Throughout my experience in the classroom during my student teaching and coursework

in this program, I reflected on what it means to be a scientist; more importantly, I reflected on

what is important for me to accomplish as a science teacher in a way that will benefit my

students. During this, I thought back to what science meant to me in high school, and I realized

that I did not truly develop a passion for science until I worked as in a laboratory where I

conducted my own research. Based on this, my teaching philosophy states that students need to

be active in their learning. Therefore, they need to learn how to take part in the process of

science rather than standing on the side and witnessing it happen. Luckily, teaching has changed

throughout the years, and my overarching approach falls in line with the Georgia Standards of

Excellence and Next Generation of Science Standards, which will help me balance my

philosophy in accordance with the standards (Next Generation Science Standards, 2013).

According to these standards, science is best taught using inquiry-based methods. Based

on previous research, inquiry based methods increase student interactions, enhance student

achievement, and decrease the achievement gap between non-white and white students (Wilson

et al., 2010). Not only is it important for students to learn the content, achievement gap is more

importantly affected by students processing the skills (Settlage & Southerland, 2012). In my

classroom, which consists of 95% minorities, I have noticed that inquiry based activities engage

all students, especially students that have special education requirements. Even though a lot of

my students are engaged, I have noticed that a lot of the freshmen, who have little to no

experience with biology, tend to struggle which makes scaffolding integral in my classroom

because it helps me support their intellectual development (Linton, Farmer, & Peterson, 2014).

In conjunction with scaffolding lectures, group work, and inquiry-based lessons, I embed

objectives in line with Anti-Bias framework by the Southern Policy Law Social Justice that
includes justice, identity, diversity, and action (Social Justice Standards, 2016). The framework

is constructed to help teachers become aware of biases as well as work against the biases. For

science, the framework helps students develop critical thinking skills so they can develop their

own method when struggling with biases. Through this, I take into the consideration the values

that my students bring with them into the classroom based on their cultural identities, and I try to

help them merge those values in the context of science. Since most of my class consists of

several minorities, I utilize culturally relevant case studies and real-world problems that my

students face which has shown to increase academic achievement (Atwater et al., 2013).

Not only is it important to acknowledge their intellectual development, as a teacher, there

is more to a student than what they learn in the classroom. It is crucial to take into consideration

their social and personal development. In my classroom, social of injustice will not be tolerated;

students will feel supported as demonstrated in my classroom management plan which aims to

create a positive learning environment in conjunction with my teaching philosophy which states

that students should feel comfortable making mistakes in this kind of environment. Since

students are going through delicate phase in their lives, it is important to recognize their personal

development, too. Because I teach AP Environmental Science, I co-sponsor a club with my

mentor teacher called Nature Society which consists of several of my AP Environmental Science

students. Since this club serves as a way to partake in their interest, it will enhance their personal,

social, and intellectual development. For example, as shown in my artifact, students participated

in making organic popsicles for the Multicultural Festival. Students were able to show off their

knowledge about what they learned in class about organic products, engage in a cultural

program, and have fun while doing such. As a teacher, I think it is important to enhance cultural

resources not only in the classroom but outside the classroom as well.
 References

Atwater, M. M., Lance, J., Woodard, U., & Johnson, N. H. (2013). Race and ethnicity: Powerful

cultural forecasters of science learning and performance. Theory Into Practice, 52(1), 6-

13.

Linton, D. L., Farmer, J. K., & Peterson, E. (2014). Is Peer Interaction Necessary for Optimal

Active Learning? CBE-Life Sciences Education, 13(2), 243-252.

Next Generation Science Standards (2013). Next generation science standards: For states, by

states: National Academies Press.

Settlage, J., & Southerland, S. A. (2012). Teaching science to every child: Using culture as a

starting point (2nd ed.): Taylor & Francis.

Social Justice Standards (2016). Tolerance.org. Southern Policy Law Center Web. 01 Apr. 2018.

Wilson, C. D., Taylor, J. A., Kowalski, S. M., & Carlson, J. (2010). The relative effects and

equity of inquiry‐based and commonplace science teaching on students' knowledge,

reasoning, and argumentation. Journal of research in science teaching, 47(3), 276-301.