We’ve taught science in a very specific manner for a long time. We’ve pinned down the facts, labeled the parts, and drawn diagrams to help us understand the physical world. It’s been a whole lot of ‘memorize these facts for Friday’s test.’
I just finished reading Robert Macfarlane’s wonderful book, Is a River Alive? and it made me rethink everything about how we teach science in schools. We need to move away from those memorized facts, those diagrams, and the labeled parts. The river is a dynamic system. It has agency, it breathes, and it tells us a story.
We need to spark new thinking in education. We need to make this the new work of how our students learn science concepts. Let’s stop starting with the definition or diagram, and let’s start with a phenomenon. Solving puzzles can engage our students in everything about the natural world.
Asking “why does the river bend right there?” demands that our students understand the whole system. They will learn about the rain (physics), the rocks (geology), and the fish (biology). The natural world is deeply interconnected, and we need our science lessons to demonstrate that.
We don’t want to know if they can pass the test, or correctly diagram.
We want students ready to engage in the world.
We want students who understand that science is messy, complex, and very much alive.
We want them to be moved to visit the river.
The river is alive, after all.
Rich
