Grant supports UC pilot program that couples science with humanities
UC professor has a philosophy about science: Nonscientists can participate too
The introduction to math and science typically begins in elementary and middle school. That’s also when students begin to think that they have to be a math whiz to study science, says University of Cincinnati assistant professor of philosophy Melissa Jacquart.
Melissa Jacquart wants to teach middle school students another way of looking at science, through a philosopher’s eyes. Photo/provided.
Jacquart, however, wants to change that impression, by offering middle school students an after-school program that introduces them to another way of looking at science, through a philosopher’s eyes.
“My intent is to show the students who think of themselves as nonscientists that they do have a place in science, and that the humanities have a role in science as well,” says Jaquart who has been awarded a $50,000 Whiting Public Engagement Program grant to pilot a Philosophy & Science Fair Club for seventh and eighth graders at a Cincinnati Public School in fall 2023.
Although the program has a science foundation, it will more so focus on the humanistic aspects of science, she says. “It will be bidirectional that way,” says Jaquart whose research focus examines the role philosophy can play in general public understanding of science and in science education. For example, students may consider how scientists’ intellectual context and worldviews impact the scientific method and process of discovery or the role trust plays in the public’s understanding of scientific findings.
Jacquart’s initiative will be carried out through the UC Center for Public Engagement with Science, in partnership with the Greater Cincinnati STEM Collaborative. The groups will work to create lesson plans designed to introduce students to the philosophical and other humanistic aspects of science by identifying a theme, such as space exploration or climate change, and then deploying philosophical methods of inquiry to deeply investigate it. She will teach the pilot program with graduate student assistance.
This is a deeply innovative initiative
Angela Potochnik Professor of philosophy and director of the Center for Public Engagement with Science
“At the Center for Public Engagement with Science, we prioritize an interdisciplinary approach including the humanities, as well as partnership with other community organizations; this is a deeply innovative initiative that embodies both of these priorities,” says Angela Potochnik, UC professor of philosophy and the center’s director.
Over the course of 15 weeks, students will develop individual projects related to the shared theme and informed by philosophical discussion. The course will culminate with each student entering their project in the Southwest Ohio Science and Engineering Expo Science Fair, one of the nation’s largest student science fairs.
The overall intent, says Jacquart, is to expand the program to other Cincinnati public schools and schools across the country.
According to the Whiting Foundation grant committee, they saw Jacquart’s project as one that teaches children cross-disciplinary inquiry skills that are indispensable to civic literacy and described it as representing an important avenue for demonstrating the ways that the humanities are essential.
Per the foundation: “Without the humanities … we can’t fully understand why science matters.”
Featured photo at top of glass beakers/Adobe.
Impact Lives Here
The University of Cincinnati is leading public urban universities into a new era of innovation and impact. Our faculty, staff and students are saving lives, changing outcomes and bending the future in our city's direction. Next Lives Here.
Related Stories
Could an energy audit save you money?
November 28, 2022
Architectural engineering students at the University of Cincinnati are helping community partners save on monthly utility bills through energy audits.
UC research examines workplace stress in the aftermath of the...
November 28, 2022
A new study from the University of Cincinnati examined the impact of workplace stress and provided insights for organizations to explore ways to reduce workplace stress for a better and healthier working environment. The study had two parts: a survey in which respondents described their experiences of workplace stress during the COVID-19 pandemic and a quantitative study using saliva cortisol as a biomarker of stress along with a stress diary to find out where and when workplace stress commonly occurred.
WVXU: Kids' information is more valuable than adults'
November 23, 2022
UC's cyber security expert Richard Winger speaks to WVXU on the increase of cyber hacks in K-12 schools and higher education. These institutions, experts say, are more vulnerable than corporations because the risk doesn't seem as obvious.