DOCUMENT RESUME ED 270 304 SE 046 600 AUTHOR Gallagher, James J., Ed.; Dawson, George, Ed. TITLE Science Education & Cultural Environments in the Americas. Report of the Inter-American Seminar on Science Education (Panama City, Panama, December 10-14, 1984). SPONS AGENCY National Science Foundation, Washington, D.C.; National Science Teachers Association, Washington, D.C.; Organization of American States, Washington, D.C. PUB DATE 86 NOTE 197p. PUB TYPE Collected Works - Conference Proceedings (021) -- Reports - General (140) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC08 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Cognitive Development; Cultural Awareness; *Cultural Influences; *Elementary School Science; Elementary Secondary Education; *International Educational Exchange; International Programs; Learning Strategies; Science Education; *Science Instruction; Science Teachers; *Secondary School Science; Teacher Education Programs ABSTRACT The impact of cultural background on science learning is explored in this compilation of papers and reports from an inter-American Seminar on science education, For the purposes of enriching science program planning, teacher education, research, and practice in the schools, varying ideas are offered on the effects of cultural background on science learning. Papers and other materials are presented under the chapter headings of: (1) introduction (specifying the purposes and organization of the seminar); (2) culture, cognition, and science learning (addressing such aspects as bilingual children's cognition, ethno-science, and curricular plurelism); (3) theory, goals, and strategies of science teaching (including an exploration of instructional strategies, a meta-analysis of the effects of teaching problem solving, and ideas on teaching science); (4) program development (explaining projects in primary school science, ecology, ocean fisheries, and science education in the Caribbean); (5) educating teachers for culturally diverse students (focusing on science teacher training projects); (6) working group projects (providing summaries of each of the four working group's topic areas); and (7) summary and projections (citing the seminar's recommendations for future actions). Four appendices contain a list of seminar planners and participants, a schedule of activities, a list of educators making up the inter-American science education network, and data sources and science education journals. (ML) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** :. N- SCIENCE EDUCATION 8k CULTURAL ENVIRONMENIS. U.1 O(P*JITMENT 0,EDUCATOR IN THE AMERICAS Office of Ediumeonal Renown and impenumut EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) *Addocument his been reproduced u rulluod tram flu person or OfunutIon Contriating it 0 Minor changes ramp WWI made to improve reproduction matey Points ot vtrwof olemlOns stated on this 006u. mint do not womanly represent official OEHI poset2on a policy "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY .re+es .57 entA TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)." INTER-AMERICAN SEMINAR ON SCIENCE EDUCATION .7."GALLAG 77. GEORGE DAWSON SCIENCE EDUCATION & CULTURAL ENVIRONMENTS IN THE AMERICAS A REPORT OF THE INTER-AMERICAN SEMINAR ON SCIENCE EDUCATION PANAMA CITY, PANAMA DECEMBER 10-14, 1984 JAMES J. GALLAGHER & GEORGE DAWSON EDITORS NSTA, NSF, OAS 3 @1986 National Science Teachers Association The Inter American Seminar on Science Education wassupported by the National Science Teachers Association, the Organizationof American States, and a grant from the National Science Foundation to theNational Science Teachers Association. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements iv Preface CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 Background of the Seminar 1 Purpose 1 Organization of the Seminar 3 CHAPTER 2: CULTURE, COGNITION, AND SCIENCE LEARNING 6 Papers by: Frederick Erickson "Cultural Difference and Science Education" . 7 Audrey Champagne "Children's Ethno-Science: An Instructional Perspective" 14 Martha Villavicencio "Implementation of A Methodological Alternative for the Teaching of Mathematics to Children from Rural Communities of Puno, Peru Using Their Language and Culture as a Base" 20 Murray Smith "A Model for Teaching Native Oriented Science". 25 Mary Ellen Quinn/Carolyn Kessler "Bilingual Children's Cognition and Language In Science Learning" 32 Maxwell Maddock "Developing Better Science Education Programs: Culture, Alienation, and Attitudes" 40 Garnett McDiarmid "Curricular Pluralism Requires Cultural Pluralism: An Application of a Socio-Psychological Theory". 