Abstract:
Science teachers continuously struggle to develop hands-on, stimulating pedagological tools
that capture the enthusiasm of their students, while simultaneously grappling with issues of cost effectiveness
and relevance to real-world situations. These constraints are particularly pronounced when
educating indigenous students, who navigate daily between traditional and Western knowledge systems.
An innovative “Screens-to-Nature” (STN) system, a portfolio of field-deployable bioassays and practical
training, offers a well-designed alternative approach to transdisciplinary education, by immersing students
in a guided approach to bioexploratory research. The STN bioassays simply and expediently give students the tools to detect bioactive, healthprotecting properties present in local, indigenous plant materials, microbes, and fungi. The tests are reliable, accurate, low-cost, and relevant for multiple scientific disciplines. Students are transformed from
observers into active researchers, able to observe and record their own uncharted scientific discoveries.
Because the STN system can be implemented on traditionally-important medicinal herbs and foods, links between indigenous knowledge and Western science, as well as youth-to-elder communications, are fostered. Case studies from multiple global locations have provided positive insights as to how the STN system can stimulate the science education experience and provoke expanded science discovery.
Keywords:
science education, hands-on learning, bioexploratory research
 Kellogg_September_2010_NACTA_JOURNAL-10.pdf | [ ] | 197 kB |
