Education Commons^™

The Potential Of “Civic Science Education”: Theory, Research, Practice, And Uncertainties, Brett Levy, Alandeon Oliveira, Cornelia Harris

Educational Theory and Practice Faculty Scholarship

This paper explores the potential of civic science education (CSE), which includes experiences that have been intentionally designed to foster or enhance individuals’ interactions with and/or engagement in science‐related public matters. To begin, we provide a theoretically‐ grounded definition of CSE, including three sub‐categories: foundational, exploratory, and purposefully
active. We then explore the scholarly arguments for why enacting CSE could help to support students’ science learning and civic engagement and also strengthen civil society. Next, the paper examines current educational practices related to CSE, such as citizen science, exploring socioscientific issues, and various civic education pedagogies, detailing what researchers have …

Can Education Reduce Political Polarization?: Fostering Open-Minded Political Engagement During The Legislative Semester, Brett L.M. Levy, Annaly Babb-Guerra, Wolf Owczarek, Lena M. Batt

Educational Theory and Practice Faculty Scholarship

Background: In the United States, elected leaders and the general public have become more politically polarized during the past several decades, making bipartisan compromise difficult. Political scientists and educational scholars have argued that generating productive political cooperation requires preparing members of democratic societies to productively negotiate their political disagreements. Numerous prior studies on civic learning have focused on fostering youth political engagement, but little research has examined how educators can support both political engagement and political open-mindedness.

Purpose: The study described in this paper explores how students’ experiences in a unique high school government course may help to foster their …

Motivating Political Participation Among Youth: An Analysis Of Factors Related To Adolescents’ Political Engagement, Brett Levy, Thomas Akiva

Educational Theory and Practice Faculty Scholarship

Prior research has identified political efficacy and political interest as strong predictors of political participation, but few studies have examined these two attitudes in tandem or compared their relative importance vis-à-vis political participation. Drawing on the expectancy-value model of motivation, we begin to address this research gap while also considering several related issues. Our sample includes a diverse group of high school students in grades 10, 11, and 12 (N=422) from the midwestern United States. Through quantitative analyses of participants’ survey data, we found that political interest (a central aspect of value) and political efficacy (closely related to expectancy) predicted …

Co-Organizing The Collective Journey Of Inquiry With Idea Thread Mapper, Jianwei Zhang, Dan Tao, Mei-Hwa Chen, Yanqing Sun, Darlene Judson, Sarah Naqvi

Educational Theory and Practice Faculty Scholarship

This research integrates theory building, technology design, and design-based research to address a central challenge pertaining to collective inquiry and knowledge building: How can student-driven, ever-deepening inquiry processes become socially organized and pedagogically supported in a community? Different from supporting inquiry using predesigned structures, we propose reflective structuration as a social and temporal mechanism by which members of a community coconstruct/reconstruct shared inquiry structures to shape and guide their ongoing knowledge building processes. Idea Thread Mapper (ITM) was designed to help students and their teacher monitor emergent directions and co-organize the unfolding inquiry processes over time. A study was conducted …

Online Course Enrollment In Community College And Degree Completion: The Tipping Point, Peter Shea, Temi Bidjerano

Educational Theory and Practice Faculty Scholarship

Recent research indicates that certain students are at risk of lower levels of academic performance in online settings when compared to peers who study only in the classroom. Community college students have been a population of particular concern. In this paper, we hypothesize that online course load and institutional quality may impact outcomes for such students at risk for lower levels of degree attainment. Using comprehensive data from the 30 community colleges (n=45,557) of the State University of New York (SUNY), we conducted a state-wide study to examine whether there is a "tipping point" at which online course load becomes …

Global Climate Change In U.S. High School Curricula: Portrayals Of The Causes, Consequences, And Potential Responses, Casey R. Meehan, Brett L.M. Levy, Lauren Collet-Gildard

Educational Theory and Practice Faculty Scholarship

Broad misconceptions about global climate change (GCC) could hinder efforts to address this large-scale problem, and curricular materials can play a substantial role in what students learn about GCC. This study examines how U.S. high school textbooks and supplemental curricular materials published between 2007 and 2012 portray the causes, consequences, and potential responses to GCC. Our data included text segments related to these topics in five science textbooks, four social studies textbooks, and eight sets of GCC supplemental materials. To analyze these text segments, we conducted several rounds of coding, first categorizing curricula by their acceptance of the human causes …

Youth Developing Political Efficacy Through Social Learning Experiences: Becoming Active Participants In A Supportive Model United Nations Club, Brett Levy

