We Need our Planet

Science education is critical for our early and elementary-age students for many reasons. First, there are a number of significant issues facing survival of our species and other life on Earth right now. One notable issue is that of climate change. Although the issue has become political, the majority of the scientific community agrees that this is a real phenomenon that will have devastating impacts on our lives and the lives of our children, and sooner than we think (see evidence). For more information about climate change, read about the work of the young environmental activist, Greta Thunberg.

Another issue related to life on our planet is the fact that ecosystems are interconnected. Our planet is delicately balanced such that changes to one species or habitat can cause huge disruptions across the globe. For example, bees play a large role in life on earth, and their numbers are shrinking. If this continues, our whole food chain could be negatively impacted. Another issue is deforestation. Trees are critical to producing oxygen among other benefits to humans and animals, and we need to know what are the threats to our trees and how to protect them.

It is imperative that we have a scientifically-literate citizenry (see here for a detailed definition) that is both able and motivated to 1) identify and understand these issues, and 2) address and solve the current and future problems. Some of our young students will become future scientists while others will use science to make personal and civic decisions based on scientists’ recommendations; both groups need to be prepared to use science. One colleague’s favorite definition of scientific literacy is, “the ability to read and understand the New York Times science pages.” This part is also important for your future students! Whether or not they choose STEM careers, they all need to have some degree of scientific literacy.

Likewise, students’ abilities to apply mathematics and analyze the data that provide evidence for scientific findings are critical to future decisions in personal, professional, and political realms. These are not problems that are coming in hundreds of years, but they are already here. How can we support life on earth for ourselves, our children, and other life on Earth as the climate gets warmer? How can we protect the Amazon rain forest, which has been under attack since the COVID-19 pandemic? What can ordinary citizens do to take care of each other, their neighborhood, and our planet?

Our Technological Future

Another reason that STEM education is so critical for early childhood and elementary students is that we are increasingly dependent on technology (or the contribution of the “T” in STEM) in our country and across the globe. This is only likely to increase and to be even more prevalent in our daily lives over time. We need people who can do and understand computer programming, who can use technology and teach others to use it, and who have the habits of mind, approaches to learning, and specific and systematic approaches to solving problems – like flexible thinking, creativity, computational thinking, and a growth mindset – to use and create technology in the future (see more on digital citizenship from ISTE). Employers are increasingly looking for staff who have these types of characteristics. (Technology goes beyond only smartphones or computers – see Unit 8: Engineering and Technology.)

The Nature of Science and Society

We all need to learn about science including what it is AND what it is not. Science impacts our lives every day. We need to understand the nature of science, what we do and do not learn and know from the practice of science, and use this information to make good decisions (e.g., about immunizations). The section below was written by David Harker, philosophy professor at East Tennessee State University:

“It’s rewarding to know a little bit about the world we inhabit, whether it’s the different parts of a plant, the planets in our solar system, or the processes by which canyons and mountain ranges are formed. Children are curious, and curiosity is something that should be encouraged and cultivated. No matter how much we each learn, however, there will always remain an extraordinary amount that we don’t know. The pace of scientific progress and the degree of specialization ensures that we can only ever come to know a tiny fraction of what others have learned. 

It’s partly for this reason that students [and pre-service teachers] should also think about how science is conducted, how problems are investigated, how scientists support their conclusions and theories with evidence and argument, and how the sciences are as concerned with correcting prior mistakes as they are with exploring new ideas. We can emphasize for students [and pre-service teachers] the importance of asking good questions, finding suitable methods, and seeking out relevant evidence, but we should also be mindful that scientists spend their careers refining and improving their questions, methods and analyses. Attempts to reduce all of science to a concise sequence of steps serves no-one well.

The scope of modern science, both in terms of its subject matter and its methods, reminds us that science is, and must be, a collaborative enterprise. Teams of scientists work together, bringing different skillsets to the table. Scientists trust one another. They trust one another to report data and observations carefully and honestly. They look to other disciplines and research programs for corroborating evidence, opportunities for partnership, and alternative perspectives on shared interests. Science is the product of vast networks of individuals, not the lone geniuses that are so often given credit. When we study science, we benefit from the labor and talents of large communities of scientists, working collectively to identify and develop the best and most promising methods and ideas. Recognizing that trust plays a pivotal role within the sciences, furthermore, needn’t imply that scientific ideas aren’t rigorously questioned and scrutinized; rather, it underscores how scientists learn from each other, as much as they learn from experiments and observations.

Trust is important for scientists, but it’s also important for the public understanding of science. Whether for financial or ideological ends, many special interest groups seek to undermine scientific conclusions, either because those conclusions are inconvenient or unpalatable. Science detractors promote their own agenda by magnifying uncertainty surrounding the science, creating the appearance of scientific controversy where no substantive controversy actually exists, and generally seeking to confuse the public about the current state of scientific knowledge. All this can lead to poor decision-making and undue sympathy for conspiracy theories and unsubstantiated rumor. Science education is critical, because all our futures are improved if students learn to listen most carefully to those who are best informed.”

– David Harker, 2020

The Role of Math in our Future

Similarly, we need a solid mathematical foundation for many reasons. In order to make sense of the big data that are now a part of life, we need a workforce and the general public to understand data analysis that gets used to make major policy decisions. Math is critical to the practices of science and engineering, as they help us make sense, measure, and understand the phenomena we observe. Math is a part of our everyday lives as well, and contributes to our abilities to function and make sense of the world around us.