using science education to expand the agency of urban youth kenneth tobin the graduate center of...
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Using Science Education to Expand the Agency of Urban
Youth
Using Science Education to Expand the Agency of Urban
Youth
Kenneth TobinThe Graduate Center of
CUNY
Kenneth TobinThe Graduate Center of
CUNY
Why science education?Why science education?
Power discourse--gateway to social advancement
Meet graduation requirements Doorway to further learning and careers
Aesthetic reasons Useful to meet and change goals in out of school fields
Power discourse--gateway to social advancement
Meet graduation requirements Doorway to further learning and careers
Aesthetic reasons Useful to meet and change goals in out of school fields
About science…About science…
Form of culture that seeks to explain/understand, and in some cases control, the experienced events and phenomena of the universe (of the natural world)
System of practices and associated schema (always both)
Enacted by participants in a variety of fields including classrooms and test/examination sites
Form of culture that seeks to explain/understand, and in some cases control, the experienced events and phenomena of the universe (of the natural world)
System of practices and associated schema (always both)
Enacted by participants in a variety of fields including classrooms and test/examination sites
Thoughts on science achievement
Thoughts on science achievement
Enacting science (as culture) within fields.
Ways of participating reflect position in a field Legitimate peripheral Central Dynamic
Conscious | Unconscious
Enacting science (as culture) within fields.
Ways of participating reflect position in a field Legitimate peripheral Central Dynamic
Conscious | Unconscious
The fields of school science
The fields of school science
Subject matter (e.g. chemistry)
Whole class interactive
Small group discussions
Individualized At the chalkboard
The back row
Subject matter (e.g. chemistry)
Whole class interactive
Small group discussions
Individualized At the chalkboard
The back row
Labs Demonstrations Field trips Internet and computers
Homework
Labs Demonstrations Field trips Internet and computers
Homework
Key points about fields
Key points about fields
Structured with resources Material (e.g., space, physical environment, equipment, supplies, aids, practices of participants)
Schematic (e.g., conventions, rules, ideologies, hegemonies, concepts, values, feelings, status and other identity markers)
Social (e.g., networks, tools such as language aptitude)
Support characteristic forms of culture
Have porous boundaries
Structured with resources Material (e.g., space, physical environment, equipment, supplies, aids, practices of participants)
Schematic (e.g., conventions, rules, ideologies, hegemonies, concepts, values, feelings, status and other identity markers)
Social (e.g., networks, tools such as language aptitude)
Support characteristic forms of culture
Have porous boundaries
Boundary crossingBoundary crossing
Peripheral versus Central
Peripheral versus Central
Intermingled with culture from other fields
Misses opportunities to participate
Reliant on scaffolds from others
Error prone Limited self correcting
Mainly conscious actions
Intermingled with culture from other fields
Misses opportunities to participate
Reliant on scaffolds from others
Error prone Limited self correcting
Mainly conscious actions
Appropriate Just in time Anticipatory Fluent Autonomous Self-correcting Responsive Increasingly unconscious
Appropriate Just in time Anticipatory Fluent Autonomous Self-correcting Responsive Increasingly unconscious
Urban ScienceUrban Science
Teachers and students differ in culture, social class, age, and often gender
Achievement measures require science to be done “on demand” including paper and pencil tests, computers, and lab tasks.
Well-advertised achievement gaps between urban and suburban schools
Strident differences in resources (teachers, equipment, buildings) to support urban science education
Teachers and students differ in culture, social class, age, and often gender
Achievement measures require science to be done “on demand” including paper and pencil tests, computers, and lab tasks.
Well-advertised achievement gaps between urban and suburban schools
Strident differences in resources (teachers, equipment, buildings) to support urban science education
Learning as cultural production
Learning as cultural production
Reproduction | Transformation Enactment utilizes practices and schema from other fields
Is enactment legitimate peripheral or is it outside the border (non-canonical)?
Which parts of culture, from each side of the border, are foundational for producing science?
Reproduction | Transformation Enactment utilizes practices and schema from other fields
Is enactment legitimate peripheral or is it outside the border (non-canonical)?
Which parts of culture, from each side of the border, are foundational for producing science?