48 CHAPTER 3: THEORY, GOALS, AND STRATEGIES OF SCIENCE TEACHING 59 Papers by: Edward Ortleb "Instructional Strategies for Teaching Science to Students with Diverse Cultural Backgrounds" 60 Eduardo Luna/Sarah Gonzhlez/Rafael Yunen "The Teaching and Learning of Mathematics in the Dominican Republic" 66 TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued) Jose Curbello "The Effects of Teaching Problem-Solving on Students' Achievement in Science and Mathematics: A Meta- Analysis of Findings" 77 Enrique Gongora "Some Ideas Relating to the Problem of Teaching Science" 79 Pablo Rodas "Teaching Science" 81 Ubiratan D'Ambrosio "Culture, Cognition and Science Learning". 85 CHAPTER 4: PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT 93 Papers by: Juan Gutierrez/Marfa Avilez "Michoacan Center for Science and Technology Education" 94 Elizabeth De Molina "A Didactic Strategy for the Teaching of Natural Sciences in Primary School" 100 Luz Mara Lopez "Developing Effective Science Programs on Ecology" 103 Saulo Rada/Tania Calderfn "Activities of CENAMEC: The Improvement of Science Teaching in Venezuela" 105 Francis Pottenger "Pacific Circle Ocean Fisheries Materials: An Example of Multinational Curriculum Development" 112 Andrew Ucbebor "Science Education in Schools - The Caribbean Experience 121 CHAPTER 5: EDUCATING TEACHERS FOR CULTURALLY DIVERSE STUDENTS 128 Papers by: Rene Salame "The Training of Science Teachers" 129 Gladis 3ottaro Marques "Brazil's Project for Improvement of Science and Mathematics Education" 132 Deyanira Barnett "Scf.ence Teacher Training in Panama" 141 ii TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued) CHAPTER 6: WORKING GROTP REPORTS 145 CHAPTER 7: SUMMARY AND PROJECTIONS 151 APPENDIX 1: LIST OF PARTICIPANTS/SEMINAR PLANNERS 155 APPENDIX 2: SEMINAR PROGRAM - SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES 159 APPENDIX 3: INTER-AMERICAN SCIENCE EDUCATION NETWORK 162 APPENDIX 4: SCIENCE EDUCATION JOURNALS AND DATA SOURCES 179 iii 7 Acknowledgements We must thank several groups and individuals for their support and assistance. The Organization ofAmerican States, National Science Teachers Association, and National Science Foundation provided leadership andfinancial support. The Central American Institute for Administration andSupervision of Education (ICASE) and the University of Panama provided invaluablehelpwith local arrangements for the Seminar. Viola Chandler, Armando Contreras, Alejandro Gallard, Ilsa Ochoa, provided logistical support for the conference;without them it just would not have worked! There are many others to whom we apologize for oversight. Thank you all. Inpreparing this report, we have had the invaluable aid of Armando Contreras, AlejandroGallard, Nora Sabater, and Lucila Gongora who served as translators, editoral assistants, rewrite specialists, and many other roles for which they were inadequatley paid. We thank the four of you for your kind and expert help. Finally, this workis available in both Spanish and English Editions as an aid to science educators throughout the Americas. J. Gallagher G. Dawson, December 1985 iv Preface For most readers of this book, the natural sciences transcend cultural andnational boundaries. We appreciate the universal character of science andwe value the free flow of scientific information among scientists and educatorsof the world. The objectivityof science and its logical- empirical basis appeal to usbecause it frees us from constraints of dogma. We prize the view that the correctness of assertionscan be tested against reality by empirical means. But manyother people in our world feel quite differently. Natural sciences call into question beliefs and practices that are part of popular culture and daily existence. Science can be seen as an enemy of religion and authority. Its rational stance and its skeptical approach have been viewed as threatening to political and religious leaders. Moreover, we all know that the beliefs and values which people holdcan influence their willingness andability to learnand use scientific knowledge in daily life. Itwas this issue, the impactofculturalbackground on science learning, that the Inter-American Seminar on Science Education addressed. The Seminarplanners inferredthat across the Americas, hundreds of cultural groups were approaching science learningwith varied beliefs about natureandpeople and these beliefs influenced learning of science in differentways. We also felt that examining research and practices concerning the effects of cultural background on science learning would illuminate ourunderstanding "f this complex issue in ways that could strengthenthe educationof youth in science by enriching program plan- ning, teacher education, research, and practice in our schools. The seven chapters and four appendiceswhich follow contain a description of the Seminar and its results. We hope you find it enriching! CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Background of the Seminar The Americas comprise