Teaching Nutrition and Health in the Urban-Science Classroom A Blended-Approach to Culturally Relevant, and Problem Based Learning.

Abstract

Education has been seen as the means for all young people to receive equal opportunities, however our current system of education does not currently set up all young people to have similar achievements in the field of science. Young people from urban and impoverished backgrounds are less likely to see value or purpose in their science education. For this reason it is my belief that something needs to change in the way we educate urban youth in the field science. This project aims to unite currently supported practices and theories in to a cohesive educational unit. This unit will pull from multiple research supported theories and combine them in a unique manner to create a new experience for urban students with in the context of nutrition and human body systems. This unit will unite the notion that urban students value inquiry more than their suburban peers (Sandoval & Harven 2011), with an approach that values the unique funds of knowledge within a diverse urban classroom (Moll & Greenberg 1990). In addition an students will complete an end of the unit project that aligns itself with social justice theory (Esposito, J. & Swain 2009), and problem-based learning (Bouillion & Gomez 2001). Using a variety of techniques and researched based theories within a single unit of study will best address the engagement based issues within the urban science classroom.