April 3, 2024 • 20 mins
In this episode of Inquiry Oasis, host Jeffrey Anthony engages with Dr. Kristin Gunckel, a distinguished scholar in science education at the University of Arizona College of Education. The dialogue traverses the landscape of climate literacy, linking classroom pedagogy to community empowerment. Dr. Gunckel also walks us through her research on preparing elementary teachers for science education and the role this plays in cultivating informed citizens. The conversation delves into the synergies between scientific knowledge and social justice, particularly within the context of the Desert Southwest.
Topics Discussed
- Integrating Computational Thinking into Environmental Science
- The Role of Interdisciplinary Research in Science Education
- Environmental Science Literacy Beyond Climate: Water Systems and More
- Social Justice and Science: Interconnections and Implications
- University Collaborations: The Learning Progressions and Science 3 Project
- Preparing Teachers for Multifaceted Science Education Challenges
- Future Directions: Where Science Education Meets Community Needs
Recommend Books
- Evolution's Rainbow: Diversity, Gender, and Sexuality in Nature and People by Joan Roughgarden
- The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times by Jane Goodall & Douglas Abrams
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jeffrey Anthony (00:01):
Welcome to the Inquiry Oasis, the
University of Arizona Collegeof Education's podcast.
Here, in the heart ofthe Sonoran Desert.
We bring you conversations withour esteemed faculty members and
staff, whose research impactslives from southern Arizona to
the far reaches of the globe.
We explore the transformativepower of education in this
(00:21):
border town, where diversecultures and ideas converge,
weaving a tapestry ofinnovation with compassion.
So join us as we journeythrough the sands of
curiosity, unearthing insightsthat enrich and inspire.
Sit back and relax aswe invite you to dive
into the Inquiry Oasis.
(00:44):
Thank you for tuninginto the inquiry oasis.
I'm your host, Jeffrey Anthony,and today we are joined by Dr.
Kristin Gunkel, a professorof science education in
the Teaching, Learning, andSociocultural studies department
here at the University ofArizona College of Education.
Dr.
Gunkel has a Ph.D fromMichigan State University
and a multifaceted careerthat spans teaching middle
school science, working asan environmental educator,
(01:06):
and a stint as a geologist.
In her current role, Dr.
Gunkel focuses her research on arange of intriguing topics from
environmental science literacyto the preparation of elementary
teachers for science education.
Her work often navigates thecomplex interplay between
scientific knowledge and socialjustice, particularly in the
context of the desert Southwest.
(01:27):
She's been involved ingroundbreaking projects like
Comp Hydro, which aimed tointegrate computational thinking
into our understanding ofwater systems and is currently
working on a research projecttitled: Learning Progressions
in Science 3, which is apartnership with the University
of California, Berkeley.
So, without further ado,let's embark on this
journey of explorationand discovery with Dr.
(01:47):
Gunkel here inthe Inquiry Oasis.
Dr.
Gunkel, it is a privilegeto have you with us.
Dr. Kris (01:52):
It's great to be here.
Jeffrey Anthony (01:53):
Thanks.
You're welcome.
Before we explore the nuancesof your research Could you
share some insights into theformative experiences and
motivations that have shapedyour academic trajectory?
Dr. Kristin Gunckel (02:02):
You know, I don't think that becoming a
professor of science educationis on the list of careers
that children Consider whenthey're growing up For me the
path to becoming a professorwas marked by the doors that
opened and the doors that closedas I moved through my life.
I grew up spending a lot of timein the mountains of Colorado,
(02:23):
and this instilled in me adeep sense of connection to
the environment, and also alove of rocks and the stories
they tell about the earth.
And this led me to studygeology in my undergraduate
and master's education.
But when it became timeto get a real job, I was
not able to reconcile myenvironmental concerns with
(02:45):
the job opportunities inthe oil or mining industries
that were available to me.
The door to the career ingeology was not one that I could
walk through at that moment.
So I turned to the educationdoor and I spent 10 years
working in environmentaleducation for museums
and field stations inOregon and New Mexico.
(03:06):
After a while I decided I neededto build a stronger teaching
relationship with the childrenI was teaching than could be
accomplished in the one day orone events that I was doing.
So I closed the door andwalked through the door
to become a middle schoolscience teacher, teaching
primarily elementary science.
Teaching primarilyearth science.
Unfortunately, this is astory about how teaching in
(03:28):
the public schools becameuntenable for me personally.
But just as I was in my darkestmoment in my career, another
door opened into academia,and I walked through it
and have never looked back.
Today, I get to conductresearch about topics and issues
that are meaningful to me.
where my work hopefullycontributes to a deeper
understanding of the world.
(03:49):
I get to teach young peopleabout how to teach science
in elementary schools andmentor new researchers
in our profession.
I would never have predictedthis path for myself, but
this is where I grew up.
and am enjoying it.
