Baxter Symposium Keynote Address

Keynote Presenter: Dr. Daniel Morales-Doyle, University of Illinois Chicago

This keynote talk draws on the book Transformative Science Teaching: A Catalyst for Justice and Sustainability, with a specific focus on Chicago, the city that was the context for its development. Morales-Doyle shares examples from his research to critique mainstream models of science education. Most science curricula promote the content areas and prioritize their big ideas while failing to confront the role of science in making society inequitable and unsustainable. This presentation will share practical classroom examples to illustrate how science education might instead act as a catalyst for alternative futures. In this view, science education encourages students to study how scientific ideas and practices might be useful in movements for social and environmental justice. Transformative science teaching positions students as transformative intellectuals who are capable of changing science, while also using science to change the world.