Course Description

This course explores both the power and the limits of science in a Neohumanist world and outlines an integrated pedagogy that highlights the role of ethics and the arts in a Neohumanist framework for teaching science. We will focus on how children make sense of the world and build “scientific knowledge” and learn how to use this understanding to create effective learning experiences. The class will highlight many forms of empirical sense-making such as traditional ecological knowledge, ancestral knowledge, and intergenerational learning, and demonstrate the importance of a place-based approach that takes into account multiple ways of cultural knowing alongside conventional Western science. Practical skills include how to build and scaffold science concepts across grade levels, and how to create indoor and outdoor learning spaces that foster inquiry based approaches.

Course Syllabus