Well,
Jeffrey Anthony (04:01):
that's a fascinating story.
Thank you for sharing with us.
So now you recently completeda project called Comp
Hydro, which delved into thecomputational thinking as
applied to water systems.
Could you give us an overviewof the project as well as talk
a bit about the computationalthinking and why this aspect
of scientific thinking isso important for students
and the general public?
Dr. Kristin Gunckel (04:20):
Yeah, this was a really fun project.
I worked with colleaguesfrom institutions in Montana,
Colorado, New York andMaryland to develop curriculum
materials for high schoolscience that integrated
computational thinkinginto learning about water.
Our goal was to help studentsuse computational thinking
to understand locallyrelevant water issues.
(04:41):
Our Arizona curriculumfocused on the TCE, which
is trichloroethylene.
and 1, 4 Dioxane contaminationof the groundwater near
the Tucson InternationalAirport that has so adversely
affected the populations onthe south side of Tucson.
This is a situation thathas been going on for nearly
70 years and was the resultof the use of TCE and 1, 4
(05:03):
Dioxane to clean airplaneparts at the airport when
the Air Force was puttingplanes back into service.
The chemical degreaser wasdumped onto the open desert
and eventually infiltratedinto the groundwater.
The water contaminatedthe drinking wells of many
families, many of whomwere of Mexican descent.
And decades later, clustersof autoimmune diseases,
cancers, and dental issueswere discovered in the area
(05:26):
and traced back to the water.
At first the city deniedany responsibility, but
eventually the communityorganized and after years
of legal proceedings won adissent decree that led to the
designation of an EPA Superfundsite to clean up the water.
Today the TCE and 1, 4 Dioxanehave mostly been removed from
the water, but there are newconcerns about other chemicals
(05:48):
such as the PFAS chemicals, alsoknown as the forever chemicals,
that are in the water.
Our position in this projectwas that understanding how the
groundwater got contaminated,how we know where the
contamination came from and howit moved through the ground,
as well as why it was there inthe first place, is knowledge
that was and is essential forcleaning up the contamination.
(06:09):
The community members whowon the consent degree had to
learn the science behind whatwas happening, and they did.
And that knowledge wasempowering and they
used it for justice.
But the thing about studyinggroundwater is that it's hidden.
You can't see it.
so how do you know whereit is, how deep it is, how
fast it's moving through theaquifer, and what's in it?
(06:29):
Well, we have to drillwells to sample the water.
But wells are expensive, andthey have impacts themselves.
We, we can onlydrill so many wells.
So we have to makeinferences about what is
happening underground.
And that's wherecomputer models come in.
We use computer models to figurethese things out and predict
where the water is going.
But not all computermodels are created equally.
(06:51):
Just because someone usesa computer model to figure
something out doesn't mean thatthat's exactly what's going on.
It's an approximation.
So a person needs to knowhow computer models are built
and how to understand andcritique and use the answers
that computer models provide.
So in Comp Hydro we builtspecial versions of groundwater
models to help studentsunderstand both what groundwater
(07:14):
is and how it moves throughaquifers, and also how
computer models are used tofigure out that information.
Our hope was that studentswould become critical users of
computer models, or more likelythe output from the computer
models, asking such questionsas, where was the data gathered
that went into this model?
Is this model really supportwhat we are noticing?
(07:36):
Does the model really supportthe claims that are being made?
This understanding canthen empower students to
understand and take actionson the main issues related
to water that affect theirfamilies and communities.
Jeffrey Anthony (07:49):
that's really incredible to be able to
empower community members tounderstand that the models
that are giving them outputsare not necessarily neutral
that there's actual decisionsthat go into that and that you
can critique those decisions.
That's incredible.
We also are very curious tolearn more about the project
you are currently working on,and that's in partnership with
the University of California,Berkeley, called Learning
Progressions in Science 3.
Dr. Kristin Gunckel (08:11):
Yeah, speaking of models, learning
progressions are also models.
They're models of how studentslearn about a science topic.
They connect how childrenfirst think about a topic
with scientific ideasand show how children's
ideas change over time asthey move through school.
They can be useful in aligningcurriculum, instruction, and
assessment so the students havea much more coherent experience
(08:35):
learning about science.
The LPS project, LearningProgressions in Science
project, has been buildinglearning progressions For a
while, they've been lookingat such topics as structure
of matter, ecosystems, andthe science and engineering
practice of argumentation.
In the current iteration, whichis why it's called 3, they
brought me on to help thembuild learning progressions
(08:56):
related to earth science,and specifically about water.
In one of my previousprojects, I had worked on a
learning progression for waterand environmental systems,
specifically the water cycle.
So I wanted to do something thathadn't been done yet, and that
was how students think aboutwater as a limited resource,
and the impacts that humanactions have on water in terms
(09:18):
of both quality and quantity.
So that's what we'reworking on right now.
We're making good progress,and we still have a
couple years to go on it.
