Exploring Social Dynamics in School Science Context

Bugrahan Yalvac,Wenda K. Bauchspies,Mehmet C. Ayar

doi:10.1177/2158244014550619

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the socio-cultural practices and interactions of learning science in a science classroom within the concept of communities of practice. Our qualitative data were collected through observing, taking field notes, and conducting interviews in a public science classroom during an entire school year. The study occurred in a seventh-grade classroom with a veteran physical science teacher, with more than 10 years teaching experience, and 22 students. For this article, we presented two classroom vignettes that reflect a sample of the participation, practice, and community that was observed in the science classroom on a daily basis. The first vignette illustrated a typical formula of Initiation–Response–Feedback (I-R-F) that transfers knowledge to students through a teacher-led discussion with the entire class. The second vignette described a laboratory activity designed to allow students to apply or discover knowledge through practical experience, while taking responsibility for their learning through small-group work. The normative practices and routine behaviors of the science classroom are highlighted through the description of material resources, and different modes of participation accompanied by assigned roles and responsibilities. What we observed was that laboratory activities reproduced the epistemic authority of the I-R-F rather than creating collective cognitive responsibility where students have the independence to explore and create authentic science experiences.

Highlights

We begin with the contextual practices that communities perform to define the types of learning and knowing to study the practices that engage individuals with the social world to develop, share, and maintain knowledge evolve over time (Collins, 2006; Enyedy & Goldberg, 2004)
Our premise is that the practices of science and the practices of the science classroom are divergent with dissimilar social contexts
This study has illustrated the normative practices and power relations occurring in two teaching formats for science: Initiation–Response– Evaluation (I-R-E) or I-R-F instructional sequences and small-group laboratory activities share an epistemic authority that limits the participatory potential of both activities

Summary

Introduction

We begin with the contextual practices that communities perform to define the types of learning and knowing to study the practices that engage individuals with the social world to develop, share, and maintain knowledge evolve over time (Collins, 2006; Enyedy & Goldberg, 2004). We recognize that there are classroom science practices unrelated to practices of scientists in research laboratories (Chinn & Malhotra, 2002; Hofstein & Lunetta, 2004), such as curriculum objectives, standards, and standardized testing. These practices may discourage students to learn from authentic tasks relevant to real-world problems (Höngström, Ottander, & Benckert, 2010) and do not reflect the social nature of practice that encompasses commitment, uncertainty, peer review, and so on (Bricker & Bell, 2008). To understand these science classroom practices, we asked the following research questions to explore the socio-cultural practices and interactions of learning science in a science classroom to identify the normative school science practices, interactional patterns, and power relations: Research Question 1: What are the students’ science practices?

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion