Angela Calabrese Barton, PhD Michigan State University July
2010 Support from the National Science Foundation (HRD 0429109, D
RL # 0737642 ) National Institutes of Health (NCRR (SEPA) R25
RR020412)) Teaching science for all in low- income urban
communities
Slide 2
Overview The challenges of teaching science for all in
low-income urban communities A pedagogical practice that matters:
Noticing and leveraging students repertoires of practice for
meaningful science engagement Discussion
Slide 3
Framing the Challenge In the US, low-income urban youth are Not
performing as well in science (GCCS, 2009) Less interest &
motivation to pursue science (Gilmartin et al., 2006) Less likely
to know a professional scientist or engineer (Aschbacher, 2008)
Less likely to think they are good at or could be a scientist or
engineer (Aschbacher, 2008) Not moving into science &
technology trajectories (NSF, 2008)
Slide 4
Looking at the other side 6 th grade girls: From marginal to
central participants Melanie Janis
Slide 5
Janis story: Bringing art to science Beginning of 5th grade
Wants to be a singer Has never heard of or met an engineer Loves
English & Music, hates Math & Science Science is for geeks
Good student, but disengaged We do the same routine [in science
class], every year, over and over and I cant take that because its
boring.
Slide 6
Janis changing participation 6 th grade Joins afterschool club
on green energy Develops technology skills that help her blend art
& science Uses art to investigate green energy & to educate
others Creates a digital short that is shown on television Creates
a science documentary that contributes to getting a new green roof
Presents her work to the Mayor and at City Hall Helps get the club
a new green roof
Slide 7
Janis Rap 3 rd place Statewide competition, age 13-19 Verse 1
Just sit down and take a seat Open your ears and listen to me I
gotta tell something that you wont like Somethin you didnt know
bout your lights Incandescent light bulbs help global warming A
solution to pollution in this bulb is forming Fluorescent light
bulbs they do last longer Fluorescent bulbs are brighter and are
stronger So give CFLs a try . And wave those ugly bulbs goodbye
Take aim at climate change Cut down your bills, it aint so strange
Chorus: Do as I do Take and unscrew Throw out the old And put in
the new One simple thing you all can do Is change to CFLs, &
dont be a fool Im a make a difference expert
Slide 8
We know what we are doing. We know how to make a difference.
[We know] how to save energy and how to convince other people of
better ways to do things with electricity. The roof is probably the
best example because we actually helped the club save money. They
spent a lot of money getting the roof but now they have probably
already saved enough to get that roof again. In the long run it
saved money. It would kinda be hypocritical if you cant influence
your own. 7 th grade: I want to be an engineer
Slide 9
Melanie, at the beginning of 6 th grade Shy in class, but silly
and fun out of class Passing girl 23% first quarter and proud of it
-Look! I got a 23 out of a 100! Example: Save the Animals Poster
Hides behind paper Leaves most of the reporting to her partner
Plays the role of the giraffe We drew the giraffes saying Im
hungry! Help us! Help my family! We need trees to eat the leaves!
and the little one, the baby says Help me! And my Mommy! Im
starving!
Slide 10
Animal Project on Gorillas Presented report by impersonating
scientist Jane Goodall Met requirements by reporting on habitat,
food and life-cycle of the animal Enlisted help of Pat and Chantell
to act as gorillas while she taught them sign language Her teacher
used her report as an example of how to go above and beyond There
are many ways to make science interesting. I like how Melanie told
us a story rather than just gave us the facts. Received 100% on her
report and the presentation.
Slide 11
Melanies Changing Experience in Science Transition in
participation Project participation through impersonation and
telling stories 100/100 on both projects Began to participate
through more and different forms of talk Telling stories Answering
science questions Volunteering ideas Tan, E. & Calabrese Barton
A. (2008). From peripheral to central, the story of Melanies
metamorphosis in an urban middle school science class. Science
Education 92(4), 567-590. Teacher:Melanies got the last word.
