Situated Learning And Communities Of Practice In Science and Environmental Education For Hispanic Yo

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Situated Learning And Communities Of Practice In
Science and Environmental Education For Hispanic
YouthThe pilot study and lessons learned

• Olivia Aguilar
• Doctoral Candidate, Cornell University
• Dr. Marianne Krasny, Cornell University

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Purpose

• Expand upon existing theories of learning by
  applying them to EE research
• Understand under representation and lower
  achievement in the sciences among U.S. minority
  students through a learning theory lens.

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Objectives

• To meet these goals, the objectives of the study
  are
• 1) to examine and compare communities of practice
  present in after-school EE programs and science
  classrooms in three predominately Hispanic
  schools in South Texas
• 2) to assess Hispanic student learning as
  identity formation in these communities of
  practice

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Situated learning and communities of practice

• Social context of learning
• Learning as a participant in communities of
  practice
• Moves focus from individual cognition to
  individual in a complex social setting

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Communities of Practice (COP)

• Joint Enterprise negotiated response to the
  conditions and goals of the COP

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Communities of Practice (COP)

• Joint Enterprise negotiated response to the
  conditions and goals of the COP
• Mutual Engagement interaction of people within a
  COP and the roles and relationships that arise
  and give meaning to the COP

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Communities of Practice (COP)

• Joint Enterprise negotiated response to the
  conditions and goals of the COP
• Mutual Engagement interaction of people within a
  COP and the roles and relationships that arise
• Shared Repertoire the signs, symbols, and tools
  that are used as resources in the COP

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Communities of Practice

• Joint Enterprise negotiated response to the
  conditions and goals of the COP
• - What is the purpose/goal/activity/practice of
  the community?
• - Who determines this?
• - How is it expressed?

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Communities of Practice

• Mutual Engagement interaction of people within a
  COP and the roles and relationships that arise
• - How do people participate in the community
  activities/discussion?
• - What types of relationships exist?
• - In what types of roles are teachers and
  students engaged?
• - What does membership look like?

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Communities of Practice

• Shared Repertoire the signs, symbols, and tools
  that are used as resources in the COP
• - What artifacts/symbols, words, and languages
  are used to give meaning to this community?

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Methodology

• In general, case studies are the preferred
  strategy when how or why questions are being
  posed, when the investigator has little control
  over events, and when the focus is on a
  contemporary phenomenon within some real-life
  context (Yin, 2003, p. 1).

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Methods

• Classroom observations
• Environmental club observations
  (participant-observer)
• Focus group interviews
• Secondary data collection
• Researcher reflection

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The Environmental Club

• After-school club meets once a week
• Director and 2 faculty at each club
• Focus on coastal issues for schools along the TX
  coast
• Emphasizes bilingualism
• Field trips around local issues and participation
  in local events
• No set curriculum so flexible for teacher
  interests

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Case selection and description

• Purposeful sampling
• (location, population, feasibility)
• Davis Middle School
• Armstrong Middle School
• Garcia Middle School

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Data collectionApril, 2006- June 2006

• Davis Middle School science classroom
• 2 observations, 2 focus group interviews
• Davis Middle School Environmental Club
• 1 observation, 1 focus group interview
• Armstrong Middle School science classroom
• 2 observations, 2 focus group interviews
• Armstrong Middle School Environmental Club
• 2 observations, 2 focus group interviews

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Data Analysis

• Validity
• -multiple sources
• -data triangulation
• -thick description
• Reliability
• -observation database
• -interview database
• -triangulation

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Davis Middle SchoolScience Classroom COP

• Joint Enterprise
• get good grades
• follow instructions
• see your friends
• pay attention

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Davis Middle SchoolScience Classroom COP

• Mutual Engagement
• Small peer groups exist within class
• Many types of students in class
• Some participate some dont
• Teacher is disciplinarian

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Davis Middle SchoolScience Classroom COP

• Shared Repertoire
• Green booklets
• whoa
• silence
• bell

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Davis Middle SchoolEnvironmental Club COP

• Joint Enterprise
• learn about ecosystem
• work towards own goal
• see your friends, get to know people
• something for students to do
• take field trips
• learn about other places, different things

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Davis Middle SchoolEnvironmental Club COP

• Mutual Engagement
• program director, faculty sponsors and me
• Luis is the student leader and translator
• three groups of students in community but all
  seem to have equal footing
• small group of non-ESL students get along with
  ESL students and can understand them, but are not
  necessarily friends

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Davis Middle SchoolEnvironmental Club COP

• Shared Repertoire
• TX coast map
• snack
• sign-in sheet
• Spanish language
• English language

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Armstrong Middle SchoolScience Classroom COP

• Joint Enterprise
• pass
• achieve
• help each other
• learn as much as we can
• open minds to whats around- dont be afraid to
  ask questions
• not to get confused
• respect and form relationship with teacher

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Armstrong Middle SchoolScience Classroom COP

• Mutual Engagement
• those that participate are full members, those
  that dont are viewed as peripheral or
  non-members
• very few dont participate
• loud, more boisterous students seem to be leaders
  in class
• students respect teacher

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Armstrong Middle SchoolScience Classroom COP

• Shared Repertoire

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Armstrong Middle SchoolEnvironmental Club COP

• Joint Enterprise
• bring environmental awareness
• help the environment
• improve homes
• have fun

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Armstrong Middle SchoolEnvironmental Club COP

• Mutual Engagement
• students have different roles
• students that participate are seen as full
  members with equal footing
• Teachers, director and leaders are in center of
  community

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Armstrong Middle SchoolEnvironmental Club COP

• Shared Repertoire
• TX coast map
• snack
• sign-in sheet

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Garcia Middle School

• No data

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Other developments

• Expanding program
• New science faculty at 2 sites
• Late start

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Summary of Findings

• The two science classrooms studied have two
  distinct types of communities of practice (COP)
• Students seem more enthusiastic about learning
  and participating in the COP that focuses on
  inquiry and exploration as its practice
• Students views of practice of COP may vary in
  the COP

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Summary of Findings

• The two Environmental Clubs studied have two
  distinct types of communities of practice
• Civic responsibility is main purpose at Armstrong
  and social interaction and individual learning
  are main purposes for membership at Davis
• In classroom, roles seemed to translate to
  student type/identity vs. in club, roles related
  to contributions

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Analysis of Methods

• What worked
• -focus group interviews
• -student drawings
• -researcher reflection

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Analysis of Methods

• What didnt
• - consent and assent forms
• - recording is tricky

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Concluding thoughts

• Missing pieces
• Necessary roughness