God and Nature Winter 2019
Project Under Construction: Faith Integration Resource for High School Biology
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By Kathryn Applegate
This week I was privileged to interview distinguished scientist and Christian Dr. Jimmy Lin, an MD/PhD who pioneered genome-wide sequencing of human cancers. He also founded the Rare Genomics Institute, which connects patients who have rare diseases with cutting-edge research within a supportive community. When I asked Jimmy what advice he had for young people considering a career in science, he boomed, “We need more Christians to do science.” He then added, “We need to break down the barriers that unfortunately still exist between people of faith and science.”
Jimmy went on to give some great advice—don’t be afraid of science, and ground yourself in your faith—but his first reaction is telling. There are, still, real barriers to Christian young people pursuing careers in STEM. Like potholes in Michigan roads, these barriers can be circumvented, but not without care and some amount of wear and tear. It can be easier to simply take a different path.
This week I was privileged to interview distinguished scientist and Christian Dr. Jimmy Lin, an MD/PhD who pioneered genome-wide sequencing of human cancers. He also founded the Rare Genomics Institute, which connects patients who have rare diseases with cutting-edge research within a supportive community. When I asked Jimmy what advice he had for young people considering a career in science, he boomed, “We need more Christians to do science.” He then added, “We need to break down the barriers that unfortunately still exist between people of faith and science.”
Jimmy went on to give some great advice—don’t be afraid of science, and ground yourself in your faith—but his first reaction is telling. There are, still, real barriers to Christian young people pursuing careers in STEM. Like potholes in Michigan roads, these barriers can be circumvented, but not without care and some amount of wear and tear. It can be easier to simply take a different path.
"...paving the STEM road with curiosity, wonder, and confidence for Christian students is a goal shared by both ASA and BioLogos." |
The barriers will be all too familiar to ASA members. It is difficult to consider a career path in which your deepest loves may be routinely mocked or dismissed—Christ in the lab, science at church. It’s also hard to imagine yourself in a career if you’ve never seen anyone like you (a church-going, Bible-believing Christian) thriving in that career. Or what if you’ve never been encouraged to ask questions and explore how faith and science fit together? You might end up doing science and practicing your faith in a compartmentalized way, without ever integrating these big areas of your life into a cohesive worldview.
Patching these potholes and paving the STEM road with curiosity, wonder, and confidence for Christian students is a goal shared by both ASA and BioLogos. It is also the aim of a new project in development at BioLogos: BioLogos INTEGRATE is a curriculum supplement designed for high school biology instructors, either in a Christian private school or homeschool setting.
Science education is rapidly changing. Schools, including many Christian schools, are working to align their curricula with the Next Generation Science Standards to increase college preparedness. Educators and parents who want to teach cutting-edge science in a faith-affirming way find themselves on the horns of a dilemma: curricula from Christian publishers are often weak on the science (particularly in biology, promoting either young-earth creationism or intelligent design), while secular curricula don't address how modern science can fit with biblical faith. Many use BioLogos books, videos, and articles in the classroom alongside their biology curriculum, but many more do not have the time or wide-ranging expertise to find, evaluate, and choose from the large number of resources available on science/faith topics.
BioLogos INTEGRATE is our first response to the numerous requests we have received for an instructional tool that does the work for busy educators, compiling expertly vetted information and quality resources in a user-friendly, modular teachers’ guide. INTEGRATE is designed to be used alongside any standard high school biology curriculum. Some homeschool parents have expressed an interest in using it as a standalone enrichment resource.
Each unit addresses a cluster of questions related to a topical area that is covered in a typical high school biology course. Units are composed of modules, which are self-contained pedagogical units. Each unit contains one or more of each of the following module types:
A teacher may pick and choose which modules within a given unit she wants to use, but they are presented in a sequence that successively builds on prior modules.
Currently the INTEGRATE team plans to develop content in several areas that are controversial for many Christians. These include climate change, genetic diversity, reproductive technology, and evolution (including human evolution). These topics are critical to include if educators are going to address the real questions and concerns of today’s young people as they study biology. Science is advancing quickly, and students need to be exposed to what is happening in a safe environment where they can ask questions and see how their faith informs their thoughts and convictions about these advances. Our goal in the curriculum is not to advocate for one right way of thinking, however. Rather, as we present areas of scientific consensus or explore what is possible with certain technologies, we point out where there are legitimate scientific questions remaining and where there is a diversity of Christian approaches to an issue. Importantly, we affirm core Christian doctrines and encourage biblical reflection throughout.
While coming from an evolutionary creationist perspective, INTEGRATE is written with sensitivity to the fact that evolutionary creation will challenge many Christian students’ worldviews. The authors of INTEGRATE have made an effort to ensure that other Christian perspectives on origins are discussed respectfully. Reflection assignments and discussion questions are intentionally open-ended and allow students to process the material in the context of their own beliefs and values without expecting they adopt any one “correct” perspective.
ASA members will be crucial to the success of this project! Please visit the website and sign up for updates. Right now we are piloting the first third of the content we plan to develop with a small group, but we would welcome additional pilot teachers. If you know a high school biology or Bible teacher, or a homeschool parent—or if you are one!—please contact us at [email protected]. We will also be inviting ASA members to serve as expert reviewers of the material. What a breadth and depth of expertise this storied institution represents!
Scientists like Jimmy Lin—committed followers of Christ who are leaders in their scientific disciplines—are great role models for today’s Christian young people. Hopefully, through INTEGRATE, as well as through the many other programs of ASA and BioLogos, we can fill in some of the holes and smooth the way, so students can excel in science, without fear, and with solid grounding in their faith.