Melanie:Okay When you go to the D.R, you are one color
Teacher:Listen to her please! *The class was starting to chat*
Melanie:When you go to the D.R. from the United States, you are one
color, but when you come back from the D.R, you are another color,
a darker color like Kate
Slide 12
Slide 13
What can we learn from these cases? Janis and Melanie entered 6
th grade not liking science & not viewed as a smart science
student Over multiple years they moved from peripheral to central
participant: ACHIEVEMENT: Excelled on science projects and exams
RECOGNITION: Viewed by others as an expert INTEREST: Expressed
confidence, capability, and interest in science Im a make a
difference expert!
Slide 14
Why did Janis and Melanie become more engaged and more
successful in science?
Slide 15
A pedagogical practice that matters Each had a teacher who
noticed and leveraged their cultural knowledge & experience to
scaffold participation and learning in science Mr. M (Melanies
teacher): The students that I teach have value. If I give them an
opportunity and a safe environment, theyll rise to the challenge.
It is them feeling comfortable and not being intimidated and
frightened. I think it goes back to them sensing that what youre
trying to do for them is valuable, where its not abstract and
unusableYou dont know why they are in this high poverty, urban
environment, but it doesnt mean that they arent as intelligent and
motivated.
Slide 16
Ways to think about cultural knowledge and experience Patterned
ways of engaging in activities Made up of the tools, resources and
discourses that individuals acquire over time and in the different
communities in which they participate Reflected in identity
work
Slide 17
Melanie: A storyteller Patterned way of engaging in activity:
Engaging others through story/narrative Being a storyteller allowed
Melanie to: Play with identities of animals & scientists to try
out scientific ideas learning to talk scientifically Share personal
experiences that expanded content-based conversations learning to
make connections and deepen content explorations Create a space for
a voice in ways that reduced risk changing expectations & modes
of participation
Slide 18
Janis: An artist Making raps (songs) on topics of investigation
Initially a hook into science Creating digital shorts on issues
that matter A form of talk for engaging others Using art to
transform the science investigation A medium of exploration
Patterned way of engaging in activity: Seeing the world through
music & art
Slide 19
Leveraging for change Cultural knowledge and experience can be
powerful pedagogical resources for meaningful science learning
changing participation identity development
Slide 20
Studies based upon three large data sets Urban Girls Science
Practices Project (2004-2008; NSF) Choice Control & Change
Project (2004-2009, NIH) Green Energy Technologies in the City
(2007-2011, NSF) Investigations of teacher practice during science
units on dynamic equilibrium and the human body & body systems
and green energy How might teachers recognize and leverage students
repertoires of practice?
Slide 21
Research Questions Across the three studies How are youths
cultural knowledge & experience noticed and leveraged by
teachers in the classroom towards meaningful engagement in science?
How do teachers create opportunities for cultural knowledge and
experience to emerge authentically? In what ways does leveraging
and noticing youths cultural knowledge and experience support
students in developing: Deeper science understandings Science
identities Empowering forms of participation?
Slide 22
Conceptual Grounding: Sociocultural Studies of Learning
Learning is an embodied activity made evident through changes in
participation and identity trajectories (Lave & Wenger, 1991;
Rogoff, 2003) Learning is shaped by the power dynamics that play
out in communities of practice (Moje et al, 2001; Gutierrez, 2008)
Learning is both horizontal and vertical (Gutierrez, 2008) Vertical
and Horizontal dimensions exist dialectically allowing learning to
be transformative Self-transformative (as individuals learn new
knowledge, & Discourses, they take up new identities)
Socially-transformative (knowledge& practice are co-opted and
informed by the knowledge & practice/ individuals bring from
other worlds
Slide 23
Methodology Design Experiments (7 teachers) o Reflective study
groups with teachers/students to reflect upon and analyze how
pedagogical approaches support student learning o Collaborative
adaptation of curriculum o Study of enactment (observation,
interview, reflections, and pre/post tests) Classroom ethnographies
oParticipant observation in and out of school oTest scores, report
card grades, class assignments oInterviews, focus group
conversations, think alouds oCo-planning, multiple standpoint
analysis
Slide 24
Emergent Patterns in Practice Teachers recognize and
incorporate mediating artifacts as central to their teaching in
order to elicit students cultural knowledge & experiences.
