Scientific Learning – traditionally and for the future

The fact that this future-oriented method would also draw upon and convey traditional knowledge was the focus of a conversation between Nathalie von Siemens and Keith Roy Langenhoven, Director of the School of Science and Mathematics at the University of the Western Cape (UWC). Indigenous knowledge – local, usually traditional knowledge about medicine, agriculture, religion or rites – plays a large role to this day in many regions of Africa, but is falling more and more by the wayside. With Experimento, this traditional knowledge can be transferred and combined with modern teaching methods, and water filtration provides a good example: A cut-off piece of sugar cane served not only as a conventional drinking straw, but also as a traditional method for water treatment. When drinking from pooling basins and streams, particles stick to the fibers of the sugar cane and are filtered out, thereby achieving a purifying effect on the water. A similar principle of water filtration is explained in the scientific experiment from Experimento I 10+. By using sand, coal, paper, or certain membrane filters, water can be purified to varying degrees. Embedding indigenous knowledge in the lessons creates a bridge between the cultural identity of learners and the practical implementation of the natural sciences.

Experimento doesn’t only connect conventional wisdom with modern teaching; it also supports interdisciplinary knowledge. The Mthatha Excelsior High School, for example, is a public secondary school in Eastern Cape, South Africa. The young 10th graders in a physics class are concentrating on their work with Experimento I 10+ on the topic of “water as a thermal store.” It is about water’s solid, liquid, and gaseous states of matter. Sixteen-year-old Zola reports eagerly, “I know this already from chemistry class.” This is how students are encouraged to transfer their knowledge.