Jeffrey Ant (09:25):
That's fascinating.
You know, let's bring thisback to our institutional
context and I was wonderingif you could articulate why
this research is salient forthe University of Arizona
community, especially given thedesert Southwest environment.
Dr. Kristin Gunckel (09:36):
When I was teaching middle school, I had
a saying that was posted abovemy chalkboard in my classroom
and it really was a chalkboard.
The saying was, weall live downstream.
Water connects everythingon this planet.
What we do with it and to thewater affects us and everything
that lives on the Earth.
Earth is the water planet.
(09:56):
70 percent of the earthis covered with water.
It is a life giving forceand yet today we treat it
as a commodity that is tobe used, bought, and sold.
Our use and abuse of water hasdire consequences for us as
a species and for the otherspecies we share our home with.
Therefore, much of my academicresearch focuses on how we can
(10:17):
come to understand where watercomes from and where it goes
what is in it and how we use it.
This includes how human,social, cultural, economic
and political systems areintertwined with water.
We live in a desert where therelative scarcity of water is
visible, but the connections wehave to water are universal, and
the issues that arise relatedto our connections to water may
(10:38):
play out in local context, butthey are all globally relevant.
Jeffrey Anthony (10:42):
In light of increasing climate change
concerns, you are also venturingInto climate change education.
What are some pedagogicalstrategies you envision
for preparing studentsto effectively educate
about climate change?
Dr. Kristin Gunckel (10:55):
Yeah, climate change is such a
pressing issue, and it'salso an overwhelming and
often depressing topic.
I really believe that schoolshave an obligation to prepare
our children for the world thatthey will live in, and today we
can't really be sure what thatworld will look like, even five
or ten years into the future.
Our youth are extremelyconcerned about this, but at
(11:17):
the same time, climate anxietyis a real phenomenon that leads
people to deny or disengage fromthe important conversations that
need to be had and the importantactions that need to be taken.
Furthermore, our youngteachers are feeling like
there's not much they can door they don't know what to do.
There are a fewguideposts out there.
(11:38):
My approach is that weneed to use ethics of care
and pedagogies of hope.
That is, we need to acknowledgethe pain, the injustices, the
trauma caused by climate change.
Teachers need to be ableto support their students
in learning to adapt andsurvive in a changing world.
But how do you do thatwhen you yourself are
anxious and concerned andpotentially traumatized by
(12:00):
the impacts of climate change?
This is where hope comes in.
Hope is more than wishfulthinking, like, I hope
that it all gets better.
What I'm talking aboutis transformative hope.
Transformative hope is aninstrument of social praxis.
It's a sharing with members of agroup and through this sharing,
change becomes possible.
So I look at the recentcase of the Montana
(12:22):
youth who won, Held v.
Montana, the court case thataffirmed their constitutional
right to a healthy environment.
That was an example ofpeople really, Coming
together to make changehappen, and that is inspiring
Jeffrey Anthony (12:36):
indeed.
In your work, you focuson the often overlooked
aspect of creating equitablescience education for the
LGBTQIA plus community.
Could you discuss how elementaryscience education can serve
as a platform for bothequity and social justice?
And additionally, how can weprepare elementary teachers
to be effective advocates forinclusivity and diversity in
(12:59):
the realm of science education?
Dr. Kristin Gunckel (13:01):
Elementary science is not often recognized
as a place where socialjustice work can be done.
Many people think of scienceas just objective facts.
But elementary scienceinstruction is absolutely a
place where we can do equityand social justice work.
One way to do this work isto expand for teachers and
students what counts as science.
(13:23):
By this I mean that thereis often a rather narrow
view of what scienceis and who can do it.
When we bring in multipleperspectives on sensemaking
and how the world works, wefind out that our limited views
of science prevent us fromlearning new and amazing things.
For example, school sciencetends to portray all organisms
as having only two sexes,either male and female, with
(13:46):
very specific differences androles relative to each other.
But a book by Joan Roughgarden,a biologist and a trans woman,
called Evolution's Rainbow,Diversity, Gender, and Sexuality
in Nature and People, documentsthe remarkable gender and sex
diversity of the natural world.
For example, many species,such as the mockingbird, do
(14:08):
not exhibit sexual dimorphism.
Both males andfemales look the same.
In some species, such asthe clownfish and bluehead
race, individuals can changesexes during their lives,
while in other species, likethe hamlet fish, both sexes
are present at the sametime in the same individual.
(14:28):
Bears and pigs can beintersex, meaning they have
characteristics of both sexes.
the sexes of reptiles...
Like, painted turtles andcrocodiles is determined
by the temperature oftheir eggs at incubation.
And furthermore, not allsexuals are the same.
Male seahorses carry andraise young, and male penguins
are primary caregivers.
(14:50):
Not all reproductionis heterosexual either.
Female whip tail lizards,for example, can clone,
meaning they don't needmales for reproduction.