Learning as expanded agency
Learning as expanded agency
Agency | Structure Agency is the power to act; to appropriate the structures of a field
Appropriation implies intentions/goals plus capital to access and use resources for individual | collective interests
Capital spiral (cutural<->social<->symbolic)
Successful interactions chains produce webs of entrainment -- interactions are anticipated and appropriated by others
Agency | Structure Agency is the power to act; to appropriate the structures of a field
Appropriation implies intentions/goals plus capital to access and use resources for individual | collective interests
Capital spiral (cutural<->social<->symbolic)
Successful interactions chains produce webs of entrainment -- interactions are anticipated and appropriated by others
Teaching for successTeaching for success
Identify and support the enactment of foundational culture (from in and outside of the school)
Minimize disruptions (breaching/shut downs)
Minimize the incidence and duration of unsuccessful interactions
Maximize the incidence and duration of successful interactions
Identify and support the enactment of foundational culture (from in and outside of the school)
Minimize disruptions (breaching/shut downs)
Minimize the incidence and duration of unsuccessful interactions
Maximize the incidence and duration of successful interactions
Emotional climateEmotional climate
Minimize anger frustration boredom disappointment annoyance irritation dissatisfaction controlled failure “dissed, missed, pissed”
Minimize anger frustration boredom disappointment annoyance irritation dissatisfaction controlled failure “dissed, missed, pissed”
Maximize enjoyment, happiness interest satisfaction freedom independence successful challenged respected valued
Maximize enjoyment, happiness interest satisfaction freedom independence successful challenged respected valued
Challenges to culturally adaptive
teaching
Challenges to culturally adaptive
teaching Erase deficit perspectives in an EITHER-OR sense (deficit | capital)
Recognize and encourage foundational culture
Identify teaching culture that shuts down student production
Produce teaching culture that affords student enactment and success
Increase incidence of coteaching Increase evaluation by self, peer, and teacher
Successfully interact across borders
Erase deficit perspectives in an EITHER-OR sense (deficit | capital)
Recognize and encourage foundational culture
Identify teaching culture that shuts down student production
Produce teaching culture that affords student enactment and success
Increase incidence of coteaching Increase evaluation by self, peer, and teacher
Successfully interact across borders
Challenges to culturally adaptive
learning
Challenges to culturally adaptive
learning Earn and maintain respect of peers Read and successfully interact with the culture of the teacher (i.e., learn to interact successfully across borders)
Produce new identities through participation in science
Appropriate structures to enact science
Earn and maintain respect of peers Read and successfully interact with the culture of the teacher (i.e., learn to interact successfully across borders)
Produce new identities through participation in science
Appropriate structures to enact science
Toward a science community
Toward a science community
Mutual focus Synchrony Anticipation leads to fluent enactment Chains of successful interactions occur
Increase in positive emotional energy Solidarity emerges
Peer teaching Respect Got your back Individual | Collective All for one and one for all
Mutual focus Synchrony Anticipation leads to fluent enactment Chains of successful interactions occur
Increase in positive emotional energy Solidarity emerges
Peer teaching Respect Got your back Individual | Collective All for one and one for all
Monitoring the Emotional Climate of Urban Science
Classrooms
Monitoring the Emotional Climate of Urban Science
Classrooms
Kenneth TobinThe Graduate Center of
Kenneth TobinThe Graduate Center of
General orientation to participant researchGeneral orientation to participant research
Search for patterns and contradictions in relation to: the buzz and emotional climate of the classroom over space and time
Interactions with others and materials Verbal Non verbal
Obtain and learn from multiple perspectives of participants (honor diverse perspectives)
Search for patterns and contradictions in relation to: the buzz and emotional climate of the classroom over space and time
Interactions with others and materials Verbal Non verbal
Obtain and learn from multiple perspectives of participants (honor diverse perspectives)
The background noiseThe background noise
Is there a working buzz? Is there evidence of:
Negative emotions? Positive emotions? Efforts to disrupt? Efforts to support? Efforts to disrespect? Efforts to show respect?
Is there evidence of positive, negative or neutral emotional energy?
Is there a working buzz? Is there evidence of:
Negative emotions? Positive emotions? Efforts to disrupt? Efforts to support? Efforts to disrespect? Efforts to show respect?
Is there evidence of positive, negative or neutral emotional energy?
Interactions with materials
Interactions with materials
Are participants interacting with materials to meet their goals?
Do successful interactions with materials afford other interactions to occur and succeed?
What emotions are associated with interactions with materials?
To what extent are the interactions with materials “as intended,” anticipated by others, and affording of interaction chains occurring?
Are participants interacting with materials to meet their goals?
Do successful interactions with materials afford other interactions to occur and succeed?
What emotions are associated with interactions with materials?
To what extent are the interactions with materials “as intended,” anticipated by others, and affording of interaction chains occurring?
Interactions among participants
Interactions among participants
In what ways are oral contributions picked up by others?
Is there evidence of attentive listening?
To what extent are utterances fluent? Are utterances anticipated by others? To what extent do utterances show evidence of verve?
In what ways are oral contributions picked up by others?
Is there evidence of attentive listening?
To what extent are utterances fluent? Are utterances anticipated by others? To what extent do utterances show evidence of verve?