Effective use of mediating artifacts allows boundaries between
scientific and students cultural knowledge and practice to become
transparent (accessible) and negotiable (disrupted and transformed)
Mediating artifacts have multiple functions: Supporting students in
grappling with scientific ideas in ways that legitimize and account
for their cultural positionings
Slide 25
What are mediating artifacts? Blur or merge boundaries between
science & everyday Porous boundaries to allow movement between
worlds Can be scientific OR everyday tools, objects, practices and
representations Tangible anchors of students personal connections
throughout science inquiry Science Scientific norms & routines
Discourses Patterned ways of knowing and doing Science Scientific
norms & routines Discourses Patterned ways of knowing and doing
Youth worlds: cultural knowledge & experience Cultural norms
and routines Discourses Patterned ways of knowing and doing Youth
worlds: cultural knowledge & experience Cultural norms and
routines Discourses Patterned ways of knowing and doing Tangible
symbols of a negotiation between the knowledge and practice of
school science & the learner
Slide 26
3 short cases Mr. M: Learning about body systems through the
bone song Mrs. T: Navigating the complex food system through real
food and a survey Mrs. H: Negotiating practical and reasonable
goals with the help of a bar graph
Slide 27
Case 1: Mr M Teachers recognize and incorporate mediating
artifacts as central to their teaching in order to elicit students
cultural knowledge and practices.
Slide 28
Mr. Moreno Context Mr. M is a white teacher in his late 20s,
with 6 years of experience and Science Department Chair, although
not certified in science (elementary general certificate) School
demographics:65% African American and 35% Latino/a Located in the
poorest congressional district in the city (a large east coast
city) 100% of the students are on the schools free lunch program
School is surrounded by convenience stores, fast food restaurants
and apartment buildings Most students walk to and from school
Slide 29
Ginnys Bone Song End of series of lessons on skeletal system:
Test Prep. Students to prepare teacher endorsed method of flash
cards In addition to flash cards, Ginny wrote a bone song, using
the tune of a popular song (Mambo #5) Taught bone song to a few
peers who encouraged her to sing it to Mr. M.
Slide 30
Ginnys bone song A little bit of cranium on my head A little
bit of mandible on my jaw A little bit of scapula on my back A
little bit of humerus on this bone A little bit of radius on the
back A little bit of ulna on the front A little bit of carpals just
like that A little bit of meta carpals on my hand A little bit of
phalanges on the end A little bit of tibia on the front A little
bit of fibia on the back A little bit of torso just like that A
little bit of metatarsals on my foot A little bit of phalanges on
the end Just wave your phalanges, yeah yeah yeah Just wave your
phalanges, yeah.
Slide 31
How did this experience matter to Ginny? Deeper Content
Understanding Successful in test, 95/100 Re-phrasing definitions to
fit song phrases Teaching lyrics to friends akin to additional
revision Identity Successfully merged her social, pop culture
identity with her science student identity with this product
Increased participation/Agency Creative talent publicly
acknowledged as important learning resource Taught lyrics to
friends, science class, 6th grade
Slide 32
Teacher Typed up the song, distributed it to all 5 sections,
and hung a copy in the hallway. Designed a follow on lesson to the
song which used the song and dance movement to focus on structure
and function of the skeletal system: support, structure, mobility
and protection Used bone song in 3 important ways as an example of
how students can be creative in science class as an opportunity to
expand the curriculum as a pedagogical tool to teach skeletal
system following year Peers Liked bone song immensely, used it as a
learning tool, also scored well on test Could remember lyrics of
bone song three months after the test How did the Bone Song impact
the learning community?
