KLEIN's
GUIDE TO
SCIENCE EDUCATION
PHOTO CREDIT: Nadene Klein at Tuolumne Meadows Yosemite National Park
I am unskilled in the visual arts. My drawings look childish as do my sculptures of clay. Despite that, I supremely value the integration of art with science. Without art, science is incomplete. (Note: it goes both ways--art is incomplete without science.)
In my lessons this week, I reflected with students on all of the ways they've already used art in my science classes. Most often this appears as making models. We've made clay models and 3D printed models. Drawings, sketches, and diagrams are created by my students as well. I often require visual representations within their class notes or at least make it an option for them to be included. There's even a modicum of art involved in constructing a graph to display and analyze data. If students are like me, afraid or uncomfortable using art because our skills are lacking, then it is incumbent upon the teacher to make the science classroom a safe place to explore the possibilities of using art in our work. I use these phrases, "You won't be graded on your art skills." OR "Remember this isn't going on display in an art gallery or museum." "Wow, you did better than I could do." Most especially, I model for them. I demonstrate how to add visual representations to note and intentionally draw attention to my lacking skills and that it doesn't stop me from trying. I shared the video LINKED HERE with my classes. (Credit: Skype-A-Scientist). I think this scientist/artist does a marvelous job explaining and demonstrating how importantly science and art go together. So many of my students were able to connect with the ideas shared in the video. Great scientists throughout time have included art in their works: John J. Audobon, Charles Darwin, and Leonardo DaVinci (to name a few). From now on, I think I'll eliminate S.T.E.M. from my vocabulary and strictly use S.T.E.A.M. because that provides the complete picture!
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AuthorNadene Klein, M.Ed. has been an educator for over 25 years. She brings a passion and love for science to the classroom and through this blog to you. Archives
March 2024
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