I believe
that one of the keys to creating scientifically-literate students is to have
them to understand how to read data. It
is extremely important that students are able to locate, identify relevant data
and be able to efficiently analyzing it while connecting it to the larger
context it belongs in. Humans too easily
generalize concepts and make assumptions based on experiences and the knowledge
they have at the moment. However,
misconceptions and biases can cloud this analytical judgment and prevent
students from understanding something with evidence. Many people make assumptions about climate
change and blame extremes in the weather on this but when placed in context of
over a century, patterns emerge that show that what we believe to be freak
weather is actually common in the past, our collective memory just does not
connect that far into the past. By
looking at the past students become more compassionate citizens because they don’t
immediately react to the something and prescribe solutions that may not
work. Looking at past data will provide
insights into how something works. This
can be applied to all parts of society to great results if implemented properly.
In creating
compassionate students that care about their global environment and the effects
natural disasters have on people, students can learn to read the data that is
presented to gauge how extreme the disaster has been for the local
population. If students are literate and
hear about a magnitude 9 earthquake in Haiti, they will understand what this
has done to the local environment and the people that reside there. Our school’s PTA connected us with local
community drives that helped during Hurricane Sandy and have also participated
in food drives for those affected by the Haitian earthquake. These opportunities allow students to explore
different science concepts and connect to with a human face.
