Stories from the Field: Strategies for Teaching Biblically in Math and Science

This next mini-series shares tips and ideas related to specific subject areas, sent to us from TeachBeyond educators. Again, some of these ideas will apply directly to contexts in which teaching biblically can be done more openly, while others will relate to all contexts. This article focuses on Math and Science.

• Mathematical operations are constant. This correlates with the unchanging attribute of God. At the onset of introducing any concept, I pose a worldview question that prompts biblical thinking and connection to the unit or lesson. – Rosemary O.
   
• I will use the example of a recent math lesson I taught on measuring length. I began by having the children read Genesis 6:15, and after reading it, we realized that God knew how to plan, specify, and order everything He did, so He is the ultimate measure of length because He commanded Noah in ancient times to build the ark. Second, for the hygiene lesson, we read Deuteronomy 23:13-14, which led us to discover the theme of cleanliness of the body and our environment. Based on this Bible verse, the students understood that God wanted the environment to always be clean and well maintained to prevent germs. Finally, in botany, we studied the different plants in the environment, and the Bible verse that helped us discover the topic of the day was Genesis 1:11. Here, we understood that plants are a gift from God, based on their different virtues in the lives of humans and animals. To conclude, I use different Bible verses to introduce my lessons, and this is part of my method of integrating the word of God. The Bible is what I come back to to show the students that God is above all. – Kikoso F.
   
• I point to Christ whenever I see an opportunity. When talking about proofs, we go into what truth is and how we know it. Or when working on real world applications like budgets, we discuss what proper use of money is, whether we should give to charity or tithe, and how much money is needed (knowing it doesn't provide ultimate fulfillment).
  – Calvin W.
   
• I recognize that math can sometimes be the hardest one, but when I taught a high school Consumer Math class, it did make it a bit easier when we were working with real-world applications, especially with money. Recognize that all that we are given is given to us by God and that He calls us to be good stewards of what he has given us. This means living within our means and recognizing the differences between our wants and needs, and tithing. We also looked at the importance of our motivation behind these things, and that we can also use these practices as an act of worship. – Matthew B.
   
• “Mathematics is the language
  with which God has written the universe.” (Galileo Galilei)
  For math classes, it's challenging to find a particular Bible verse for each lesson; Scripture doesn't have explicit verses on quadratics or sinusoidal functions. Instead of trying to force Scripture into my curriculum, I focus on the overarching truth that God created our world with order and patterns, and as His children created in His image, we are given both the ability and the responsibility to learn how to use those patterns to benefit the world around us. How do mathematical truths like infinity point us to truths about God? What do sequences in the natural world (the Fibonacci sequence in a pinecone or pineapple, for example) tell us about the One who created them? How can we use a quadratic model to determine how best to maximize a quantity in the real world, and what does it look like to do this ethically? These are the kinds of larger questions that I've found to be most effective in bringing the Gospel into my upper-level mathematics classes. – Amelia C.
   
• In mathematics, we will discuss how God created an orderly world that follows patterns and rules. For example, with God’s order and consistency in creation through mathematics, I emphasise how math reflects God’s orderly nature (patterns, symmetry, laws), and we explore patterns in Scripture (7 days of creation, 12 tribes, 40 years). – Ruth A.

• Perhaps one of my favorites was when we were balancing chemical equations. The fact that you can balance an equation is based on the 2nd law of thermal dynamics that matter cannot be created or destroyed. I loved asking my students, Where does this law come from? The government? No! From the ultimate law giver – God! And only He can create and destroy matter. – Christy B.
   
• In science, I love weaving in apologetics. In our current chapter in earth science, for example, we're going to make posters highlighting the many ways in which the earth is perfectly designed for humans to live on it. I also had my students watch some lectures by J. Warner Wallace on this topic. – Danielle B.
   
• Every time I am talking about nature, I talk about God's creation. For example, when I talk about flowers, I talk about how that simple form has so many details and variations. I tell the kids that is not coincidence, but that God puts beauty in every little thing and flowers are the perfect example of God's imagination. – Daniel R.
   
• We examine the creation mandate – to care for and subdue creation – and how we can't do that unless we deeply know creation. Therefore, when we study science we are taking time out of our day to connect with our creation mandate to subdue the Earth in a way that glorifies God. Students begin the year looking at worldviews when we talk about age of the Earth. We make sure to outline what is a “salvation” issue and what is just a difference in worldviews regarding origins. We heavily address assumptions, what we know and what we just piece together from evidence. We look at how humanity can creatively solve problems (e.g., lack of clean water in parts of the world) and explore various organizations that provide clean water, and we also connect this with the metaphor of Living Water in Scripture. We explore climate change and what Scripture says about changes in climate on Earth. When studying a subject that Jesus has used as a metaphor, we explore what that means as we learn more about it. For example, when learning about light, we talked about how Jesus says He is Light...what does that mean? How does knowing more about light help us know more about Jesus? (We even got into the duality of light as particles and waves, and how Jesus is fully man and fully God!). – Zoe F.
   
• Physics is full of possibilities: relativity that points back to a singularity, the first and second law of thermodynamics, the golden ratio, the fine-tuning of the universe—all of these and more demand an explanation beyond random chance. The beauty of math and physics is stunning. The predictable order of chemistry and the periodic table are also amazing, as are the Christians who have worked in both the fields of physics and chemistry. Faith and science are not in conflict—it's important for students to see that. – Scott F.
   
• I see the study of science and the world around us as such an opportune window to see God's handiwork. I always tell and encourage my students to look beyond, to see deeper, and to find God's hand in all that we learn. For instance, we get to do this by doing bi-weekly journal reflections. Just like scientists keep a regular journal of their findings and observations, I lead my students to do the same, and to also consider what God's Word says about certain lessons we have. Paired with this, I love throwing out questions for my scientists to chew on. Questions are integral in our science classroom, and I've found this to be a great jump-off point for us to consider biblical truths in what we learn. – Gabrielle F.