Slide 33
Case 2: Mrs T Claim: Effective use of mediating artifacts
allows boundaries between scientific and students cultural
knowledge and practice to become transparent (accessible) and
negotiable (disrupted and transformed)
Slide 34
Mrs. Tiller Context Mrs. Tiller is an African American teacher
in her 50s and teaches 6 th grade science out of field. School
demographics: 64% students categorized as African American, 21%
White, 8% Hispanic. Located in a city in Midwestern state that is
one of the most economically depressed in the state. Surrounding
school is a neighborhood with convenience stores & fast food
restaurants about a block away. Many students walk to and from
school, while others take the school bus.
Slide 35
Lesson Overview Lesson 2 in a unit on the complex system of
influences on food and activity choices Learning Goals for lesson:
To investigate how taste influences food choices To understand
humans innate biological preference for sweet and fatty foods; To
describe the relationship between biology and food preferences.
Lesson Overview French Fry visualization & discussion Tasting
experiment with partners: Taste, record, discuss and build initial
theories about human taste preferences Reading for LiFE on biology
of taste
Slide 36
French Fry Visualization You are walking down the street and
smell French fries cooking at a fast food restaurant. They smell
hot and delicious. You and your friends are hungry so you decide to
go in and order some food. The French fries smelled so good you
decide to order some with your meal. When you get the Fries, they
are exactly what you wanted. They taste even better than they
smelled! Each one is crispy and satisfying. You eat all your fries.
Mrs: T.: I know what Im going to do for this lesson. Im going to
get some potatoes and cook up in my classroom some home-made French
fries. Just imagine how the smell of those fries will linger in the
hallway as they walk to my classroom. Im even going to let them eat
the fries. Savor their taste. Enjoy them. They are going to have to
answer those questions honestly with the fries right there in front
of them! (Fieldnotes, PD session)
Slide 37
Mrs. Tillers classroom Mrs. Tiller cooked the French friesand
her students entered her class curious, excited, and hungry. OK,
who wants fries? Hot, crispy fries? Hmmm. Dont they smell good? Sit
down and raise your hand if you want fries! As she passed out the
fries, she re-created the initial visualization scenario Mrs. T.
then enticed the class, The smell is just making my mouth water.
How about you? and then asked them to record their observations and
to provide a score on the following three questions, on a scale of
1-5 (never to always): The smell of foods like French fries make me
want to buy and eat them. I order French fries after smelling them
in fast food restaurants French fries and other fried foods taste
really good to me. Mmmmm Now thats science!
Slide 38
Never -------------------------------- Always 12345 Q1 (want to
buy fries?) 122612 Q2 (buying fries) 120317 Q3 (taste)120020 Mrs.
T. tallied the student responses. She began asking questions to
encourage her students to talk about the patterns they might
detect: -Who liked the fries? -Did you want to buy the fries? The
students keyed in to what they liked about French fries -I liked
em. They were good. -Hot and crispy. I would buy them everyday!
-The smell just makes my mouth water. How can they be bad for you?
Created bar graphs from the chart to represent the data
differently
Slide 39
Mrs. T: Look at my beautiful graphs. Its nice isnt it? What do
you notice? [pause] Look! Look at how big or little the bars are!
Marla:Well, just about all of us picked 4 or 5 for all of the
questions? Mrs. T: Thats right! Our bodies are naturally inclined
to want fast food and we are hardwired to want to eat fries! We
want that fatty food! Shawn: Why say fast food is bad if we are
supposed to like it? Mrs. T: Great question! Write that down under
your observations. Jillian? Jillian: Why did Casey vote that French
fries dont ever taste good, if [the human body] is suppose to want
fatty food? Casey:Hey, my body doesnt have to like it. Jillian:Yah,
but thats not what [the reading] says. Mrs. T: Ok, Ok. Someone
else? Jasmyn:I was just wondering why more people would buy fries
than wanted to buy them. Mrs. T: What do you mean? Jasmyn: 12
people wanted to [buy them], but 17 did. Alex: They were gonna buy
them anyway. I dont need smells to tell me what to do. Mrs. T: But
what do you think our experiment shows... I mean do you think all
19 of you would buy the fries with out smelling them first? Alex:
That they was making money off their smells! Mrs. T:Alex, enough.
