Examining Science Teacher Reflections on Argument-Based Inquiry Through a Critical Discourse Lens
- PDF / 570,774 Bytes
- 22 Pages / 439.37 x 666.142 pts Page_size
- 56 Downloads / 255 Views
Examining Science Teacher Reflections on Argument-Based Inquiry Through a Critical Discourse Lens Nathan Anderson Quarderer 1 & Mark A. McDermott 1 # Springer Nature B.V. 2018
Abstract Developing the future scientists of tomorrow requires that the science teachers of today be well versed in the languages and practices of science. This may require in-service teachers to shift the way they think about learning and the role they play in their classrooms. One approach to helping teachers gain a sense of comfort with current science practices, including the process of argumentation, known as Argument-based Strategies for STEM Infused Science Teaching (ASSIST), has recently been designed as a means of providing professional development opportunities for K-12 science teachers. As part of the ASSIST program, participating teachers provided written feedback in the form of self-reflections that focus on the challenges they have faced when attempting to implement the ASSIST approach with their students. These self-reflections were examined using the tools of critical discourse analysis (CDA) to uncover themes in the language used by participants as they express difficulties in implementing a new approach to science teaching. Our analysis reveals struggles for power at the instructional, institutional, and interpersonal levels that can stand in the way of progressive approaches to teaching and learning. Fundamental to the power struggles reported on in this research are competing educational ideologies that can be discovered and explored using CDA. Implications for the planning and design of science teacher professional development programs will be discussed. Keywords Argument-based inquiry . Argumentation . Professional development . Science writing heuristic . Critical discourse analysis
* Nathan Anderson Quarderer [email protected] Mark A. McDermott [email protected]
1
University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
Research in Science Education
Introduction Today, we face issues on a global scale that include combating the effects of a changing climate, feeding a rapidly growing population, and access to an ever-shrinking supply of natural resources. Solving these problems will require international cooperation, advancements in engineering and technology, and decision-makers who possess a working knowledge of the scientific process. There is a real need for a scientifically literate populace capable of critical thought (Wieman 2007). To help develop scientific literacy, one needs to gain fluency in the languages of science including both the formal methods of organizing and communicating scientific information, as well as the different behaviors or habits that a scientist might practice (Norris and Phillips 2003). A major component of shaping the scientifically literate thinkers of tomorrow is making sure the science teachers of today are empowered with the tools they need to both participate in, and facilitate the discourses of science in their classrooms. In the USA, newly adopted national science standar
Data Loading...
