hOW I WOULD TEACh… GAS TESTS

Make It Accessible

A key part of Think Like A Scientist is that it is not taught in typical classrooms - an arena where many of our students have had previous negative experiences. A common place to hold the course is in the library, which is not only su ciently neutral ground to engage di cult to reach learners, but is also often carpeted, to help with some sensory issues.

Resources whilst teaching in prison are scarce, and often the only teaching aid available (apart from a pen and paper) is language (which turns out to be key). If the language used was terminology heavy or uses allegory, metaphor, or other forms of fi gurative or culturally specifi c language this will often be too di cult to process for many students, particularly those with learning di culties, whose literacy skills are low, or whose experiences either very di erent, or aren’t su ciently culturally rich to understand the references made in explanations.

Ensure You Are Inclusive

Although a certifi cate from a university is o ered on completion of the course, there is no formal assessment strategy linked to the program. By breaking down the barrier of grading, an environment of open expression can begin to be created and allow for more potential students to engage. Through the main focus of the course being on how an individual’s mind works to tackle a problem, we are able to tailor the learning experience and bring education to the student.

Group discussion of opinions on topics are fundamental to the class. In Think Like A Scientist, students are asked to give their thoughts on current topics (after reading recent research) with which there is no scientifi c consensus (e.g., should we colonise Mars? Is there life outside our Solar System?). As the answers are debatable, the students are allowed a voice on cutting-edge science - the impact of this on a student’s confi dence can be highly signifi cant.

Related to the previously mentioned ‘Stereotype Threat’ and ‘Minority Stress’ theories, this fl attening of the power dynamic within the classroom meant that learning was made more inclusive and critical barriers to students’ learning (which teachers may or may not be aware of) were removed.

The Importance Of Encouragement

From the classes taught in prison, not all students write down their thoughts and submit work. However, for those that do, the work is ‘marked’ by highlighting the main points of their discussion and o ering encouragement. Here, it is important to ignore spelling errors and grammar, and focus on the positive aspect of the student submitting thoughts and ideas.

Incidentally, by setting a task to express their thought process, rather than ‘testable’ questions, the work submitted is often really interesting. For those who submit, the feedback can be “like receiving a prize” as one student wrote in the course evaluation.

Wider Application?

Even though the course has been designed with the restrictive and complex prison education system in mind, there is a wider application to this work (specifi cally in settings where students aren’t engaging in formal education).

In Think Like A Scientist, the creation of a neutral classroom dynamic (in location and environment), producing content that is relatable, removing the grading structure, and emphasising encouragement have been powerful in breaking down educational barriers. Furthermore, in terms of the consideration of language in the classroom, avoiding assumed previous knowledge and asking explicitly worded questions, alongside the implementation of clean ‘Plain Speak’ English, can make learning resources and discussions accessible to all.

...this creates an open structure, rewarding exploration and engagement over attainment, suggested to be positive for all learners’ self-esteem and progression.

References:

Tom Billington (2017) Educational inclusion and critical neuroscience: friends or foes?, International Journal of Inclusive Education, 21:8, 866880, DOI: 10.1080/13603116.2017.1283717

Damasio, A. (2000). The feeling of what happens: Body, emotion and the making of consciousness. London: Vintage.

Geib, C., Chapman, J., D’Amaddio, A., Grigorenko, E., 2011. The education of juveniles in detention: policy considerations and infrastructure development. Learn. Individ. Di er. 21 (1), 3–11. https:// doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2010.05.002.

Goodley, D., Lawthom, R., Liddiard, K., & Cole, K. R. (2017). Critical disability studies. In The Palgrave handbook of critical social psychology (pp. 491-505). Palgrave Macmillan, London. Hornby, G. (2020). The necessity for coexistence of equity and excellence in inclusive and special education. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education.

Meyer, I. H. (1995). Minority stress and mental health in gay men. Journal of health and social behavior, 38-56.

Parker, M. N., & Jones, R. T. (1999). Minority status stress: E ect on the psychological and academic functioning of African-American students. Journal of Gender, Culture and Health, 4(1), 61-82.

Pennington, C. R., Heim, D., Levy, A. R., & Larkin, D. T. (2016). Twenty years of stereotype threat research: A review of psychological mediators. PloS one, 11(1), e0146487. Rogers, L., J. Hurry, M. Simonot, A. Wilson (2014), The aspirations and realities of prison education for under-25s in the London area, London Review of Education, 12 (2) pp. 184-196

Saloviita, T. (2020). Attitudes of teachers towards inclusive education in Finland. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 64(2), 270-282.

Steele, C. M., & Aronson, J. (1995). Stereotype threat and the intellectual test performance of African Americans. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69(5), 797–811. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.69.5.797

Ustun, U., & Eryilmaz, A. (2018). Analysis of Finnish Education System to Question the Reasons behind Finnish Success in PISA. Online Submission, 2(2), 93-114.