In elementary school, we canuse these examples to show that
the world is not simply dividedalong a binary into two sexes,
and that there is instead anincredible, beautiful, and
wonderful array of beings thatexpand what is seen as natural.
(15:13):
And another place wecan do equity work in
elementary science is bystrengthening the visibility
of LGBTQIA plus identifiedscientists and their work.
Just as it is importantto recognize and celebrate
the contributions ofscientists and engineer who
identifies people of color asmechanisms for breaking down
stereotypes about who can doscience, making visible the
(15:35):
contributions of the LGBTQIAplus community to science
and engineering can similarlyincrease positive visibility.
Examples include scientistswho may already be celebrated
in elementary schools, suchas Rachel Carson, a marine
biologist who inspired theglobal environmental movement.
George Washington Carver,the former slave who
(15:57):
revolutionized agriculture.
And was also likely bisexual.
And Sally Ride, the first womanastronaut in space and also the
first LGBTQ person in space.
Alan Turing, British computerscientist who likely saved the
allies in World War II withhis work on computing machines
is another famous example.
And there's even evidenceto suggest that other
(16:19):
famous scientists, includingFrancis Bacon, Isaac Newton,
and Leonardo da Vinci,were not heterosexual.
So including LGBTQIAscientists and engineers as
science role models not onlyincreases the visibility
of LGBTQIA scientists andengineers, it also normalizes
what it means to be LGBT.
(16:40):
BQIA, and who can participatein science and engineering.
Jeffrey Anthony (16:44):
Wow, that's incredibly important work.
During the course of yourresearch, have there been
any discoveries or outcomesthat took you by surprise?
Dr. Kristin Gunckel (16:52):
I wouldn't say that there were
things that have been totallyunexpected, but I do enjoy
getting a window into howchildren think about science.
Kids are always making sense oftheir world and it is important
for educators to understand howchildren think about things.
One of my favorite examplesis how children sometimes
think about where watercomes from and where it goes.
(17:14):
In my research, I have hadkids create drawings of where
they think their drinking watercomes from and where it goes
when it goes down the drain.
often kids will draw apristine mountain lake as
a source of their water.
Nice, with lots of treesand no people, just a
(17:34):
nice pretty picture.
And they'll draw a pipe fromthat lake to their house.
And when asked where thewater goes after it goes
down the drain, they'll drawthe pipe from their house
to their neighbor's house.
So their own water comesfrom a clean source, but
their neighbor gets thedirty water from their house.
But you can see why this mightmake sense to a young child.
(17:55):
They know that there arepipes underground and that
the pipes connect the houses.
Uh, but we can usethis understanding as a
starting point for helpingthem learn more about
these important systems.
Jeffrey Anthony (18:07):
So if you could leap forward in time and
observe the future of scienceeducation from environmental
literacy and water systems tothe preparation of elementary
teachers, including theirability to create an inclusive
and equitable classroom for allstudents, what transformative
changes or innovations wouldyou be most eager to witness?
Dr. Kristin Gunckel (18:24):
If I could have one thing that I would
want to see the most, it wouldbe that there'd be more science
taught in elementary school.
Science is one of theforgotten subjects, which
is too bad because kids arevery interested in science
and eager to learn about it.
They have so many questions,and science is one place
where we can make schoolrelevant to their lives.
It is also a place tointegrate many disciplines,
(18:46):
including mathematics, reading,writing, and social studies.
And so emphasizing sciencemore in elementary school
could do a lot for increasingscience literacy in general.
Jeffrey Anthony (18:56):
Indeed.
as we near the end of ourconversation, we like to
ask our guests to recommenda book or paper that has
been meaningful to them.
Could you share one withour audience and explain
how it has impacted you?
Dr. Kristin Gunckel (19:07):
Yeah, there's so many books, right?
I'm sure everybody says that.
But one book that I readrecently that really impacted
me was the Book of Hope, aSurvival Guide for Trying
Times by Jane Goodall andher coauthor Douglas Abrams.
Someone gave me thatbook and said, here,
you have to read this.
And they were so right.
This is a book that reallygot me thinking that there
(19:28):
could be hope, even when itseems like there is no hope.
When I was in college, JaneGoodall came to speak at
the university where I wasstudying, and I was so excited
to go hear her talk in person.
She was inspiring then, andnow, all these years later,
she is still inspiring.
I share this book with mystudents, and many of them
(19:49):
have never heard of JaneGoodall, but after reading
parts of the book and learningmore about her amazing
work, they are inspired too.
Everyone should read this book.
Jeffrey Anthony (19:57):
Well, I will second that.
We own that book at home.
My wife has just finished it.
It's on my, night,my nightstand table.
So it's up next.
Thank you for thatrecommendation.
And Dr.
Gunkel, our time today hasafforded us a rich exploration
into your scholarly work,which spans from environmental
literacy to the realmsof inclusive pedagogy.