Kathryn Applegate is Resources Editor at BioLogos and an ASA Fellow. After completing her PhD in computational cell biology at The Scripps Research Institute in 2010, she joined the BioLogos staff where she has the privilege of writing, speaking, and working with a wide variety of scholars and educators to develop new resources aimed at science/faith integration. As Project Leader for INTEGRATE, Kathryn is excited about the potential for BioLogos to equip parents and teachers to raise up the next generation of Christian students to approach science with wonder, curiosity, perseverance, and wisdom.
Patching these potholes and paving the STEM road with curiosity, wonder, and confidence for Christian students is a goal shared by both ASA and BioLogos. It is also the aim of a new project in development at BioLogos: BioLogos INTEGRATE is a curriculum supplement designed for high school biology instructors, either in a Christian private school or homeschool setting.
Science education is rapidly changing. Schools, including many Christian schools, are working to align their curricula with the Next Generation Science Standards to increase college preparedness. Educators and parents who want to teach cutting-edge science in a faith-affirming way find themselves on the horns of a dilemma: curricula from Christian publishers are often weak on the science (particularly in biology, promoting either young-earth creationism or intelligent design), while secular curricula don't address how modern science can fit with biblical faith. Many use BioLogos books, videos, and articles in the classroom alongside their biology curriculum, but many more do not have the time or wide-ranging expertise to find, evaluate, and choose from the large number of resources available on science/faith topics.
BioLogos INTEGRATE is our first response to the numerous requests we have received for an instructional tool that does the work for busy educators, compiling expertly vetted information and quality resources in a user-friendly, modular teachers’ guide. INTEGRATE is designed to be used alongside any standard high school biology curriculum. Some homeschool parents have expressed an interest in using it as a standalone enrichment resource.
Each unit addresses a cluster of questions related to a topical area that is covered in a typical high school biology course. Units are composed of modules, which are self-contained pedagogical units. Each unit contains one or more of each of the following module types:
- Meet - videos featuring scientists and scholars, paired with discussion questions; often the person’s work is featured elsewhere in the unit. The aim is to introduce Christian role models and expose students to a variety of career possibilities at the intersection of faith and biology.
- Grow - short meditations on Scripture that explore how one of the Christian virtues (e.g. perseverance, faith, humility) resonates with the overall topic. The aim is to help students make meaningful connections between God’s word and their lives or what they are learning.
- Experience - a hands-on science activity that promotes active learning of the biology topic at hand and addresses one or more of the NGSS ideas, practices, or concepts. While we are not producing a biology curriculum per se, we want to showcase the best one or two activities that will work well with 1 or 20 students. This is especially important for homeschool educators who are teaching biology for the first time, and who can be lost in the sea of online lab possibilities.
- Explore - a series of readings, videos, discussions, or other activities that help students explore a particular theological, biblical, ethical, or philosophical concept.
- Integrate - the capstone of each unit that challenges students to reflect on how their thinking/learning developed over the course of the unit, and articulate their own beliefs, goals, and plans of action.
A teacher may pick and choose which modules within a given unit she wants to use, but they are presented in a sequence that successively builds on prior modules.
Currently the INTEGRATE team plans to develop content in several areas that are controversial for many Christians. These include climate change, genetic diversity, reproductive technology, and evolution (including human evolution). These topics are critical to include if educators are going to address the real questions and concerns of today’s young people as they study biology. Science is advancing quickly, and students need to be exposed to what is happening in a safe environment where they can ask questions and see how their faith informs their thoughts and convictions about these advances. Our goal in the curriculum is not to advocate for one right way of thinking, however. Rather, as we present areas of scientific consensus or explore what is possible with certain technologies, we point out where there are legitimate scientific questions remaining and where there is a diversity of Christian approaches to an issue. Importantly, we affirm core Christian doctrines and encourage biblical reflection throughout.
While coming from an evolutionary creationist perspective, INTEGRATE is written with sensitivity to the fact that evolutionary creation will challenge many Christian students’ worldviews. The authors of INTEGRATE have made an effort to ensure that other Christian perspectives on origins are discussed respectfully. Reflection assignments and discussion questions are intentionally open-ended and allow students to process the material in the context of their own beliefs and values without expecting they adopt any one “correct” perspective.
ASA members will be crucial to the success of this project! Please visit the website and sign up for updates. Right now we are piloting the first third of the content we plan to develop with a small group, but we would welcome additional pilot teachers. If you know a high school biology or Bible teacher, or a homeschool parent—or if you are one!—please contact us at [email protected]. We will also be inviting ASA members to serve as expert reviewers of the material. What a breadth and depth of expertise this storied institution represents!
Scientists like Jimmy Lin—committed followers of Christ who are leaders in their scientific disciplines—are great role models for today’s Christian young people. Hopefully, through INTEGRATE, as well as through the many other programs of ASA and BioLogos, we can fill in some of the holes and smooth the way, so students can excel in science, without fear, and with solid grounding in their faith.
Kathryn Applegate is Resources Editor at BioLogos and an ASA Fellow. After completing her PhD in computational cell biology at The Scripps Research Institute in 2010, she joined the BioLogos staff where she has the privilege of writing, speaking, and working with a wide variety of scholars and educators to develop new resources aimed at science/faith integration. As Project Leader for INTEGRATE, Kathryn is excited about the potential for BioLogos to equip parents and teachers to raise up the next generation of Christian students to approach science with wonder, curiosity, perseverance, and wisdom.