Dr. Sibel Erduran: Where Science and Religion Meet in Learning

If you’ve been a long-time listener to the Stories of Impact podcast, you’ll expect by now to be surprised by the kinds of studies Templeton World Charity Foundation invests in. TWCF-funded projects are not only ground-breaking — they’re often “rule-breaking,” asking challenging questions often left untouched by other funders. Today’s story is about one of those cutting-edge scientific studies, one that explores the possibility of a paradigm shift in how educators not only educate students, but each other. The study we hear about in this episode is the kind of research project that Sir John Templeton himself would have enthusiastically embraced, one that sits at the intersection of science and religion, and is designed to tap into curiosity and passion for interdisciplinary and lifelong learning.

Meet Dr. Sibel Erduran, a professor of Science Education at the University of Oxford, and the leader of a research project guided by the TWCF mission to explore Big Questions in the Classroom. Her research brings together science educators and religious educators who learn with and from each other. It’s a project that aims to break down divides between the space of scientific and religious study, in order to discover what happens when the silos disappear. Dr. Erduran’s study explores how argumentation can help students bridge disciplinary divides to achieve deep understanding.

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• Supported by Templeton World Charity Foundation