Educational Theory and Practice Faculty Scholarship

Prior research indicates that individuals are more likely to take political action (e.g., vote, contact representatives, protest) when they have higher levels of political efficacy, the belief that one’s actions can influence political processes. In this mixed methods longitudinal study, I draw on Wenger’s and Bandura’s theories of social learning to examine how adolescents’ political efficacy developed during their experiences in a Model United Nations club. Through analyses of data from questionnaires, interviews, and observations, I found that students’ political efficacy increased as they became active club participants. Supportive relationships with club peers and advisors encouraged regular involvement, which in …

Generating Dynamic Democratic Discussions: An Analysis Of Teaching With Us Presidential Debates, Brett L.M. Levy, Lauren Collet, Thomas C. Owenby

Educational Theory and Practice Faculty Scholarship

Researchers have found that when young people participate in discussions of controversial political issues, they often become more politically engaged and informed (Hess 2009). Nonetheless, some educators avoid fostering such discussions because they can become heated and thus distract from academic learning (Hess 2002). Presidential elections, including the highly publicized debates, provide substantial material for discussions of major national and international issues, but no published research has examined how educators can leverage these events to generate productive civic learning experiences. In this paper, we analyze data collected in seven high school classrooms during the 2012 presidential election to examine the …

The Professional Identity Of Three Innovative Teachers Engaging In Sustained Knowledge Building Using Technology, Jianwei Zhang, Barbara Vokatis

Educational Theory and Practice Faculty Scholarship

Diffusing inquiry-based pedagogy in schools for deep and lasting change requires teacher transformation and capacity building. This study characterizes the professional identity of three elementary school teachers who have productively engaged in inquirybased classroom practice using knowledge building pedagogy and Knowledge Forum, a collaborative online environment. Grounded theory analysis of teacher interviews, supplemented with field observations, highlights five distinctive features of the teachers’ identity: (a) Teachers as professional knowledge builders to explore new visions of teaching for continual improvement of knowledge building; (b) Teachers as co-learners to form symmetrical relationships with students so they can take on the highest level …

Analytics For Knowledge Creation: Towards Epistemic Agency And Design-Mode Thinking, Jianwei Zhang, Bodong Chen

Educational Theory and Practice Faculty Scholarship

Innovation and knowledge creation call for high-level epistemic agency and design-mode thinking, two competencies beyond the traditional scopes of schooling. In this paper, we discuss the need for learning analytics to support these two competencies, and more broadly, the demand for education for innovation. We ground these arguments on a distinctive Knowledge Building pedagogy that treats education as a knowledge-creation enterprise. By critiquing current learning analytics for their focus on static-state knowledge and skills, we argue for agency-driven, choice-based analytics more attuned to higher order competencies in innovation. We further describe ongoing learning analytics initiatives that attend to these elements …

Which Candidate Should We Elect And Why?: An Inquiry Approach To Teaching About Elections, Brett L.M. Levy

Educational Theory and Practice Faculty Scholarship

This article describes methods for preparing secondary school students to explore the backgrounds and positions of candidates for public office. It also provides guidance on how educators can help young people navigate the process of deciding which candidate should receive their votes in current or future elections.

Fostering Political Interest Among Youth During The 2012 Presidential Election: Instructional Opportunities And Challenges In A Swing State, Brett L.M. Levy

Educational Theory and Practice Faculty Scholarship

Political interest is one of the most consistent predictors of political participation, but little research has examined how this attitude develops. This study explores adolescents’ political interest during the 2012 U.S. presidential election. The research team collected and analyzed longitudinal data (surveys, interviews, observations) in high schools located in conservative, liberal, and centrist communities within one swing state. Findings indicate that students’ (n=323) political interest increased during the election. These increases were related to greater public attention to politics and having opportunities to explore multiple sides of political issues and express political opinions. When guiding such experiences, some teachers struggled …

Epistemic Complexity In Adolescent Writing, Kristen Campbell Wilcox, Fang Yu, Marc Nachowitz

Educational Theory and Practice Faculty Scholarship

Increasing attention has been paid in recent years to the ways writing may engage adolescents in higher levels of epistemic complexity (i.e., postulating causes, reasons and other relations or theories related to scientific phenomena), yet in secondary science classrooms, writing has primarily been used for assessing students' content knowledge. Embedded in a larger national study of secondary writing in the United States, this study investigated the qualities of science writing samples collected from 33 adolescents attending schools identified for exemplary writing performance. We asked: How is epistemic complexity reflected in adolescents' writing?; How does the level of epistemic complexity differ …

