Oscar Newman, MSU-Wipro STEM and Leadership Teaching Fellow

Imagine IT Project:

Empowering Students with Science Literacy

Cultivating Connections that Help Students Understand the World
Science literacy means using science to make decisions in everyday life. Science literacy
also means being able to understand the relationships between science, technology,
and society. Children who build a strong relationship with the natural world are better
able to understand how humans are affecting the natural world. Life in cities does not
make this understanding easier: food comes from stores, clean water seems without
limit, and our waste just goes away. When people learn how their choices can affect the
environment, they can feel helpless. Yet, people with strong connections to nature are
able to see how their choices make a difference. This project will focus on building
connections with nature. Our school does great things to make these connections
possible, but they do not happen at all grade levels. This project will be a way to
reconsider how our school community works to foster these important connections and
build students who use their knowledge to make the world a better place.
Some of the following overarching questions are addressed in this project:
What can make us feel empowered to tackle the problems of the world?
Does control require knowledge?
How do we understand the world?
How did the world get to be like it is?
How can we change the world?
How can science help us understand the world?
How can mathematics help us understand the world?
Should we share what we learn?
What is the role of communication in understanding the world?
How can the world be?