Report from Consultancy on Incorporating Folklore Into K-12 STEM Curricula

Abstract

The purpose of this consultancy was to have Heritage Education Resources (HER) explore “best practices” in folklore and education and how they dovetail with “best practices” in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) curricula. Two folklore and education projects served as a lens through which to view these practices: the Padua Center at the University of Toledo, where science teachers were exploring their work through multicultural education’s principles laid out by James A. Banks, and the Center for Food and Culture in Bowling Green, Ohio, an organization devoted in part to traditional foodways in northwestern Ohio and its collection of videos on foodways of various communities (e.g., Mexican, Polish, and others).