Broadening Our Thinking

Recently Ms Gilham, our Head of Science and Challenge and Enrichment Co-ordinator, noted that when the children were asked to research a key scientist, they tended to name a European or American scientist such as Newton, Einstein, Fleming or Edison. It struck her that their knowledge of scientists seemed quite narrow in this global world that we live in.  

Ms Gilham had already noted that Iron Age and Bronze Age scientists were mostly from other parts of the world, perhaps of Arabic, Indian or Babylonian origin. It was this that inspired her to broaden the children’s thinking and she tasked them to research names with a broader geographical and historical approach. The children were encouraged to discuss this at home and to think about people they knew who were in the world of science, including female scientists and scientists who worked or lived in places other than Europe or America. The results from Year 6 have been quite astounding and they have all learnt so much from the task, as have the staff!

The pupils’ research revealed a great deal about a diverse range of scientists from across history and across the globe. The children certainly broadened their scientific knowledge and simultaneously learnt to take a global approach when tasked with independent research. Their thirst for knowledge also led them to research their own families and revealed some facts closer to home, including these.

A Year 6 girl’s aunt is a gynaecologist currently working towards a PhD and her research aims to find out why childbirth is more straightforward for some women than for others.

A Year 6 boy’s parent is a GP who used be a surgeon but found it too messy! 

A Year 6 girl’s great grandfather was a professor named Dr. Drabu, who was born in Kashmir and qualified as one of the first General Practitioners in Pakistan. He worked in refugee camps after bearing witness to the partition of the Indian subcontinent.

The children also discovered that our very own Ms Gilham (nee Emily Capulas) was a researcher at Sussex and Brunel Universities. For those interested, some of her research papers can be seen here: https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/Emily-Capulas-33881681

Parents who are interested in broadening their own knowledge of scientists through the ages and across the world might like to start with this timeline:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_scientific_discoveries

Have a super weekend.

Ms Drummond