Your contributions arenot merely academic,
they are an urgent call.
(20:18):
To reshape the fabric ofscience education for a
just and sustainable future.
We look forward with greatinterest to your ongoing
work in these vital areas.
And thank you listenersfor joining us today
in the Inquiry Oasis.
We hope ourconversation with Dr.
Gunkel has inspired youas much as it has us.
And remember, we're back onthe first and third Wednesdays
(20:38):
of every month with freshinsights and conversations.
So be sure to tune in anduntil next time, keep your
curiosity alive and remember,knowledge is our oasis.
Welcome to the Inquiry Oasis, the
University of Arizona Collegeof Education's podcast.
Here, in the heart ofthe Sonoran Desert.
We bring you conversations withour esteemed faculty members and
staff, whose research impactslives from southern Arizona to
the far reaches of the globe.
We explore the transformativepower of education in this
(00:21):
border town, where diversecultures and ideas converge,
weaving a tapestry ofinnovation with compassion.
So join us as we journeythrough the sands of
curiosity, unearthing insightsthat enrich and inspire.
Sit back and relax aswe invite you to dive
into the Inquiry Oasis.
(00:44):
Thank you for tuninginto the inquiry oasis.
I'm your host, Jeffrey Anthony,and today we are joined by Dr.
Kristin Gunkel, a professorof science education in
the Teaching, Learning, andSociocultural studies department
here at the University ofArizona College of Education.
Dr.
Gunkel has a Ph.D fromMichigan State University
and a multifaceted careerthat spans teaching middle
school science, working asan environmental educator,
(01:06):
and a stint as a geologist.
In her current role, Dr.
Gunkel focuses her research on arange of intriguing topics from
environmental science literacyto the preparation of elementary
teachers for science education.
Her work often navigates thecomplex interplay between
scientific knowledge and socialjustice, particularly in the
context of the desert Southwest.
(01:27):
She's been involved ingroundbreaking projects like
Comp Hydro, which aimed tointegrate computational thinking
into our understanding ofwater systems and is currently
working on a research projecttitled: Learning Progressions
in Science 3, which is apartnership with the University
of California, Berkeley.
So, without further ado,let's embark on this
journey of explorationand discovery with Dr.
(01:47):
Gunkel here inthe Inquiry Oasis.
Dr.
Gunkel, it is a privilegeto have you with us.
Dr. Kris (01:52):
It's great to be here.
Jeffrey Anthony (01:53):
Thanks.
You're welcome.
Before we explore the nuancesof your research Could you
share some insights into theformative experiences and
motivations that have shapedyour academic trajectory?
Dr. Kristin Gunckel (02:02):
You know, I don't think that becoming a
professor of science educationis on the list of careers
that children Consider whenthey're growing up For me the
path to becoming a professorwas marked by the doors that
opened and the doors that closedas I moved through my life.
I grew up spending a lot of timein the mountains of Colorado,
(02:23):
and this instilled in me adeep sense of connection to
the environment, and also alove of rocks and the stories
they tell about the earth.
And this led me to studygeology in my undergraduate
and master's education.
But when it became timeto get a real job, I was
not able to reconcile myenvironmental concerns with
(02:45):
the job opportunities inthe oil or mining industries
that were available to me.
The door to the career ingeology was not one that I could
walk through at that moment.
So I turned to the educationdoor and I spent 10 years
working in environmentaleducation for museums
and field stations inOregon and New Mexico.
(03:06):
After a while I decided I neededto build a stronger teaching
relationship with the childrenI was teaching than could be
accomplished in the one day orone events that I was doing.
So I closed the door andwalked through the door
to become a middle schoolscience teacher, teaching
primarily elementary science.
Teaching primarilyearth science.
Unfortunately, this is astory about how teaching in
(03:28):
the public schools becameuntenable for me personally.
But just as I was in my darkestmoment in my career, another
door opened into academia,and I walked through it
and have never looked back.
Today, I get to conductresearch about topics and issues
that are meaningful to me.
where my work hopefullycontributes to a deeper
understanding of the world.
(03:49):
I get to teach young peopleabout how to teach science
in elementary schools andmentor new researchers
in our profession.
I would never have predictedthis path for myself, but
this is where I grew up.
and am enjoying it.
Well,
Jeffrey Anthony (04:01):
that's a fascinating story.
Thank you for sharing with us.
So now you recently completeda project called Comp
Hydro, which delved into thecomputational thinking as
applied to water systems.
Could you give us an overviewof the project as well as talk
a bit about the computationalthinking and why this aspect
of scientific thinking isso important for students
and the general public?
Dr. Kristin Gunckel (04:20):
Yeah, this was a really fun project.
I worked with colleaguesfrom institutions in Montana,
Colorado, New York andMaryland to develop curriculum
materials for high schoolscience that integrated
computational thinkinginto learning about water.
