Science and the Appetite for Knowledge Immersion by Danielle Merritt-Sunseri

“The eye brightens, the pulse quickens, the colour rises, the whole person becomes vitalised, capable, strenuous, no longer weighed down by this clog of flesh” (Volume 3, p71).  Do your students respond this way to their science lessons?  Do the ideas “strike” them and take hold of them?  Do they have an appetite for scientific knowledge?  What does their appetite have to do with their ability to relate?  Let’s explore these questions together in this pre-conference immersion.

We will spend the morning considering Mason in her historical context and studying her thesis: “that Education is the Science of Relations.”  We will examine how she sought to achieve relations through her science curriculum, how the thought-movements of the decades have influenced science education, and what current research tells us about creating appetite for knowledge.  As we continue through the afternoon, we will work with the components of a modern, Mason science program.  We will explore how books, laboratory exercises, and even record-keeping can create appetite and support the student’s relationship with science.

“Our part is to remove obstructions and to give stimulus and guidance to the child who is trying to get into touch with the universe of things and thoughts which belongs to him” (Volume 3, p188).