Abstract
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IMPLEMENTING AN INQUIRY-BASED LEARNING SITUATION IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: WHAT ARE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHERS’ LEARNING INTENTIONS ABOUT MATHEMATICS?
Annie Savard
McGill University, Montreal, Canada
annie.savard@mcgill.ca
Abstract
Supporting students to make sense of the complexity of the global environmental crisis implies a reliance on an interdisciplinary approach to education. In this regard, integrative approaches which create connections between mathematics and science are absolutely necessary. Even at young ages, students can use quantitative information to interpret scientific phenomena. In order to develop critical thinking, it is important to provide them with meaningful situations to explore using mathematics. This paper presents an example of an interdisciplinary learning situation that addressed some elements of the global environmental crisis. The learning situations used an inquiry-based approach in science and technology. I was particularly interested to know if teachers were paying attention to the opportunity to teach mathematics in the science and technology classes. For instance, a learning situation implemented by Grade 5 and Grade 6 teachers named “Nothing is lost” aimed to find the volume and mass of waste collected by the class and by the school for one day, for one week of school, and then for the school year. This situation provided opportunity to highlight the role of mathematics to make sense of sustainability issues. However, even though there were many opportunities to integrate mathematics, the teachers made virtually no reference to mathematical intentions or goals, when the task was designed in a way that mathematics was the entry point to study the phenomenon.
