Lower School science takes a creative approach to identity

Lower School Science Specialist Autumn Burton recently presented at the National Science Teaching Association conference in New Orleans, demonstrating culturally responsive teaching practices in science education. Workshop participants received Next Generation Science Standards-aligned lessons focused on identity mapping, including a modeling exercise where individual identities were represented as atoms and collective identities as molecules. Autumn has implemented this approach with our 4–5 students, guiding them to explore their personal identities through molecular representation. Students created “identity molecules” by assigning different aspects of themselves to individual atoms, forging a unique connection between self-discovery and scientific understanding.