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Making Sense of Reading and Writing Science News in High School Classrooms Angela Marie Kohnen University of Missouri-St

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Making Sense of Reading and Writing Science News in High School Classrooms Angela Marie Kohnen University of Missouri-St University of Missouri, St. Louis IRL @ UMSL Dissertations UMSL Graduate Works 7-25-2012 A New Look at Genre and Authenticity: Making Sense of Reading and Writing Science News in High School Classrooms Angela Marie Kohnen University of Missouri-St. Louis, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://irl.umsl.edu/dissertation Part of the Education Commons Recommended Citation Kohnen, Angela Marie, "A New Look at Genre and Authenticity: Making Sense of Reading and Writing Science News in High School Classrooms" (2012). Dissertations. 352. https://irl.umsl.edu/dissertation/352 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the UMSL Graduate Works at IRL @ UMSL. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of IRL @ UMSL. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Running Head: GENRE AND AUTHENTICITY A New Look at Genre and Authenticity: Making Sense of Reading and Writing Science News in High School Classrooms Angela M. Kohnen M.Ed., Secondary Education, University of Missouri-St. Louis, 2007 B.A., English and American Literature, Washington University, 1998 A Dissertation Submitted to The Graduate School at the University of Missouri-St. Louis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Education August 2012 Advisory Committee E. Wendy Saul, Ph.D. Chairperson Joseph L. Polman, Ph.D. Nancy R. Singer, Ph.D. Lisa Dorner, Ph.D. GENRE AND AUTHENTICITY ii Abstract This qualitative study examined the importance of the genre and authenticity as teachers sought to bring science journalism to the high school science classroom. Undertaken as part of the National Science Foundation-funded grant “Science Literacy through Science Journalism (SciJourn),” this work was conducted as a series of smaller studies addressing the following issues: the definition of the genre from the point of view of professional journalists; teachers’ motivation for joining the SciJourn project; qualities of science teachers compared to science journalists; science teachers’ approach to writing and writing response; and the teachers’ reflections on their own implementation strategies. Data collected included surveys, field notes from observations, in depth phenomenological interviews, focus groups, science news articles, and teacher/editor feedback. Qualitative textual analysis and critical discourse analysis were used to analyze the data. Analysis showed that the genre of science news was especially promising for classroom adaptation for several reasons. Science journalism, as practiced by those with a strong background in science, occupies a space between the world of scientists and the world of non-scientists where new and highly technical information is contextualized and made relevant to the general public. As students and teachers engaged with science news both as consumers and producers, they came to appreciate the importance of science and to see science as an interesting, relevant field. Science teachers did not join the project because of a strong interest in the genre, but they did share several qualities with science journalists (including a broad understanding of science and a commitment to “translate” that understanding for a less-informed audience); these shared qualities may have helped GENRE AND AUTHENTICITY iii teachers appreciate the genre and implement it authentically. The professional development proved particularly useful since teachers were able to draw on their own experiences writing science news during PD activities in order to work with their students. Access to a professional science editor and the possibility of student publication were also recognized as central to teacher development. GENRE AND AUTHENTICITY iv Acknowledgements Because this study focused so much on the “pivotal moments” teachers could remember about their year in the classroom, pivotal moments are on my mind. And, as I come to the end of this project, I’ve been thinking about the pivotal moments that brought me to this point. In one, my husband and I are in the car, driving west on highway 40, presumably to his parents’ house. The sun is setting and it must be spring because there are flowers in bloom. We’re talking about a crazy idea: Dr. Wendy Saul, one of my professors from my master’s studies, has been encouraging me to apply to the doctoral program. Should I do it? Andrew isn’t one to offer a quick opinion—as he likes to remind me when restarting a conversation from two days before, it takes him a while to figure out what he thinks—but he has something to say on this. “Most of the people I know who drop out of doctoral programs do it because they can’t write,” he says. “But you like to write. I bet you’d even think writing a dissertation is fun.” He doesn’t mean this as a compliment, but it’s enough to tip the scales. I decide to apply. For that bit of encouragement—and for the patience and understanding to live with all its consequences—I have to thank my husband, Andrew Driscoll. Of course we wouldn’t have had that conversation if I hadn’t met Wendy Saul a few months before, on the first day of what I told everyone was to be my final fall semester of school. Prior to that course, I was simply slogging through the master’s degree with no intention of ever going any further, but Wendy changed my mind. In her class, I had the chance to combine two of my passions: teaching and writing. I had never heard the term “action research” before I met Wendy but by the end of that semester I GENRE AND AUTHENTICITY v was looking at my teaching in a whole new way. For taking me under her wing, and for pushing me to take on bigger and bigger challenges, I thank Wendy Saul. Back in time just a little further, and I’m a twenty-eight year old waitress in the midst of a life crisis. I don’t know what to do with myself. I’m tired of my job, but my English degree doesn’t seem to be opening many other doors. As in all times of trouble, I call my dad. And, as in all other times of trouble, my dad helps me think through the situation and decide on a plan of action. This time, the plan is to get my high school teaching certificate. For seeing a future when I couldn’t, I thank my father, Stephen Kohnen. And now to my childhood and my mother, who brought me to the library and read me more books than either of us could ever count, who listened to the tales I invented and helped me write them down. For teaching me that you could make sense out of life by telling stories, I thank my mother, Jean Kohnen. Beyond these four individuals, I am lucky to have been supported by many other wonderful teachers, mentors, family members, and friends over the past several years. I thank the members of my dissertation committee, Joe Polman, Nancy Singer, and Lisa Dorner, as well as professor emeritus Jane Zeni. I consider each of you a model of the teacher and scholar I hope to become. I am deeply grateful to the SciJourn teachers, especially Barbara, Tom, Jason, Mary and Shelley, for their willingness to share their time and insights with me. I also thank Alan Newman and Julie Miller for talking to me in such detail and with such patience about their fascinating careers. I thank Irving Seidman for his time and advice; I have never met a kinder man. I thank my fellow SciJourn team members, especially Cathy Farrar, Jennifer Hope, and Shannon Briner. I GENRE AND AUTHENTICITY vi would have never made it through the series of catastrophes that my life briefly became had it not been for your humor and sympathy. I thank my extended family, especially Meghan, Nick, Jack, and Ginnie, for all of the times you rescued me during these overworked years. Finally, I thank my daughters, Cecilia and Adelina. Whenever I am discouraged or disillusioned, I picture your smiling faces and cannot help but smile myself. GENRE AND AUTHENTICITY vii Table of Contents A New Look at Genre and Authenticity: ............................................................................. i Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ iv Table of Contents .............................................................................................................. vii List of Tables ................................................................................................................... xvi List of Figures ................................................................................................................. xvii Preface: How did an English Teacher End up Hanging around these Science Folks? .. xviii I. The Study ......................................................................................................................... 1 Data, Data Everywhere, and Not a Study in Sight .......................................................... 1 Finding an Angle: What’s the Question? ....................................................................... 5 Editors and Teachers ................................................................................................... 5 Genre ........................................................................................................................... 7 Theoretical Frame ........................................................................................................... 9 Communities of Practice ............................................................................................
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