Our goal was to help studentsuse computational thinking
to understand locallyrelevant water issues.
(04:41):
Our Arizona curriculumfocused on the TCE, which
is trichloroethylene.
and 1, 4 Dioxane contaminationof the groundwater near
the Tucson InternationalAirport that has so adversely
affected the populations onthe south side of Tucson.
This is a situation thathas been going on for nearly
70 years and was the resultof the use of TCE and 1, 4
(05:03):
Dioxane to clean airplaneparts at the airport when
the Air Force was puttingplanes back into service.
The chemical degreaser wasdumped onto the open desert
and eventually infiltratedinto the groundwater.
The water contaminatedthe drinking wells of many
families, many of whomwere of Mexican descent.
And decades later, clustersof autoimmune diseases,
cancers, and dental issueswere discovered in the area
(05:26):
and traced back to the water.
At first the city deniedany responsibility, but
eventually the communityorganized and after years
of legal proceedings won adissent decree that led to the
designation of an EPA Superfundsite to clean up the water.
Today the TCE and 1, 4 Dioxanehave mostly been removed from
the water, but there are newconcerns about other chemicals
(05:48):
such as the PFAS chemicals, alsoknown as the forever chemicals,
that are in the water.
Our position in this projectwas that understanding how the
groundwater got contaminated,how we know where the
contamination came from and howit moved through the ground,
as well as why it was there inthe first place, is knowledge
that was and is essential forcleaning up the contamination.
(06:09):
The community members whowon the consent degree had to
learn the science behind whatwas happening, and they did.
And that knowledge wasempowering and they
used it for justice.
But the thing about studyinggroundwater is that it's hidden.
You can't see it.
so how do you know whereit is, how deep it is, how
fast it's moving through theaquifer, and what's in it?
(06:29):
Well, we have to drillwells to sample the water.
But wells are expensive, andthey have impacts themselves.
We, we can onlydrill so many wells.
So we have to makeinferences about what is
happening underground.
And that's wherecomputer models come in.
We use computer models to figurethese things out and predict
where the water is going.
But not all computermodels are created equally.
(06:51):
Just because someone usesa computer model to figure
something out doesn't mean thatthat's exactly what's going on.
It's an approximation.
So a person needs to knowhow computer models are built
and how to understand andcritique and use the answers
that computer models provide.
So in Comp Hydro we builtspecial versions of groundwater
models to help studentsunderstand both what groundwater
(07:14):
is and how it moves throughaquifers, and also how
computer models are used tofigure out that information.
Our hope was that studentswould become critical users of
computer models, or more likelythe output from the computer
models, asking such questionsas, where was the data gathered
that went into this model?
Is this model really supportwhat we are noticing?
(07:36):
Does the model really supportthe claims that are being made?
This understanding canthen empower students to
understand and take actionson the main issues related
to water that affect theirfamilies and communities.
Jeffrey Anthony (07:49):
that's really incredible to be able to
empower community members tounderstand that the models
that are giving them outputsare not necessarily neutral
that there's actual decisionsthat go into that and that you
can critique those decisions.
That's incredible.
We also are very curious tolearn more about the project
you are currently working on,and that's in partnership with
the University of California,Berkeley, called Learning
Progressions in Science 3.
Dr. Kristin Gunckel (08:11):
Yeah, speaking of models, learning
progressions are also models.
They're models of how studentslearn about a science topic.
They connect how childrenfirst think about a topic
with scientific ideasand show how children's
ideas change over time asthey move through school.
They can be useful in aligningcurriculum, instruction, and
assessment so the students havea much more coherent experience
(08:35):
learning about science.
The LPS project, LearningProgressions in Science
project, has been buildinglearning progressions For a
while, they've been lookingat such topics as structure
of matter, ecosystems, andthe science and engineering
practice of argumentation.
In the current iteration, whichis why it's called 3, they
brought me on to help thembuild learning progressions
(08:56):
related to earth science,and specifically about water.
In one of my previousprojects, I had worked on a
learning progression for waterand environmental systems,
specifically the water cycle.
So I wanted to do something thathadn't been done yet, and that
was how students think aboutwater as a limited resource,
and the impacts that humanactions have on water in terms
(09:18):
of both quality and quantity.
So that's what we'reworking on right now.
We're making good progress,and we still have a
couple years to go on it.
Jeffrey Ant (09:25):
That's fascinating.
You know, let's bring thisback to our institutional
context and I was wonderingif you could articulate why
this research is salient forthe University of Arizona
community, especially given thedesert Southwest environment.
Dr. Kristin Gunckel (09:36):
When I was teaching middle school, I had
a saying that was posted abovemy chalkboard in my classroom
and it really was a chalkboard.
The saying was, weall live downstream.
Water connects everythingon this planet.
What we do with it and to thewater affects us and everything
that lives on the Earth.
Earth is the water planet.
(09:56):
70 percent of the earthis covered with water.
