Our project investigates the use of practical activities based on students’ life experiences and cultural backgrounds as a starting point for the learning of concepts and basic skills in mathematics and science. In the project, we wish to enrich the experience and link the learning of science to the students’ local environment. All the student projects is connected to a local artefact or craft related activity, and inspired by these, students will be challenged to develop knowledge from the available local resources. A typical student project will include practical and theoretical activities, and the topic in all cases will be the link between, on the one hand, nature and natural resources, and on the other hand, the related effort to make a living in the area. We believe that many school subjects can benefit from the overall principles and specific student project activities.

LOCUMS supports a move towards more student-centred education. The study will explore the notion of a culturally responsive science and mathematics education. The research participants has been located in Finnmark, in Trøndelag and in or near Oslo.

Aspects relating to the research project

1. To develop more culturally responsive teaching and learning methods in secondary school science and mathematics, involving local knowledge and cultural identity, in order to raise student’s achievement and reduce school drop-out
2. To collect data from contrasting case studies in order to evaluate the effectiveness of these teaching and learning methods and to provide a basis for research studies in this field
3. To develop state of the art professional development activities in order to support the implementation of more culturally responsive teaching and learning methods in secondary school science and mathematics
4. To provide a strong evidence base for the implementation of culturally responsive science and maths education, in order to strengthen education policy in this area