Teaching Science in Culturally Relevant Ways

Ideas from Singapore Teachers

This book encapsulates the vision of Singapore science educators to bring the local elements of the country to bear in the science curriculum. In experimenting with familiar materials used and consumed in our everyday lives, and applying scientific knowledge to analyse and provide explanations of the observed phenomena the editors and contributing authors hope to introduce culturally relevant science activities for enactment in the formal and informal science curriculum. This work is premised on the collective belief that learning science in culturally relevant ways underscores the importance of one's culture embodied with funds of knowledge to make the learning of science meaningful. They see this as a step toward achieving the broader and long-term goal of developing a scientifically literate citizenry.

Contents:

• Red Dragon Fruit: Using Red Pigment Extracts from Pitayas as Natural Indicators (Teo Tang Wee)
• Delectable Blue! (Koh Bing Qin)
• Turmeric Spice as Natural Dye (Lin Jiansheng)
• Bubble Tea Toppings (Chew Shuhui Eunice and Ng Shi Han)
• Milk Tea = Teh-C and Teh (Ng Shi Han and Chew Shuhui Eunice)
• Coconut Water (Lim Shan Yan and Boo Michelle)
• No Durian on MRT! (Low Wei Chuan Matthias)
• Sodium Sulphite in Chicken Frank (Khoh Rong Lun)
• Biodegradable Tableware: Conserving Our Environment Through the Use of Materials from Renewable Resources (Tan Yong Leng Kelvin)
• Colour Matters! (Lim Jia Ying Jessica, Cho Wen Jing and Gan Ghim Kui)
• Teaching Kinematics Using Shuttle Run (Tang Chi Sin and Srinivasan Shyam)

Readership: Students, professionals (especially science educators — teachers and academics) and general public who are interested in the relevance of science to their everyday lives and making connections between science learning and the cultural elements in Singapore.
Key Features:

• This is an inaugural book that purposefully engages students in science learning by making connections to the cultural elements of Singapore
• Through doing culturally relevant science activities students see the relevance of science in their everyday lives
• This book offers a platform for teachers to showcase their professional knowledge