The Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program

NSF
NSF
  • Home
  • The Program
    • NSF Noyce Program Directors
    • NSF Noyce Program Solicitation
    • Consider Becoming an NSF Noyce Principal Investigator
    • Become a Noyce Scholar or Teacher Leader
      • Noyce Scholar Profiles
      • Noyce Alumni Profiles
    • Voices From the Field Videos
  • Project Locator
    • Select from Map
    • Advanced Search
    • Submit Information
  • In the News
    • In the News
  • Meetings
    • 2022 Noyce Summit
    • 2021 Noyce Summer Events
    • 2020 Virtual Noyce Summit
    • Archived Noyce Summit Materials
    • Noyce Regional Meetings
  • Resources
    • Noyce Track 4 Research Book
    • Proposal Preparation Toolkit
    • Noyce Project Videos
    • Noyce Summit Abstract Catalogs
    • Reports
    • Toolkits
    • ARISE Research Community
  • Contact

Justice-Centered Biology Lessons in High-School Classrooms

  • Year 2018
  • NSF Award #1439761
  • Registration Teaching Fellow

  • First Name Diana
  • Last Name Bonilla

  • Discipline Biology
  • Institution University of Illinois at Chicago
  • School Name and District Currently Teaching Back of the Yards College Preparatory High School, Chicago Public Schools

Abstract

Biology can easily be viewed as a subject area in which students need to practice rote memorization. In order to make science learning meaningful beyond vocabulary acquisition, lessons should be centered around culturally relevant and justice-centered science teaching. In order to achieve this, curriculum must be shaped to include prior knowledge students have in order to maintain cultural integrity, as well as addressing issues of oppression that are embedded in communities and education itself. Students should be able to connect to content in a way that gives them agency to create change within their own lives and communities. As a new teacher, my teacher inquiries through Project SEEEC have focused on constructing and improving two units in which I attempt to include relevant phenomena so that students have opportunities to develop science knowledge, reflect on their own communities, and become agents of change. My students and I explored cancer and carcinogens in urban air pollution, as a context for learning about the cell cycle. In this unit, students were able to measure air quality in spaces they live and determine if they are exposed to carcinogens. The second unit was focused on genetics and the social construction of race. Students explored how racism impacts their lives, and learned to challenge the biological basis of race. These units support students to learn biology content and meet standards, while they also encourage students to dig into issues of oppression in science and in their own lives. I will share specifics on these units and on ways in which my students engaged with science ideas and made sense of how social justice and science are related.

What’s New

  • 2023 Noyce Summit
  • 2022 Noyce Summit
  • Noyce by the Numbers: 20 Years of Noyce
  • Proposal Preparation Webinars
  • Frequently Asked Questions for the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program
  • Become a Noyce Scholar or Teacher Leader
  • Consider Becoming an NSF Noyce Principal Investigator
  • Noyce Alumni: Where Are They Now?

Check out our ARISE website for research & opportunities!

Checking In

NSF

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under Grant Numbers DUE-2041597 and DUE-1548986. Any opinions, findings, interpretations, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of its authors and do not represent the views of the AAAS Board of Directors, the Council of AAAS, AAAS’ membership or the National Science Foundation.

AAAS

The World's Largest General Scientific Society

  • About Noyce Program
  • AAAS ISEED
  • Subscribe to ARISE
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
© 2023 American Association for the Advancement of Science