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7 Culture, Diversity, and Equity
Pages 119-138

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From page 119...
... The exhibit accomplishes its double-pronged goal through its design, informative text panels, and interactive features. The exhibit is set up like an Indian tipi, with the inside space designated as a place to hear stories about native culture.
From page 120...
... In informal settings for learning science, such as museums, some initiatives are aimed at introducing new audiences to existing science content by offering reduced-cost admission or bringing existing science programming that is already offered to mainstream groups to nondominant communities. The logic of this view is that individuals from particular groups or com munities have simply not had sufficient access to science learning experiences.
From page 121...
... To achieve equity, practitioners must consider ways to connect the home and community cultures of diverse groups to the culture of science. Angela Calabrese Barton, professor of science education at Michigan State University, argues for allowing connections between learners' life worlds and science to be made more easily and "providing space for multiple voices to be heard and explored."3 An important first step toward designing more inclusive and genuinely equi table learning experiences in science is for educators and designers to recognize that they may be acting under assumptions that reflect the dominant culture of middle class whites.
From page 122...
... However, the additional investment is an impor tant step toward providing more equitable learning experiences. Electronic labels on touchscreens equipped to display multiple languages, while expensive, can address a variety of challenges, including the option of providing more detailed information on request.
From page 123...
... Initiative to better understand San Jose's growing Throughout our collaboration, the welcoming mesVietnamese community and to develop strategies sage that we sent was very important." for helping the museum better meet the commu The Community's Perceptions nity's needs. San Jose is home to more residents of Vietnamese descent than any other city outside Saigon.
From page 124...
... This perception may be one of their own research, museum designers incorporated the reasons that focus group participants were not some key Vietnamese cultural icons into the exhi clear on the goals of the children's museum, which is bition. For example, bamboo was selected as the intended to be both fun and educational.
From page 125...
... "We started out with tradi tional Vietnamese straw hats, but they did not hold Many visitors especially enjoyed seeing the round up, which made them a potential safety hazard," boat, which sparked conversation about their lives in explains Martin. "Making the decision to change to Vietnam: As one visitor stated, "The round boat re- the cloth Chinese hats had ramifications that we did minds me of the area where I used to live in Vietnam.
From page 126...
... For one thing, the staff discovered that developing an understanding of and Progress Made, More Work Ahead competence with a culture is an ongoing process. In fact, according to the Garibay Group's final evalua tion, even after working on the project for several From the outset, the initiative brought in advisers years, many staff members still felt tentative about from the Vietnamese community to build long their decisions and were concerned that they may term relationships and to help with exhibition and inadvertently offend Vietnamese community mem program planning.
From page 127...
... For example, bilingual interpretive labels in English and Spanish in communities with large Latino populations allowed adult members who were less proficient in English to read the labels and discuss the content with their children, directly increasing attention and improving learning outcomes.8 In another case, providing a Spanish-speaking mediator promoted more scientific dialogue. Finally, in a bilin gual summer science camp at an aquarium offered in English and Spanish, partici pating girls were very positive about the experience in part because they learned science terminology and concepts in both languages and thus could better commu nicate with their parents (who were predominantly Spanish-speaking)
From page 128...
... Some issues are physical; for example, navigating a space can be problematic for people in wheelchairs and for those who are blind. Other issues, however, are related to a culture gap that must be bridged, much like cultural differences between various ethnic groups and informal science set tings.
From page 129...
... CDM's Jenni Martin notes the role that the Vietnamese community played throughout the initiative: "Working with the community is part of our mission as a chil dren's museum," she says. "Leveraging trust with our partners, which include a community advisory group and the Vietnamese language media, has been critical to the success of our initiative." Community leaders also can demystify museums (or other informal learning settings)
From page 130...
... Making models by placing beaded metal chains on to Reich and the other members of the Making magnetic boards allows visitors with physical disabili Models team set the bar high. They wanted to create ties to interact with exhibit materials.
From page 131...
... At another station, expressed disappointment that they couldn't touch they could build a model by pressing buttons." the objects described in the audio, while others were Two particularly innovative options allowed vis- frustrated if they had trouble getting the sound to itors to build models using light or sound. On a stage, work.
From page 132...
... called for using an ethnoscientific as well as bilingual approach to teaching science in particular con texts.11 In response, scholars called for science education that directly relates to the lives of native students and tribal communities. Scholars such as Glen Aikenhead, who is an expert in this field, agree that to be most effective, learning environments must be connected and relevant to each particular Native American tribe.12 Native Science Field Centers, supported by the efforts of the Hopa Mountain program, strive to create such environments in their year-round programs for elementary and middle school students.
From page 133...
... gan, the group huddled in a circle, recited a prayer Activities such as this one are part of the in their language, and held hands while making an Native Science Field Centers, whose overarching goal offering of tobacco. Helen Augare, director of the is to merge Western science concepts with traditional center, explained that the youth are learning that ecological knowledge of tribal communities.
From page 134...
... "The guage. The show emphasized how lessons can be Blackfeet are proud of their culture and proud of learned from animal behavior and by observing the their history," says Bonnie Sachatello-Sawyer, execu balance of the four elements -- wind, fire, water, tive director of the Hopa Mountain Program.
From page 135...
... Evaluations of museum-based and after-school programs such as the Blackfeet Native Science Field Center suggest that these experiences can support academic gains for children and youth from nondominant groups. Programs and experiences that are successful often draw on local issues.
From page 136...
... • Be informed about and coordinate approaches with neighboring venues. Contact nearby informal science learning environments to discuss their strate gies for working with different members of the community.
From page 137...
... Chapter 7 in Committee on Learning Science in Informal Environments, Learning Science in Informal Environments: People, Places, and Pursuits.


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