MIAMI UNIVERSITY the Graduate School Certificate for Approving the Dissertation
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MIAMI UNIVERSITY The Graduate School Certificate for Approving the Dissertation We hereby approve the Dissertation of Terry A. Scott Candidate for the Degree: Doctor of Philosophy _______________________ _______________________ Co-Director Co-Director Dennis Carlson David Berg _______________________ Reader Tammy Schwartz _______________________ Reader Raymond Terrell _______________________ Reader-Graduate School Representative Brian Keane _________________________ Dissertation Mentor Don Kaufman ABSTRACT NATURALLY OUTSPOKEN: EXAMINING THE IMPACT OF INSIDE AND OUTSIDE SPACES ON RURAL APPALACHIAN CHILDREN‘S SCIENCE DISCOURSE By Terry A. Scott This ethnographic dissertation focuses on the impact of inside and outside learning spaces on the discourse of rural, Appalachian fifth grade children during a five month period. Outside discourse was especially examined during a month-long stream-monitoring unit. The project also focused on how the children‘s Appalachian culture influenced their discourse. The theoretical framework of this study was social constructivism. Data for this sociocultural project was gathered through field notes, audiotapes, and informal student interviews with selected students. Secondary data included photographs of the children and the places where the conversations occurred during the data collection in addition to family photographs of the children or family members in or near streams. Data was collected from January through the beginning of June, 2007. A constructivist grounded theory approach to data analysis was utilized during and after the data collection period. This study of a particular group of Appalachian fifth graders led to insights about the dialogic relationship between space, culture, and practices of doing problem-based science. NATURALLY OUTSPOKEN: EXAMINING THE IMPACT OF INSIDE AND OUTSIDE SPACES ON RURAL APPALACHIAN CHILDREN‘S SCIENCE DISCOURSE A DISSERTATION Submitted to the Faculty of Miami University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Departments of Educational Leadership and Zoology by Terry A. Scott Miami University Oxford, Ohio 2007 Dissertation Directors: Dennis Carlson and David Berg Dissertation Mentor: Donald Kaufman TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1: Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 1 A Vignette........................................................................................................................................................... 2 Background ........................................................................................................................................................... 3 Goals of the Study ................................................................................................................................................ 5 Significance of the Work ..................................................................................................................................... 6 Research Questions .............................................................................................................................................. 8 Methodological Overview ................................................................................................................................... 9 Evolution of the Project..................................................................................................................................... 10 Situating Myself as the Researcher ................................................................................................................ 10 An Interdisciplinary Perspective .................................................................................................................... 11 Delimitations ....................................................................................................................................................... 12 Definitions of Key Terms .................................................................................................................................. 13 Chapter 2: The Literature Review .................................................................................................................. 17 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................................... 17 The History of Science Curricular Reforms in the United States ................................................................ 19 1950s – 1960s…Modernity and Space: The Final Frontier......................................................................... 19 1970s…Science Education and Culture Meet Head On ............................................................................... 21 The 1980s… Capitalism and Science Education .......................................................................................... 22 The 1990s…A Quiet Crisis in Science Education ......................................................................................... 26 2000 and Beyond… The Impact of No Child Left Behind ............................................................................ 28 Constructivist Learning Theory ..................................................................................................................... 31 Finding Space for Constructivism.................................................................................................................. 31 Classroom Examples and Each Type of Constructivism .............................................................................. 33 Social Constructivism ..................................................................................................................................... 35 Social Constructivism and Schooling ............................................................................................................ 37 Creating Social Constructivist Learning Environments ............................................................................... 38 Children’s Discourse and Science Discourse ............................................................................................... 40 Vygotskian Discourse in Science ................................................................................................................... 41 Sociocultural Paradigms and the Discourse of School Science .................................................................. 45 Discourse as Communication and Meaning Making .................................................................................... 47 ii A Specific Way of Knowing: Classroom Scientific Discourse ..................................................................... 49 Apprenticeship Model Theory and Discourse ............................................................................................... 50 Research on Adult Apprenticeship Models.................................................................................................... 50 Apprenticeship and School Settings ............................................................................................................... 52 Research Studies of Science Discourse ........................................................................................................... 54 Student Talk, Learning and Sense-Making .................................................................................................... 55 Current Sociocultural Perspectives in Science Education ........................................................................... 58 Talk As Arbitrator of Classroom Culture ...................................................................................................... 61 Classroom Discourse Learning as a Context for Learning and Development ........................................... 65 Influences of Science Discourse........................................................................................................................ 66 Authoritative Discourse .................................................................................................................................. 67 Language as the Cultural Gatekeeper to Doing Science.............................................................................. 70 Appalachian Culture and Identity Formation ............................................................................................... 74 Appalachian Culture in Education ................................................................................................................ 76 American Rural Schooling: An Overview...................................................................................................... 80 The Demography of Rural Schools ................................................................................................................ 80 Financial Challenges Facing Rural Schools................................................................................................. 81 More Challenges Facing Rural Schools ........................................................................................................ 82 Characteristics of Rural Schools: Demographics ........................................................................................ 82 Taking Things Inside Out: Learning and Teaching in the Out-of-Doors ...................................................