Guiding Question Reflection
How did my time in the Philippines answer my guiding question and sub-questions?
 

Before leaving for the Philippines, I constructed various iterations of my guiding question with the assumption that I would have to cut most of it from my final reflection. However, my experience provided such a rich window into student sensemaking strategies that I left feeling excited about the wealth of possible next steps.

Sensemaking in science, especially at the higher levels, is extremely important in teaching contexts like mine. As students move through Chemistry, and sometimes into AP Chemistry, I frequently question how they are making sense of the content and building a deeper understanding of the phenomena. While students may be able to memorize a rule or understand a concept at the basic level, an integral part of building scientific literacy is facilitating a holistic knowledge of principles to enable them to create explanations, ask questions, and build meaningful connections to their lived experiences. Students can then leave the classroom prepared to question and construct solutions to global issues.

This approach to science is important in all contexts, but the rootedness in real-world difficulties is salient in the Philippines. One of the most disaster-impacted countries in the world, the impacts of climate change, biodiversity loss, overpopulation, pollution, and disease are at the forefront of daily life. Davao specifically suffered damage from a 7.8-magnitude earthquake, multiple typhoons, and a volcanic eruption within the three months leading up to our trip. The Muslim Village, which we had the good fortune of visiting Thursday afternoon, was flooded with over a meter of water from the Davao River by that Saturday. Facilitating scientific sensemaking in the next generation is not only a good pedagogical practice but a moral imperative for Filipino teachers. And, everywhere we turned, there were teachers rising to meet this demand. 

My primary guiding question reads, “What strategies do science teachers in the Philippines employ to facilitate student sensemaking of complex scientific phenomena?” This was answered rather quickly in both school contexts that we visited during our time in Davao. Our host school, Philippine Science High School, represents some of the most scientifically-inclined and capable young people in the region and is generously funded by the Department of Science. Students carry out an inquiry project on a topic of their choosing from tenth through twelfth grade. In the first year, they design their project and create a tentative plan before pitching it to a panel for revision. Next, students are able to refine their idea before creating a final prototype. Before graduation, they must conduct their own investigation using the school’s advanced lab equipment and analyze their results before writing a 60+ page thesis that they present. I had the privilege of discussing this project with two eleventh and twelfth grade classes, teaching me the critical consciousness and environmental awareness embedded in the school culture. From developing renewable batteries to designing products from endemic fibers to remediating environmental contamination using recycled materials, each group of students displayed a deep understanding of scientific principles and a groundedness in addressing global issues that exemplifies sensemaking through project design.

Santa Ana National High School, on the other hand, represents a marginalized group of over 6,000 students. Despite crowded classrooms and limited supplies, facilitating sensemaking was apparent throughout our class observations. In one classroom, the teacher asked groups of five students to come up and show their work for solving a conversion problem. Students then explained their steps to the other 40 students, answering clarifying questions and prompts to further develop their thinking from both the students and the teacher. Once the group was finished, the next set of five students would go up to discuss the subsequent problem set. Each student was thoughtful in their explanation, and the questioning period pushed students to understand the concept at a deeper level. While this practice could be overwhelming for some, the class community provided a strong level of support to facilitate students’ willingness to share.

These experiences specifically addressed my sub-questions regarding community involvement, multilingual learners, and takeaways that we can apply in American classrooms. The school culture at both Philippine Science and Santa Ana was grounded in service to the nation at every level. Because there is such a stress placed on community involvement and environmental issues are so present in Davao, students are conditioned from an early age to see themselves as meaningful actors in creating solutions. This bolsters their engagement in science by giving them buy-in to their educational journey. School and natural disasters are not just happening to them; instead, they are uplifted by their families and learning communities as agents of change developed by the educational system to graduate and create real solutions to serve their communities. Sharing this goal for the common good motivates students to excel in science and devote themselves to improving the world. 

Groundedness in service and the greater good are commitments that we need to adopt in American classrooms if we wish to change the trajectory of the future. While the Philippines is disproportionately impacted by climate issues, the United States is certainly not immune. Wildfires, landslides, pollution, and pandemic are all realities that our capital will not save us from. As a result, I hope to center my education around creating solutions to these realities through a commitment to sensemaking in science.