Marla? Marla:Smell helps us to taste better? Mrs. T: Raise your
hand if smell helps you to taste better
Slide 40
French Fries honest answers & savor the taste animated
atmosphere full of student stories French fries survey data
representations: Making Boundaries Transparent Survey results
(Chart): Elicited stories about experiences with fries Data
Representation (Graph): Movement between cultural practices and
reasoning with evidence French Fry Survey Biological taste
preferences and their intersections with the complex food
environment required understandings of students cultural practices
what students cared about and did on a day by day basis, such as
eating fries. Complex conversation: Negotiating new boundaries what
is healthy eating? Taste + food preferences + complex environment
Tensions: Mrs Ts movement between -Student stories scientific
thinking -Final form science knowledge in the making
Slide 41
Case 3: Mrs H Claim: Mediating artifacts have multiple
functions: Supporting students in grappling with scientific ideas
in ways that legitimize and account for their cultural
positionings
Slide 42
Mrs. Hanson Context Mrs. Hanson is a white teacher in her 40s
who teaches 6 th grade science. School demographics: 44% students
categorized as African American, 31% White, 21% Hispanic, 5%
Asian/Native American Located in a city in Midwestern state that
has experienced major economic decline (unemployment ~16%)
Immediately surrounding the school are convenience stores, fast
food restaurants, and local neighborhoods. Many students walk to
and from school, while others take the school bus.
Slide 43
Overview of Lesson: Putting it all into play Learning goa l: To
use scientific evidence to make healthy food and activity choices.
Lesson overview: My Pyramid recommendations 5 key practices
Scientific evidence for practices Graphing personal serving intakes
(24 hour food recall) in five areas Using personal data and
government guidelines to set up healthy goals Last week we were
keeping track of the things that we ate and drank. And we talked
about Calvin, he kept track of what he ate and drank. And when you
did your research project a lot of you were on websites that showed
the food pyramid. Today, were going to kind of put that all into
play. Lesson 12 in unit on dynamic equilibrium in the human
body
Slide 44
Setting up the initial graphing activity: personal narrative
Mrs. Hanson: In the last 24 hours how many times did you eat at a
fast food restaurant? Think about how many times a week you go. all
the way last Wednesday including the weekend, how many times did
you recall going to fast food for breakfast, lunch, dinner or a
snack. You might be like oh yeah, last Saturday we were running
around doing some shopping, we stopped at a fast food place for
lunch. Or yeah, you know, we stopped and picked up a pizza. Maybe
you stopped at McDonalds for breakfast this morning.
Slide 45
Setting up the initial graphing activity: personal narrative As
students start to record their fast food activities, Rita calls
out: Rita: But sometimes my parents dont feel like cookin. Mrs H:
Alright. Sometimes you know, your folks are like, Im not cooking
tonight. Im tired. Ive been working. Were gonna go out and grab
something. Sam: Yah, my mom is tired of cooking and we just go out.
And ya know it saves money if you go to the dollar menu. Mrs H: OK.
These are the reasons you eat fast food. Sam (calling out): Cause
its good, too. Its greasy. Mrs H: Cause its greasy? So you like the
taste of greasy foods. Marcus (calling out): You can make greasy
foods at home! Sam: But not for a dollar! Mrs H: OK. Alright. These
are good reasons to think about. But go back to your charts. Now
use your totals to make a bar graph for each category. This will
let you see how you are doing compared to the [official]
recommendations.
Slide 46
Working with data Mrs. H: Lets talk about how your graph
compared to the recommended amounts. What did you notice about the
first graph, which was fruits and vegetables. When you graphed your
amount, compared to the recommended amount, what did you notice?
Carl: Mine was more than the recommended amount. Mrs. H: OK, who
has something different for that one? Rita Mrs. H: Whatd you find?
