IncluSMe: Intercultural Learning in Science and Mathematics Education

Project IncluSMe has now ended and presents an innovative course for initial teacher education freely available on the project web portal as well as on Scientix.

The project IncluSMe aimed at preparing future science and mathematics teachers for cultural diversity. Although mathematics and science are often considered being culturally independent and neutral, they are not. Different cultures use science differently, see different connections to their religion and have advanced science and mathematics through their researchers and experts in different ways.  For example, the triangle made famous by Blaise Pascal in the Western world, has been known many years before in the Arab and Chinese world.

In addition, we have to acknowledge that students educated in different cultural areas use different algorithms, different language and are familiar with different contexts. These aspects all influence science and mathematics teaching and should be considered when planning lessons.

Teachers can support future students to achieve their full potential only if they:

• consider intercultural learning to be a part of mathematics and science learning
• know about cultural differences of these subjects
• can use the appropriate pedagogical strategies to deal with the different cultural backgrounds.

Our innovative initial teacher education modules support mathematics and science teacher educators taking up these challenges and preparing our future teachers for a timely science and mathematics education. The 13 modules deal with future teachers’ values, attitudes and intercultural competences (modul 1 & 13), with cultural perspectives on mathematics and science (modul 2 to 5, e.g., different approaches to reasoning and different perspectives on current ecological problems) and pedagogical approaches on tackling diversity in classrooms (modul 6 to 12, e.g. relevance of language, assessment and learning outside of school).

Please visit our websites InclusMe and Scientix and download the modules. Feel free to use them, adapt them and share them with other teacher educators for further use.