Identity Projects and Practice in a

Science Classroom: A Case Study of Students’

Reflexive Positioning

Jenny Arnold The University of Melbourne

Purpose of the Study

to create new understanding of persistent problems identified in science education research. to study students’ discursive practices in and about their science classrooms.

How can discursive practices employed by students in their science classrooms be described?

How are students positioned, and how do they position themselves within science classroom discourses?

Theoretical FrameworkUtterances have force as social acts.

Social meaning is made relatively determinate by three interdependent features of discourse: the conversational storyline, actors’ conversational locations or positions and the content of the act/action.

The Umwelt is the social world or life-space of a person, the person’s discursive ‘history’.

Institutional practices are like a matrix of possibilities related to “the way we do things around here”.

Theoretical Framework continued

REALISATION

DISPLAY

COLLECTIVEINDIVIDUAL

PUBLIC

PRIVATE

1

2

4

3

Social constructionist ontologySocial and psychological reality represented by a four quadrant spaceIdentity Projects as appropriation from the social (Vygotsky 1978, Harré 1984).

conventionalisation

appropriation

publication

transformation

Research Design

Talk in the classroom:Videotapes of 9 consecutive lessonsMicrophones on lanyards and desks

Talk about the classroom:Post-lesson video stimulated interviewsPre-unit interview with teacher

Text:Student written workTeacher’s unit planResearcher's classroom observations/ journal

Analysis - Initial Reading

Orthographic TranscriptsContexts for talkContent of talkGrammar used in the talk: pronouns, modal and epistemic verbs, tense.Identification of episodes for discourse analysis

Discourse Analysis

Phonological TranscriptionPronominal codingLanguage usedAudience addressedResponses from interlocutorsVoice intonationGesturesTool useForce of utterances as social acts: positioning and evolving storylines

Episode 1

Tasha Yeah(.) so how does it work? The air goes into the cup and (.) what?

Kesar <um>

Tasha >and the tissue somehow stops it< heh

Kesar and lets- I want to do that again just to observe it

Tasha Can we do that again? ºPleaseº. [Looks around the room, presumably to llocate the box of tissues.]

Kesar Do we need- [pushes the cup upside down into the tub of water without the tissue] ºah yeah (.) we probably didn’t.º

Angie does it work with the container? Or does it have to be with a tissue?

Tasha >I’ll get another tissue!< Kesar Its hard to see (.) ºcause of the waterºAngie Oh yeah there’s no water in there.Kesar There’s no water is thereAngie Nup .

Tasha So what happened?

Angie Can water be compressed?

Tasha Kesar what happened (.) the wat- the air goes in and what-

Kesar >You’re asking me!< hah hah

Episode 1

Episode 2

Episode 2 Teacher Now what’d I ask you to do (2) last ↓night. Students [ Respondin c ]horus ⎡( thegraph)⎤ Kesar ⎣ :the graph⎦ Teacher Hands upwho has completed the g .raph Student :YE S Kesar [ Puts her hand up]. Tasha [ Puts her hand up briefl ].y Teacher Right (1) alright → Kesar You have! (.) ⎡ Put up your °hand up°. Tasha > Yeah I know I put my hand .<up Kesar Oh okay heh hh (.) so .rry⎤ Teacher ⎣ I am goi ng to ask um (.)⎦ I am going to ask some peopl e

todraw i (.)t now I can see (.) ,Sydney yo ’ u ve g ot↑yours? Do youwant to- >now I don't expect you <to draw

accurately (.) >I just want you <to dra:w (.) what the patternlooked li (.)ke you want to come up and do i?t a: nd

who else thinks they've finished i (1) t all ri ght Rushani youwant to come up and draw the ↑pattern (1) that ’you ve

? [ got Sydneybegins drawing a line graph on the boar .]d Tasha So it was supposed to be line gr .aph → Kesar Yeah I know (.) we did do aline gra =ph Tasha = yeah I know °but (…)°

Episode 3

Episode 3 Kesar >All right< now (1) pre- (1) I (1) pre- (.) okay [Kesar writes, pauses

from writing, shakes her pencil]. Um (1) >um um um um < (.) okay= Angie =are you already done (.) because I've done it. Kesar Ah what’s your prediction [reads] ° okay° . Tasha ⎣( )⎦ → Kesar What do you think would happen? Tash a Has Angie gone to the bench to set up? Kesar Oka:y I think (2) yeah I'm just going to do dot points for now (.) I’m

gonna do ° full sentences later° Angie You guys done yet? Kesar Hold on I'm trying to think of a prediction. … Kesar >Okay um .hh we’ll be alm ost done okay?< Angie [Nods]. → Kesar Hah hh I just need to think of a prediction (2) using a ba:ll and ring- … Kesar Okay (.) using a ball and ring ap= Teacher =right (.) you nearly finished ladies? Kesar Yes ⎡(.) heh ⎫ Tahsa <Yeah ⎣yeah>⎦ Kesar ah you know <the ballo:on (.) would-> …

Episode 3 continued→ Kesar >Okay that's good enough for me .hh >alright um< [reads] Right.

→ Angie Do you think (.) what will the water do. Do you think it will ri:se? Kesar Yes (.) no (.) yes hah Angie Yes, no, yes, huh? Kesar Okay. Done. You wanna come and set up with me? We’ll go and set

up okay? Angie We have to show Mr. White that we're do:ne. Kesar Do we? °Oh°. [The bell rings] Kesar We have to hurry. Angie Yeah I know. Kesar Are you sure we have to °show° ↑Come on! ↑Tasha you ↑almost

done? Angie Ah, we've finished. Teacher All right, get going [Claps his hands once]. Over there ladies [points to

a bench].

Episode 4 Post-lesson Interview

Kesar the A I th ink wa:s tha:t- .hh for B I wasn't entirely sure but um …I did the ball would heat up a:nd might not go through the ring…And for my hh prediction for B: was hah um the water would ↓rise (.) °but yeah°

Int W :hy why did you make these two predictions? → Kesar um (.) so just- (.) ↑I think its just because .hh you want to have an idea s o

then you can get ready and then .hh um (.) if you can see what you gotw :ro ng or what you got ri:ght (1) to show th at you actually knew (.) wh atwould °get- (.) >what would h .<appen °

Int °mm (.) okay° (.) but why do you thi nk that the ball would heat up and not getthrough the ri ?ng

Kesar Um (.) I ⎡was⎤ Int ⎣who⎦ give you the i ?=dea → Kesar = :um (1) >I don't know I <just thought becau- ah well- the (.) fire would have

(.) made it (.) ho:t .hh so :then um .hh I thought ’there s got to be somethi ng to it that <would make thi >s important so .hh if it just had gone through the

ring (.) that wouldn't really be mu( )h ch so I just thought it mi ght not go i ntoth e ri (.)ng >go through the ri <=ng

Int =⎡↑okay⎤

Conclusion

Kesar’s Umwelt - students’ practices can be

described by referring to the students’ sense

of responsibility and obligation

Problems identified

Kesar’s individually realized acts of sense-

making were not conventionalized in relation

to normative practice

The official classroom discourses did not

accommodate student displays of desire or

emotion

Your comments and Questions

Arnold, J. (forthcoming) “Science students’ classroom discourse: Tasha’s

Umwelt”. Research in Science Education