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Integration of Faith and Learning

The integration of my worldview and the life science curriculum seems
unmistakable. I believe that God is Creator of the world and designed all of its
complex ecosystems with specific intent. When observing or studying any work of
art, certain characteristics of the artist can be discovered. In the same way, I believe
that though the earth has been distorted by sin, studying natural history can still
unearth beautiful pieces of Gods character. I also consider our role as stewards or
caretakers of Gods creation incredibly valuable- a role that should shape how we
treat and study the earth. In my opinion, learning about, caring for, and becoming
more connected to the created world is one of our most important missions as
humans.
From my experience, whether or not one teaches in a public school or
Christian school, discovering new information about nature inspires wonder in
students. Plants are no exception. I want to foster curiosity in students and make
them consider plants on a deeper level than they every have before. Through asking
questions and conducting plant experiments students can achieve greater
understanding of plants than if I simply fed them new information. They will
brainstorm in groups about what makes a plant a plant- a question that may seem
simple, but requires full comprehension of the elements of a plant. Learning more
about plants may seem rather objective- not quite like the dynamic stewardship one
may imagine when they picture our call to care for creation- but in order to properly
care for something, students need to know more about it.

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Each element of the lesson plan has a rich purpose and is not simply another
fact to stuff into student minds. I chose specific pedagogical approaches based on my
worldview of my students as image bearers of Christ. We are created in the image of
a creative and brilliant God. I wanted to give my students opportunities to utilize
this creativity in projects such as creating a plant from their imaginations, while still
including all of the plant parts that make up real plants. Since all my students are
created uniquely, I included UDL in all of my lessons and also took into account the
needs of this active and social group of students. The use of hands on activity and
group work will help them to become engaged with and excited about what they are
learning and will also help them to remember the information better. If students
learn about how a plant grow, plant parts, what plants need to survive, and a plants
purpose, they will form a greater appreciation for these amazing parts of the world
and develop a deeper desire to care for plants. This carries over into my favorite
part of the unit: why plants are so important to us.
The importance of plants to humans is my favorite part of the unit because it
connects students personally to plants and allows them to see our disconnect with
the earth. I am quite certain that many students will be surprised to discover our
deep-rooted dependence on plants in everyday life. Students will discover how
plants provide us with clean air, food, clothes, shelter, medicine, and even fuel. The
lesson also touches on the destruction of plant life and problems that this may
cause. I can present the common, yet remarkable Calvin motif of creation-fallredemption by asking students questions such as: What would happen if we cared
better for plants and did not destroy so many?, Why is it important to care for

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plants?, What would happen if all plants disappeared?, and What are things we
can do to care for plants? (Stronks & Stronks, 1999). I will use a variety of activities
in this lesson such as creating plant models, designing plant life cycles, researching a
student chosen plant through research, a video project, and more. I will use inquiry
and plant product activities to help see the importance of plants in our lives and
the impact of humanity. I hope students begin to form ideas, even as second-graders,
for how they can bring about change and better care for plant-life on earth.
My goal is to help students construct personal meaning and connection to
plants throughout this unit. I will accomplish this goal is several ways. One is
through the use of many different visuals such as video clips, a three-dimensional
flower diagram, and natural objects. Another avenue is through experiential
learning. I will facilitate flower dissection, a needs simulation, and also hope to teach
a lesson in the schools nature preserve. As the students tangibly interact with the
knowledge, they can use their own worldview to create personal meaning. They will
realize the importance of plants and how they function and their worldview will
shape how they react to this knowledge.
I hope my students will engage with the plant unit and truly ponder a plants
importance and how they can better care for plants. I also look forward to learning
with and from the students. I will not be able to predict exactly how my students
will react to the unit and what new discoveries or brilliant thoughts they will form,
but I am certain that I will be learning alongside them. We will all become learners
and inquisitive scientists who construct meaning about plants based on our
individual worldviews.