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Facilitating Identity Formation, Group Membership, And Learning In Science Classrooms: What Can Be Learned From Out Of Field Teaching In An Urban School, Stacy Olitsky
Stacy Olitsky
This paper explores both the obstacles and the possibilities for students developing identities associated with science by engaging in solidarity-building classroom interactions. Data come from ethnographic research conducted in a diverse eighth-grade urban magnet school classroom in which the teacher taught out of field for part of the year. Contrary to expectations, more students participated and reported enjoying science when the teacher was out of field. Analysis of classroom interactions indicated that while in field, the teacher primarily engaged in “front stage” performances that hid her struggles with the material and accentuated students’ views of science as an elite status …
Promoting Student Engagement In Science: Interaction Rituals And The Pursuit Of A Community Of Practice, Stacy Olitsky
Promoting Student Engagement In Science: Interaction Rituals And The Pursuit Of A Community Of Practice, Stacy Olitsky
Stacy Olitsky
This study explores the relationship between interaction rituals, student engagement with science, and learning environments modeled on communities of practice based on an ethnographic study of an eighth grade urban magnet school classroom. It compares three interactional events in order to examine the classroom conditions and teacher practices that can foster successful interaction rituals (IRs), which are characterized by high levels of emotional energy, feelings of group membership, and sustained interest in the subject. Classroom conditions surrounding the emergence of successful IRs included mutual focus, familiar symbols and activity structures, the permissibility of some side-talk, and opportunities for physical and …
Identity, Interaction Ritual, And Students' Strategic Use Of Science Language, Stacy Olitsky
Identity, Interaction Ritual, And Students' Strategic Use Of Science Language, Stacy Olitsky
Stacy Olitsky
An important part of learning science is formulating ideas, debating explanations, and talking about science with others. Yet students may still avoid “talking science” in class even if they are familiar with the content knowledge. Drawing on data from an ethnographic study of an eighth-grade urban science classroom, I argue that students’ expressions of knowledge in science class can be considered a strategic move, or a choice, aimed at supporting identity claims and increasing the likelihood of engaging in successful interaction rituals characterized by entrainment and solidarity. The results of this study suggest that a student’s knowledge of the subject …