It is a life giving forceand yet today we treat it
as a commodity that is tobe used, bought, and sold.
Our use and abuse of water hasdire consequences for us as
a species and for the otherspecies we share our home with.
Therefore, much of my academicresearch focuses on how we can
(10:17):
come to understand where watercomes from and where it goes
what is in it and how we use it.
This includes how human,social, cultural, economic
and political systems areintertwined with water.
We live in a desert where therelative scarcity of water is
visible, but the connections wehave to water are universal, and
the issues that arise relatedto our connections to water may
(10:38):
play out in local context, butthey are all globally relevant.
Jeffrey Anthony (10:42):
In light of increasing climate change
concerns, you are also venturingInto climate change education.
What are some pedagogicalstrategies you envision
for preparing studentsto effectively educate
about climate change?
Dr. Kristin Gunckel (10:55):
Yeah, climate change is such a
pressing issue, and it'salso an overwhelming and
often depressing topic.
I really believe that schoolshave an obligation to prepare
our children for the world thatthey will live in, and today we
can't really be sure what thatworld will look like, even five
or ten years into the future.
Our youth are extremelyconcerned about this, but at
(11:17):
the same time, climate anxietyis a real phenomenon that leads
people to deny or disengage fromthe important conversations that
need to be had and the importantactions that need to be taken.
Furthermore, our youngteachers are feeling like
there's not much they can door they don't know what to do.
There are a fewguideposts out there.
(11:38):
My approach is that weneed to use ethics of care
and pedagogies of hope.
That is, we need to acknowledgethe pain, the injustices, the
trauma caused by climate change.
Teachers need to be ableto support their students
in learning to adapt andsurvive in a changing world.
But how do you do thatwhen you yourself are
anxious and concerned andpotentially traumatized by
(12:00):
the impacts of climate change?
This is where hope comes in.
Hope is more than wishfulthinking, like, I hope
that it all gets better.
What I'm talking aboutis transformative hope.
Transformative hope is aninstrument of social praxis.
It's a sharing with members of agroup and through this sharing,
change becomes possible.
So I look at the recentcase of the Montana
(12:22):
youth who won, Held v.
Montana, the court case thataffirmed their constitutional
right to a healthy environment.
That was an example ofpeople really, Coming
together to make changehappen, and that is inspiring
Jeffrey Anthony (12:36):
indeed.
In your work, you focuson the often overlooked
aspect of creating equitablescience education for the
LGBTQIA plus community.
Could you discuss how elementaryscience education can serve
as a platform for bothequity and social justice?
And additionally, how can weprepare elementary teachers
to be effective advocates forinclusivity and diversity in
(12:59):
the realm of science education?
Dr. Kristin Gunckel (13:01):
Elementary science is not often recognized
as a place where socialjustice work can be done.
Many people think of scienceas just objective facts.
But elementary scienceinstruction is absolutely a
place where we can do equityand social justice work.
One way to do this work isto expand for teachers and
students what counts as science.
(13:23):
By this I mean that thereis often a rather narrow
view of what scienceis and who can do it.
When we bring in multipleperspectives on sensemaking
and how the world works, wefind out that our limited views
of science prevent us fromlearning new and amazing things.
For example, school sciencetends to portray all organisms
as having only two sexes,either male and female, with
(13:46):
very specific differences androles relative to each other.
But a book by Joan Roughgarden,a biologist and a trans woman,
called Evolution's Rainbow,Diversity, Gender, and Sexuality
in Nature and People, documentsthe remarkable gender and sex
diversity of the natural world.
For example, many species,such as the mockingbird, do
(14:08):
not exhibit sexual dimorphism.
Both males andfemales look the same.
In some species, such asthe clownfish and bluehead
race, individuals can changesexes during their lives,
while in other species, likethe hamlet fish, both sexes
are present at the sametime in the same individual.
(14:28):
Bears and pigs can beintersex, meaning they have
characteristics of both sexes.
the sexes of reptiles...
Like, painted turtles andcrocodiles is determined
by the temperature oftheir eggs at incubation.
And furthermore, not allsexuals are the same.
Male seahorses carry andraise young, and male penguins
are primary caregivers.
(14:50):
Not all reproductionis heterosexual either.
Female whip tail lizards,for example, can clone,
meaning they don't needmales for reproduction.
In elementary school, we canuse these examples to show that
the world is not simply dividedalong a binary into two sexes,
and that there is instead anincredible, beautiful, and
wonderful array of beings thatexpand what is seen as natural.
(15:13):
And another place wecan do equity work in
elementary science is bystrengthening the visibility
of LGBTQIA plus identifiedscientists and their work.
Just as it is importantto recognize and celebrate
the contributions ofscientists and engineer who
identifies people of color asmechanisms for breaking down
stereotypes about who can doscience, making visible the
(15:35):
contributions of the LGBTQIAplus community to science
and engineering can similarlyincrease positive visibility.
