by Settelmaier, Elisabeth

In this paper I respond to Long’s paper in which he uses an ethnographic snapshot of a rally of scientists against the perceived ‘dumbing down’ effect of the new Answers in Genesis Museum in Kentucky to raise educational concerns about the effects of creationist influence on the science curriculum in American schools. In my response I contextualise the conflict between creationists and evolutionists in the history of the Christian Churches and in my own personal history. Furthermore I illustrate how historically there been multiple versions and interpretations of the creation story in the past resulting in much conflict and angst. Finally I suggest an integral perspective that allows us to envisage a curriculum that presents

by Alexakos, Konstantinos

In his article Scientists at Play in a Field of the Lord, David Long (2010) rightly challenges our presumptions of what science is and brings forth some of the disjunctures between science and deeply held American religious beliefs. Reading his narrative of the conflicts that he experienced on the opening day of the Creation Museum, I cannot help but reconsider what the epistemology of science is and science learning ought to be. Rather than science being taught as a prescribed, deterministic system of beliefs and procedures as it is often done, I suggest instead that it would be more appropriate to teach science as a way of thinking and making sense of dialectical processes in

by Seals, Mark A.

In David Long’s article, Scientists at Play in a Field of the Lord, he studies the discourse between a network of regional scientists, atheists, activists and evolutionists at the opening of The Creation Museum on Memorial Day, 2007. This review essay examines the teaching of evolution through the teacher’s ‘lens of empathy’ and also considers a ‘pupil centeredness’ approach. As a practicing science educator, I have found it paramount to take into consideration my students’ backgrounds and their families’ beliefs in order to understand their preconceived notions about the origins of life. By teaching evolution as ‘a theory with both facts and fallacies’ only then does it become an opportunity for critical thinking that

by Long, David E.

Discussing themes from my paper Scientists at play in a field of the Lord, three forum participants identify and discuss continuing social and epistemological issues which continue to challenge effective evolution education. I extend these themes and further amplify the vexing nature of an effective dialectic regarding evolution, especially for Creationists. By doing so, I offer that a full dialectic regarding evolution in classrooms requires quite a bit more explicit historicizing of both the nature of science and religion.

DOI: 10.1007/s11422-009-9253-y
Online Date: 1/8/2010
View article on SpringerLink

by Long, David E.

The Answers in Genesis Creation Museum opened in May of 2007. During the opening day, a loosely affiliated group of scientists joined in a Rally for Reason as they termed it to protest the museum’s potential effect on science in the United States. This paper discusses ethnographic data collected before and during the rally. Scientist narratives disclose the rationale for their participation at the rally, unpacking their hopes, fears and social ideals vis-à-vis their perception of the Museum’s impact. With these ideals, I discuss the lacking discourse between the values of ideal of science literacy, the contested authority of museums and their publics, and a lacking conception of how a valuerationality aligned towards the

by Tobin, Kenneth

DOI: 10.1007/s11422-009-9241-2
Online Date: 10/9/2009
View article on SpringerLink

by Roth, Wolff-Michael

In and with this text, I introduce the Forum that centers around a series of essays written by a high school student and an interview with his teacher all collected as part of a larger study about students’ discourses with respect to (nature of) science, learning, and knowing. I provide a brief review of the original findings, which had been published in a study co-authored by the student and myself, his physics teacher.

DOI: 10.1007/s11422-009-9224-3
Online Date: 9/29/2009
View article on SpringerLink

by Martin, Sonya N.; Siry, Christina A.

Trevor Owens’ paper provides a critique of the role of gender and authority in selected children’s books that presented biographies of Albert Einstein and Marie Curie. In the context of discussing Trevor’s (2009) article about children’s literature, this forum explores issues related to the (a) representation and construction of gender, science, and childhood in literature for children; (b) the need to consider socio/historical/cultural contexts in analytical and theoretical frameworks; and (c) the importance of fostering critical literacy perspectives in pre- and in-service science teachers and the children whom they teach.

DOI: 10.1007/s11422-009-9238-x
Online Date: 9/25/2009
View article on SpringerLink

by Choudry, Aziz

In response to Richardson Bruna’s “Mexican immigrant transnational social capital and class transformation: examining the role of peer mediation in insurgent science”, this paper draws on the author’s research on organizing, mobilization and knowledge production among adult im/migrant workers in Canada. While appreciative of the content and concerns of Richardson Bruna’s argument, the paper argues for a clearer position on tensions between agency and structure, and class and capitalist social relations in which to contextualize the schooling of immigrant children in today’s US classrooms. In addition, it explores some implications of Mignolo’s (2000) work on the geohistory of knowledge, notably his concept of ‘border thinking’ for teachers, teacher education, and curricula. Finally, the article suggests