Jason: Mine was a lot lower. Mrs. H: Yours was a lot lower. But how
much lower? Jason: Um, mine was 0 instead of 5. Mrs. H: Right, he
doesnt even have a bar! [a few students gasp] Mrs. H: Because he
had no fruits and vegetables over the last 24 hours. Were not
making a judgment, we are just looking at information.
Slide 47
The bar graph is a great visual tool for us to compare what the
recommended amounts are to what we actually do in our daily lives.
This will help us as we are choosing a goal. When you look back at
the three graphs you just did, does anything really jump out at you
and you say, whoa! Im really off here? Im not even close to what
the recommended amount is for something? Does anybody have one of
those graphs?...
Slide 48
Wrapping up Mrs. H: From what you learned about your current
eating from analyzing your 24 hour food intake and what you just
wrote about why healthful eating is important, think about the goal
that you want to choose.... Marcus: Its important to choose
something that is practical-- Mrs. H: --and realistic Marcus: --and
realistic for your life. Mrs. H: Alright. Youre going to choose a
goal right now. And as Marcus just said, the goal needs to be
practical and realistic.
Slide 49
Noticing & leveraging students cultural knowledge and
experiences Bar graph Trying on the norms and practices of science:
Representing data accurately and quantitatively Reasoning with data
Comparing and contrasting with government recommendations Making
reasonable and defensible recommendations for personal goals
Legitimizing student lives as valid sources of data and critique.
Analysis based on personal experience Contrasts with guidelines
viewed as generative Expanded talk about guidelines to include what
is realistic and practical A representation of scientific data
& cultural and familial practices, and place- based constraints
that mediates sense making of scientifically-based guidelines
Slide 50
Noticing and leveraging students cultural knowledge &
experience made possible in part through strategic use of mediating
artifacts. Looking across the teachers Bar graphs: Grounding
healthy eating goals in scientific evidence, personal data, and
cultural practices
Slide 51
Science Youth worlds Tangible symbols of a negotiation between
the knowledge and practice of school science & the learner
Mediating Artifacts: Implications Community OutcomesIndividual
Outcomes
Slide 52
Increased opportunities to develop awareness of and trying on
of scientific norms, practices, identities Hybrid spaces created
that Merge vertical and horizontal learning Link everyday/cultural
knowledge and experience and science Everyday discourses, values
and priorities become visible and pertinent to the classroom
community Tangible anchors of students personal connections
throughout science inquiry. An unfolding of student's personal
connections to the science content through this process
Implications: Community Outcomes Bar graphs: Grounding healthy
eating goals in scientific evidence, personal data, and cultural
practices
Slide 53
Implications: Individual Outcomes Expanding identities
Expanding resources for learning Expanding forms of participation
& agency Amelia as caretaker, Sweet Water girl, and worm poop
expert.
Slide 54
Science Youth worlds Tangible symbols of a negotiation between
the knowledge and practice of school science & the learner
Mediating Artifacts: Implications Community OutcomesIndividual
Outcomes Teacher or student initiatedExpanded opportunities,
resources & practices
Slide 55
Pedagogical Implications Engaging Mediating Artifacts is an
iterative process and builds over time Productive responses lead to
new opportunities to notice Repertoire of legitimate practices and
identities allowable in CoP expanded Value of struggling with
scientific meaning making elevated Bone Song changed Mr. Ms
teaching of the skeletal system, including focusing on more
productive scientific ideas & encouraged a broader range of
student participation French Fry episode: student engagement with
fries (and eating practices) fostered further data reduction and
more complex claims about the food environment
Slide 56
I would also like to thank the students, teachers, and families
whose stories are told here. Questions & Discussion THANK
YOU!
Slide 57
Public middle school, grades 6-8, 700 students 38% African
American, 6% Latino population, 2% Asian, 54% white >70% of the
students are on the schools free lunch program Each class receives
five periods of science each week, each period lasting 55 minutes
Partner teachers have been 2 and 15 years of teaching experience
Using reform-based curricular materials (i.e., PBIS, LiFE)
supplemented by personal teaching materials NASA Explorer School
Typical School: Carlson