The Science I Know

“After 25 years of preparing middle and high school teachers, I have learned that they are far more likely to implement new concepts when they are able to see high quality, practical examples from similar classrooms. It is for this reason that I believe The Science I Know: Culturally Relevant Science Lessons from Secondary Classrooms can have a substantial impact on the quantity and quality of culturally relevant teaching in our nation’s science classrooms. I highly recommend this inspiring book to both teacher educators preparing novice science teachers and to veteran teachers who are striving to meet the needs of ALL their students.”–Cynthia Alby, PhD, co-author of “Learning That Matters: A Field Guide to Course Design for Transformative Education”“Dr. Roman-Oliver masterfully tackles an important, yet underemphasized facet of Culturally Relevant Science Education. As educators, we are all familiar with the terminology. But how can we effectively implement this pedagogical model in an ever-changing classroom filled with diverse personalities and needs? The Science I Know: Culturally Relevant Science Lessons from the Secondary Classrooms explores the importance of cultural relevancy and how to implement this teaching and learning framework. With standards-based lessons that can be adapted to fit the diverse needs of any secondary science classroom, this book is a must read for all science teachers and teacher educators!”–Dionne Lazenby, PhD

Suzanna Roman-Oliver has been an educator for almost 20 years. She was a high school science teacher for English Language Learners for 12 years. After that, she worked as a Clinical Assistant Professor at Kennesaw State University. Her dissertation research, the inspiration for this book, focused on pre-service teachers understanding and implementation of culturally relevant pedagogy during their student-teaching experience. Dr. Roman-Oliver continues to do research to explore the influence of culture in the teaching and learning of science. She lives in Covington, Georgia, with her husband, son, and puppy. She is currently an Assistant Professor at Georgia College and State University.