy avoided potential areas of conflict by focusing on learning goals to create a positive learning experience. The learning goals promoted teaching of evolution without: a) requiring students to take a dualistic stance; b) straining classroom interactions between students with diverse views; or 3) marginalizing students whose personal beliefs were diverse from the majority.
Students were guided into a disciplinary-based spectrum of knowledge that was used to offer possibilities to develop personal schema for integrating scientific knowledge/understandings with religious or other non-scientific knowledge/understandings. Several texts were used, including Barbour’s When Science Meets Religion: Enemies, Strangers, or Partners and Gould’s Rocks of Ages, to present varying views on the juxtaposition of science and other systems of knowledge. Rather than challenge or “reward” specific religious beliefs, this approach acknowledged a range of views, or typologies, of contemporary perspectives - conflict, independence, dialogue and integration, which provided a philosophical structure for students’ involvement; situated their diverse personal beliefs within a framework of contemporary thought; and identified fundamental scientific knowledge. Use of the typologies (conflict, independence, dialogue and integration) required students to become familiar with historical and contemporary scientific knowledge as well as cultural influences in the development of scientific theories. The culmination of the unit was in reaching consensus about the place of evolution in science education.
Teaching about controversial issues can have positive effects on students, school climate, and, subsequently, society at large. Students are motivated to learn and apply decision-making and problem-solving skills when discussing topics of importance to them. More specifically, research suggests that discussing controversial issues in elementary and secondary schools will counteract the apathy that has characterized persons of voting age for the last decade. And most importantly, my students who have participated in the SAC have been challenged to think in new ways and have developed awareness and understanding for diverse views. Ultimately, they have accepted the singular importance of evolution in the science classroom.
So, where does this put me, in respect to Mary’s views? And why do I still care about a single student who graduated years ago? Well, Mary was unique in her courage to talk with me about a conflict that she anticipated as part of her educational program. Because of her courage, I was able to avoid a narrow presentation of what I thought was “right,” and the risk of alienating Mary and other students like her. I continue to have science concentrators who shudder at the mention of evolution, but very few with the courage to talk with me about the potential conflict. Nationwide, fifty percent of Americans do not “believe” in evolution. In my role, it is my responsibility to guide my students in the direction that I think will create the greatest opportunities for them to become effective teachers. If I can show them how to engage their own students in intellectual controversies, not debates, which enlarge their world views and personal understandings, then Mary’s courage will have long lasting benefits. And what about Mary? She has been teaching science in a large urban district for several years, and I have no doubt that she is a fine teacher of science to the eager, trusting, open-minded children-adults who depend on her to guide their educational experiences.
