Supporting Contextualization: Lessons Learned from Throughout the Globe

To deal with the environmental, scientific, and health challenges facing the world, individuals throughout the globe will need to experience science education that will allow them to develop usable STEM knowledge. Contextualization plays a crucial role in developing usable knowledge. Without appropriate contextualization, most knowledge remains inert. Although contextualization can provide meaning to an otherwise abstract science topic, inappropriate contextualization can also distract, confuse, and activate irrelevant knowledge. We review the prior chapters and identify four challenges in designing appropriately contextualized learning environments.