“They Were Teaching Me!”: Reimagining Collaborative Inquiry with Elementary Students in Science Teacher Education

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study explored how preservice teachers engaged in collaborative inquiry with elementary students to facilitate social justice and equity in science education. By inviting elementary students as key stakeholders into collaborative inquiry, we examined how preservice teachers uncovered critical problems of science education in underserved communities and how they (re)imagined science learning environments. We also investigated how collaborative inquiry with students shaped the preservice teachers’ identities as science educators. Guided by the critical ethnography and data analysis spiral, we analyzed qualitative data related to 34 preservice teachers from a US teacher preparation program embedded in clinical residencies on elementary school sites. Our findings showed that preservice teachers (1) leveraged collaborative inquiry to illuminate barriers and affordances to science learning, (2) became co-agents of change alongside elementary students, and (3) positioned themselves as science educators. We discussed the role of collaborative inquiry as a transformational pedagogical tool in teacher preparation programs.