Science Capital can be defined as the sum of all the science-related knowledge, attitudes, experiences and resources that an individual builds up through their life. It has been developed by a group of researchers coordinated by Professor Louise Archer (University College London). The Science Capital Teaching Approach provides methodological tools for didactic programming that can be adapted to different educational, formal and informal contexts. It aims to involve girls and boys in STEM, to make their studies more inclusive and motivating.
The approach was experimented for the first time in an informal space, by the Science Museum of London, where Micol Molinari coordinates the Educational Resources sector.
For the “Chiedi a chi ne sa” (Meet the experts) column, we talked with Louise Archer and Micol Molinari.
Science Capital was created to innovate teaching and to promote a more inclusive way to develop interest and passion for STEM topics. What are the principles behind this approach?
The Science Capital Teaching Approach (SCTA) was co-developed by researchers and teachers over six years. We first developed a secondary version and are delighted to release a new primary version on 19th October 2021 (PSCTA). The P/SCTA is based on professional reflection - whereby teachers reflect and make changes to their everyday practice - and can work with any curriculum. The approach empowers teachers to make science teaching engaging and equitable and is based on the following three elements:
• the approach is built on the bedrock of existing good science teaching practice;
• the foundation of the approach focuses on broadening what and who counts in science, challenging dominant representations and ideas of science. This entails starting with the child, fostering inclusive science teaching and learning and supporting student voice and agency;
• to strengthen the bedrock and foundation, three pillars of support provide additional techniques for teachers implementing the approach.
At its core, the approach focuses on changing teaching practice, rather than changing the student/child, in order to support more equitable and socially just science teaching and learning.
*The Science Capital Teaching Approach. Engaging Students With Science, Promoting Social Justice (click here)
The idea of becoming a scientist is often frightening and is frequently dismissed as one grows up. How can science capital encourage young people to make this choice?
Using the SCTA has been shown to help more young people to connect with science and see it as something that could be ‘for me’. The approach helps do this in the following key ways, by:
- helping teachers to find ways to better connect the science curriculum to the identities, lives and interests of the young people in their class. This includes helping children to recognise science in their everyday lives and how science (and science skills) can often play a part in any job, not just doctors and professional scientists;
- identifying, challenging and changing everyday practices that exclude particular young people from science and hinder or prevent their participation.
What was the attitude of the educational community towards Science Capital? What are the most significant results that this innovative approach has produced in schools and what goals have yet to be achieved?
We have been delighted by the amount of interest shown in the approach by teachers and colleagues in the UK and internationally. In our own research with secondary and primary teachers, we have recorded evidence from teachers who have been applying the approach over a period of 1-2 years and have found some significant increases in science engagement, interest, aspirations and attainment among young people in their classes. We have also found that teachers report feeling happier and more connected with their students as a result of using the approach. We still see our work as evolving and ongoing so we are excited to see how it develops and where it takes us next!
Interest in science is not evenly distributed in society. Many feel distant from science or are even suspicious. How can we make the knowledge and potential of STEM more accessible? How can we reduce the barriers that hold back STEM engagement for the entire social community?
This is a big question and the answer isn’t 2-dimensional. Many people don’t even consider our museums a place for ‘people like them’ and this is a barrier that must be overcome before we even attempt to engage them with STEM ideas. In our experience we have found that we need to move away from trying to ‘fill’ learners with content and factual knowledge, and strive to build their identity around science, their sense of belonging.
There are many facets to inclusivity but an essential one is to genuinely welcome everyone in our spaces- changing our visual and verbal language to reflect this. If a person sees people like them in marketing materials for example, or in the galleries, they can start to internalise a sense of belonging and participation.
Another facet is helping audiences engage with the STEM content in our museums on their own terms. This can build a feeling of agency and empowerment- coming from us valuing their existing skills and knowledge (encouraging them to share these with us as part of our activities) and assisting people to discover and explore the STEM links in their lived experience.
The Science Museum in London was among the first museums to experiment with Science Capital as a tool for designing installations in an innovative way and for rethinking the relationship with the public. What are the results that the application of this conceptual tool has produced within the museum?
One of our most powerful tools is our ‘engagement reflection points’ which we developed to reflect the science capital research and wider research into engagement and inclusivity. These 9 points speak beyond the STEM concepts and are essential to helping promote a sense of belonging in our experiences. We use these points to systematically review and develop content. For example, when referencing an ‘everyday application’ of a scientific principle we now reflect deeply on what would really be considered ‘everyday’ for as broad an audience as possible. This may seem like a small detail but imagine how easy it could be to perpetuate a sense of exclusion by offering an example that simply isn’t accessible to many people. What this looks like in practice: when mentioning a use of dry ice, instead of referencing the theatre, we link it to television and film. There are many other examples of positive results and reflections on our blog.
Aside from establishing practical applications for the science capital concept within our work, we are very proud that the concept has been adopted at all levels of the organisation and we have been working to effect change across the whole spectrum of the roles and responsibilities within the museum group. The science capital concept feeds into our mission to be ‘open for all’- implementing it supports our work to be more inclusive and welcoming to a broader range of audiences.
How can museums and other informal spaces interact synergistically with places for the development of knowledge such as schools?
We know people inhabit many spaces in their daily lives and have experiences that can be positive or negative- and carry these with them to shape their attitudes in some way. Considering this, we know that we have an important role to play in building a person’s sense of belonging and identity with science, by offering the most engaging and welcoming experience possible when they come to us. But we also know that because people spend time in other spaces and interact with others there, we feel those other contacts should also be supporting this sense of belonging within STEM. So we work with teachers, STEM researchers, industry professionals and other informal science practitioners like ourselves, to share with them the ideas that shape our approach and encourage them to apply them within their own contexts.
Many young people see science as just a school subject and experience. How can we gently, but persistently, build a web of connections so that positive STEM experiences in school, trigger recognition of STEM experiences and skills around the home, open up STEM curiosity in museums, and so on… it is by recognising this landscape and actively offering our visitors ‘easy bridges’ to cross intellectually- for example, leaving them with challenges, questions or tools to extend the experience into their other environments after they leave us. On a really simple level, it could be something like a museum facilitator saying to a visitor ‘when you get back home, notice how ‘…(and referencing an everyday example of a principle).
For more about how the Science Museum Group is implementing and reflecting on science capital in our own practice, our webpage is home to our publications and events.
Louise Archer is Professor of Sociology of Education at UCL, University College London, and a Fellow of the British Academy of Sciences. She coordinates the research group “The STEM Participation & Social Justice” which has developed the Science Capital. Her research fields are ethnic, racial and social identity and inequality, gender identity, science education. She has also been Professor of Sociology of Education at King's College London, helding the role of Director of the Research Center in Education in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.
Micol Molinari graduated in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology at Emory University in Atlanta (USA) and she achieved an MPhil in Neuroscience at the University of St Andrews in Scotland. Working in informal education since 2008, now she is coordinator of Educational Resources at Science Museum of London, where she studies and applies the Science Capital methodology in the educational activities, taking care of the development of educational resources in collaboration with teachers, scientists and experts.
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