Examples include scientistswho may already be celebrated
in elementary schools, suchas Rachel Carson, a marine
biologist who inspired theglobal environmental movement.
George Washington Carver,the former slave who
(15:57):
revolutionized agriculture.
And was also likely bisexual.
And Sally Ride, the first womanastronaut in space and also the
first LGBTQ person in space.
Alan Turing, British computerscientist who likely saved the
allies in World War II withhis work on computing machines
is another famous example.
And there's even evidenceto suggest that other
(16:19):
famous scientists, includingFrancis Bacon, Isaac Newton,
and Leonardo da Vinci,were not heterosexual.
So including LGBTQIAscientists and engineers as
science role models not onlyincreases the visibility
of LGBTQIA scientists andengineers, it also normalizes
what it means to be LGBT.
(16:40):
BQIA, and who can participatein science and engineering.
Jeffrey Anthony (16:44):
Wow, that's incredibly important work.
During the course of yourresearch, have there been
any discoveries or outcomesthat took you by surprise?
Dr. Kristin Gunckel (16:52):
I wouldn't say that there were
things that have been totallyunexpected, but I do enjoy
getting a window into howchildren think about science.
Kids are always making sense oftheir world and it is important
for educators to understand howchildren think about things.
One of my favorite examplesis how children sometimes
think about where watercomes from and where it goes.
(17:14):
In my research, I have hadkids create drawings of where
they think their drinking watercomes from and where it goes
when it goes down the drain.
often kids will draw apristine mountain lake as
a source of their water.
Nice, with lots of treesand no people, just a
(17:34):
nice pretty picture.
And they'll draw a pipe fromthat lake to their house.
And when asked where thewater goes after it goes
down the drain, they'll drawthe pipe from their house
to their neighbor's house.
So their own water comesfrom a clean source, but
their neighbor gets thedirty water from their house.
But you can see why this mightmake sense to a young child.
(17:55):
They know that there arepipes underground and that
the pipes connect the houses.
Uh, but we can usethis understanding as a
starting point for helpingthem learn more about
these important systems.
Jeffrey Anthony (18:07):
So if you could leap forward in time and
observe the future of scienceeducation from environmental
literacy and water systems tothe preparation of elementary
teachers, including theirability to create an inclusive
and equitable classroom for allstudents, what transformative
changes or innovations wouldyou be most eager to witness?
Dr. Kristin Gunckel (18:24):
If I could have one thing that I would
want to see the most, it wouldbe that there'd be more science
taught in elementary school.
Science is one of theforgotten subjects, which
is too bad because kids arevery interested in science
and eager to learn about it.
They have so many questions,and science is one place
where we can make schoolrelevant to their lives.
It is also a place tointegrate many disciplines,
(18:46):
including mathematics, reading,writing, and social studies.
And so emphasizing sciencemore in elementary school
could do a lot for increasingscience literacy in general.
Jeffrey Anthony (18:56):
Indeed.
as we near the end of ourconversation, we like to
ask our guests to recommenda book or paper that has
been meaningful to them.
Could you share one withour audience and explain
how it has impacted you?
Dr. Kristin Gunckel (19:07):
Yeah, there's so many books, right?
I'm sure everybody says that.
But one book that I readrecently that really impacted
me was the Book of Hope, aSurvival Guide for Trying
Times by Jane Goodall andher coauthor Douglas Abrams.
Someone gave me thatbook and said, here,
you have to read this.
And they were so right.
This is a book that reallygot me thinking that there
(19:28):
could be hope, even when itseems like there is no hope.
When I was in college, JaneGoodall came to speak at
the university where I wasstudying, and I was so excited
to go hear her talk in person.
She was inspiring then, andnow, all these years later,
she is still inspiring.
I share this book with mystudents, and many of them
(19:49):
have never heard of JaneGoodall, but after reading
parts of the book and learningmore about her amazing
work, they are inspired too.
Everyone should read this book.
Jeffrey Anthony (19:57):
Well, I will second that.
We own that book at home.
My wife has just finished it.
It's on my, night,my nightstand table.
So it's up next.
Thank you for thatrecommendation.
And Dr.
Gunkel, our time today hasafforded us a rich exploration
into your scholarly work,which spans from environmental
literacy to the realmsof inclusive pedagogy.
Your contributions arenot merely academic,
they are an urgent call.
(20:18):
To reshape the fabric ofscience education for a
just and sustainable future.
We look forward with greatinterest to your ongoing
work in these vital areas.
And thank you listenersfor joining us today
in the Inquiry Oasis.
We hope ourconversation with Dr.
Gunkel has inspired youas much as it has us.
And remember, we're back onthe first and third Wednesdays
(20:38):
of every month with freshinsights and conversations.
So be sure to tune in anduntil next time, keep your
curiosity alive and remember,knowledge is our oasis.
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