Pre-Service Teachers Composing Madinathes for Science Teaching: Poetry for Braiding Meanings and Emotions

PDF (ελληνικά)
Published: Apr 19, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.12681/codiste.9920
Keywords:
art in science education interdisciplinarity teacher education poetry in teaching science
Argyris Nipyrakis
University of Crete
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6075-1784
Maria Varelas
University of Illinois Chicago
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8212-2674
Abstract

The present study examined the integration of the Art form of Poetry, the composition of madinathes in particular, in science education, as an approach that has the potential to embrace and build on the sociocultural assets of students coming from rural areas, and who traditionally have limited access to educational resources. 29 pre-service teachers were given an assignment to compose science-related madinathes in the context of an undergraduate course on science teaching and learning. Poetic content analysis of the madinathes revealed the use of a variety of poetic themes for communicating science, with frequent use of models and metaphors. Even though teachers identified several benefits of such an approach, such as drawing out student interest and cultivating their imagination and creativity, they mostly focused on expressing science ideas when they reflected on how they went about composing their madinathes. The study findings speak to the value of using Art in teaching and learning science. 

Article Details
  • Section
  • Προφορικές Ανακοινώσεις
Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
References
Καλογεράκης, Γ. (2016). Ιαμβικός δεκαπεντασύλλαβος, οι Μαντινάδες και οι Ρίμες.
Τσατσάκης, Π. (2020). Οι κρητικές μαντινάδες ως μέσο έκφρασης συναισθημάτων. https://hellanicus.lib.aegean.gr/handle/11610/21232
Calderón Moya-Méndez, N., & Zwart, H. (2022). Science and poetry: poems as an educational tool for biology teaching. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 17(3), 727-743. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11422-022-10118-3
Chappell, M.J. (2024). Dimensions of the structure-agency dialectic embedded in Black students’ ethnodance of their science identity construction. Research in Science Education 54(1), 119-132. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-023-10111-y
Fragkiadaki, G., Fleer, M., & Rai, P. (2023). Science concept formation during infancy, toddlerhood, and early childhood: Developing a scientific motive over time. Research in Science Education, 53(2), 275-294. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-022-10053-x
Hadzigeorgiou, Y. (2016). Imaginative Science Education: The Central Role of Imagination in Science Education. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-29526-8
Halkia, K., & Mantzouridis, D. (2005). Students’ views and attitudes towards the communication code used in press articles about science. International Journal of Science Education, 27(12), 1395-1411. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500690500102912
Illingworth, S. (2022). Science communication through poetry. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96829-8
Illingworth, S., & Radhakrishnan, M. L. (2023). “I am here because I wanted to shine”: how poetry can be used to better understand undergraduate students’ first-year chemistry or related course experiences. Chemistry Education Research and Practice, 24(3), 868-881. https://doi.org/10.1039/d2rp00276k
Jacobson, S. K., Seavey, J. R., & Mueller, R. C. (2016). Integrated science and art education for creative climate change communication. Ecology and Society, 21(3). https://doi.org/10.5751/es-08626-210330
Liu, S. C., & Lin, H. S. (2014). Primary teachers' beliefs about scientific creativity in the classroom context. International Journal of Science Education, 36(10), 1551-1567. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2013.868619
Mayring, P. (2015). Qualitative Content Analysis: Theoretical Background and Procedures. Στο Α. Bikner-Ahsbahs, C. Knipping, N. Presmeg, (Επιμ.), Approaches to Qualitative Research in Mathematics Education, 365–380. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9181-6_13
Pantidos, P., Ravanis, K., Valakas, K., & Vitoratos, E. (2014). Incorporating poeticality into the teaching of physics. Science & Education, 23, 621-642. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11191-012-9573-2
Perignat, E., & Katz-Buonincontro, J. (2019). STEAM in practice and research: An integrative literature review. Thinking skills and creativity, 31, 31-43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2018.10.002
Stefanidou, C., Mandrikas, A., Kyriakou, K., Stavrou, I., Boikos, I., & Skordoulis, C. (2024). Primary Students' Views toward STEM Education in Greece. Science Education International, 35(2), 85-91. https://doi.org/10.33828/sei.v35.i2.2
Varelas, M., Becker, J., Luster, B., & Wenzel, S. (2002). When genres meet: Inquiry into a sixth‐grade urban science class. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 39(7), 579-605. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.10037
Varelas, M., Diaz, A. R., Kotler, R., Woodard, R., Rock, R., Sabitt, Z., Phillips, N., Tsachor, R., Gutierrez, M., Natividad, H., Threewitt, D., & Ellison, J. (2024). Embodied, dramatizing performances in science class: multimodal spaces and places of knowledge and identity construction. Research in Science & Technological Education, 42(1), 157-179. https://doi.org/10.1080/02635143.2024.2306307
Varelas, M., Kotler, R. T., Natividad, H. D., Phillips, N. C., Tsachor, R. P., Woodard, R., Guttierez, M., Melchor, M. A., & Rosario, M. (2022). “Science theatre makes you good at science”: Affordances of embodied performances in urban elementary science classrooms. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 59(4), 493-528. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.21735
Varelas, M., Pappas, C. C., Tucker‐Raymond, E., Kane, J., Hankes, J., Ortiz, I., & Keblawe‐Shamah, N. (2010). Drama activities as ideational resources for primary‐grade children in urban science classrooms. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 47(3), 302-325. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.20336
Verdis, A., Kalogeropoulos, K., & Chalkias, C. (2019). Regional disparities in access to higher education in Greece. Research in Comparative and International Education, 14(2), 318-335. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745499919846186
Watts, M. (2001). Science and poetry: passion v. prescription in school science?. International journal of science education, 23(2), 197-208. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500690120685
Woodard, R., Diaz, A. R., Phillips, N. C., Varelas, M., Tsachor, R., Kotler, R., Rock, R., & Melchor, M. (2024). ‘Be Creative and Have Fun’: elementary‐aged children's digital and embodied composing in science. Literacy, 58(2), 167-177. https://doi.org/10.1111/lit.12365