Non verbal interactionsNon verbal
interactions Body orientation and movement Eye gaze and contact Head movements and orientation Smiles, frowns and facial expressions
Gestures Pointing with fingers, hands and the body (e.g., head)
Are movements high or low energy?
Body orientation and movement Eye gaze and contact Head movements and orientation Smiles, frowns and facial expressions
Gestures Pointing with fingers, hands and the body (e.g., head)
Are movements high or low energy?
Teaching and Learning Science Across Social and
Cultural Boundaries
Teaching and Learning Science Across Social and
Cultural Boundaries
Kenneth TobinThe Graduate Center of
Kenneth TobinThe Graduate Center of
Setting Up Cogenerative Dialogues
Setting Up Cogenerative Dialogues Dialogues among participants about shared experiences
Size of group can vary but it is best to start with small groups containing 1-2 students
Select student participants based on differences
Invite other participants based on their participation
Dialogues among participants about shared experiences
Size of group can vary but it is best to start with small groups containing 1-2 students
Select student participants based on differences
Invite other participants based on their participation
Goals of Cogenerative Dialogues
Goals of Cogenerative Dialogues
Improve the quality of learning Improve the quality of teaching Identify and resolve contradictions
Arrive at consensus on changes needed in roles, rules, and classroom structures
Collective responsibility for enacting changes
Improve the quality of learning Improve the quality of teaching Identify and resolve contradictions
Arrive at consensus on changes needed in roles, rules, and classroom structures
Collective responsibility for enacting changes
Rules for Cogenerative Dialogues
Rules for Cogenerative Dialogues
Listen attentively Try to understand others’ contributions Show respect for all participants (always)
Address previous contributions Maintain focus Restrict time of utterances Do not interrupt or be a turn shark Strive for consensus
Listen attentively Try to understand others’ contributions Show respect for all participants (always)
Address previous contributions Maintain focus Restrict time of utterances Do not interrupt or be a turn shark Strive for consensus
Outcomes of Cogenerative Dialogues
Outcomes of Cogenerative Dialogues Learn to interact successfully across boundaries defined by race, ethnicity, class, age and gender
Identity changes Synchrony Solidarity Mutual focus
Learn to interact successfully across boundaries defined by race, ethnicity, class, age and gender
Identity changes Synchrony Solidarity Mutual focus
Resources to support cogenerative dialoguesResources to support
cogenerative dialogues Video tapes of classes, digital photos, artifacts, qualitative and quantitative data
Invited peripheral participants such as school administrators, university teacher educators, former students, and parents
Regular occurrence (1-2 times a week) Group size can vary along a continuum from one on one to whole class
Video tapes of classes, digital photos, artifacts, qualitative and quantitative data
Invited peripheral participants such as school administrators, university teacher educators, former students, and parents
Regular occurrence (1-2 times a week) Group size can vary along a continuum from one on one to whole class
Coteaching to improve the
learning of urban science
Coteaching to improve the
learning of urban science
Kenneth TobinThe Graduate Center of
Kenneth TobinThe Graduate Center of
Coteaching scenariosCoteaching scenarios
Resident teacher with one or more new teachers
Resident teachers from the same school or department
Advisory teachers, administrators, teacher educators and researchers with resident teachers
Many coteachers with many students Students adopting coteaching roles
Resident teacher with one or more new teachers
Resident teachers from the same school or department
Advisory teachers, administrators, teacher educators and researchers with resident teachers
Many coteachers with many students Students adopting coteaching roles
Structuring coteachingStructuring coteaching
Negotiate central and peripheral roles
Stepping forward and stepping back Tutoring Huddles Cogenerative dialogues within an ongoing class
Focus on the learning of students
Negotiate central and peripheral roles
Stepping forward and stepping back Tutoring Huddles Cogenerative dialogues within an ongoing class
Focus on the learning of students
Outcomes of coteachingOutcomes of coteaching
Becoming like the other Responsive to forms of diversity Students experience much more teaching and are highly involved
Can learn from others by being with them while enacting culture and also by stepping back to observe from the side (tracking another)
Becoming like the other Responsive to forms of diversity Students experience much more teaching and are highly involved
Can learn from others by being with them while enacting culture and also by stepping back to observe from the side (tracking another)
Policy IssuesPolicy Issues
New teachers learning to teach Induction for newly hired teachers (experienced and inexperienced)
Learning subject matter Teaching out of field Teacher assessment and evaluation Expanding roles of students, parents and the community
New teachers learning to teach Induction for newly hired teachers (experienced and inexperienced)
Learning subject matter Teaching out of field Teacher assessment and evaluation Expanding roles of students, parents and the community