Adolescents’ Writing In The Content Areas: National Study Results, Kristen Campbell Wilcox, Jill V. Jeffery

Educational Theory and Practice Faculty Scholarship

While many adolescents in US school settings do not achieve basic levels of writing proficiency, new standards and assessments hold all students, regardless of academic performance history and language background, to higher standards for disciplinary writing. In response to calls for research that can characterize a range of adolescents’ writing experiences, this study investigated the amount and kinds of writing adolescents with different academic performance histories and language backgrounds produced in math, science, social studies, and English language arts classes in schools with local reputations of excellence. By applying categories of type and length, we analyzed the writing of 66 …

Teachers’ And Administrators’ Use Of Evidence Of Student Learning To Take Action: Conclusions Drawn From A Special Issue On Formative Assessment, Heidi Andrade, M. Christina Schneider

Educational Theory and Practice Faculty Scholarship

A teacher who collects and analyzes diverse types of evidence of a student’s learning and uses that information to either adjust instruction or provide feedback to the student is using formative classroom assessment (Brookhart, Moss, & Long, 2008). A central feature of formative assessment is a clear link between the results of an assessment and subsequent actions that lead to gains in student learning (Nichols, Meyers, & Burling, 2009; Wiliam, 2010). The impact of formative assessment is greatly diminished if teachers are not able to use evidence of student learning to determine next instructional steps and help students move their …

Toward Fostering Environmental Political Participation: Framing An Agenda For Environmental Education Research, Brett L. M. Levy, Michaela T. Zint

Educational Theory and Practice Faculty Scholarship

Scholars of environmental education (EE) and education for sustainable development (ESD) have been among the environmental leaders calling for individuals to become increasingly engaged in political action aimed at addressing environmental and sustainability issues. Few, however, have studied how educational experiences might foster greater environmental political engagement. Fortunately, there is a rich body of research in political science, psychology, and education that provides insights that EE and ESD scholars and educators can build on. Studies in these domains suggest, for example, that political efficacy (the belief that individuals’ actions can influence political processes) and political interest (individuals’ willingness to pay …

Examining Studies Of Inquiry-Based Learning In Three Fields Of Education: Sparking Generative Conversation, Brett L. M. Levy, Ebony Elizabeth Thomas, Kathryn Drago, Lesely A. Rex

Educational Theory and Practice Faculty Scholarship

Many educational researchers across the United States have found that inquiry-based learning (IBL) supports the development of deep, meaningful content knowledge. However, integrating inquiry-based learning into classroom practice has been challenging, in part because of contrasting conceptualizations and practices across educational fields. In this paper, we (1) describe differing conceptions of IBL, (2) summarize our own studies of IBL in three fields of education, (3) compare and contrast the processes and purposes of IBL in our studies and fields, and (4) suggest numerous opportunities for cross-disciplinary collaborations on IBL curriculum, teaching, and research that could bolster its inclusion in K-12 …

Teaching About Big Money In Elections: To Amend Or Not To Amend The U.S. Constitution?, Brett L.M. Levy, James M. M. Hartwick

Educational Theory and Practice Faculty Scholarship

This article provides an overview of major campaign finance laws in the United States and then describes an engaging method for preparing students to discuss these laws and related issues. The authors suggest that educators first frame the issue by presenting background information about recent developments in campaign finance laws and innovative efforts to change them. After that, they recommend that educators introduce a guiding question about whether or not a constitutional amendment designed to limit political campaign contributions should be ratified. Students can then consider their own answers to this question by exploring a variety of pre-selected documents (listed …

Reading For Idea Advancement In A Grade 4 Knowledge Building Community, Jianwei Zhang

Educational Theory and Practice Faculty Scholarship

This study looks into the reading practice in a Grade 4 knowledge building community that involved 22 students and a veteran teacher. The students investigated light over a threemonth period supported by Knowledge Forum, a networked collaborative knowledge-building environment. The classroom designs encouraged the students to take on high-level responsibility for advancing the community’s knowledge, as represented in their online discourse in Knowledge Forum. The tracing of student conversations in Knowledge Forum and content analysis of their portfolio notes demonstrate productive advancement of scientific understanding. Qualitative analyses of classroom videos, online discourse, and the teacher’s reflection journal characterize student reading …

Sustaining Knowledge Building As A Principle-Based Innovation At An Elementary School, Jianwei Zhang, Huang-Yao Hong, Marlene Scardamalia, Elizabeth A. Morley, Chew Teo

Educational Theory and Practice Faculty Scholarship

This study explores Knowledge Building as a principle-based innovation at an elementary school and makes a case for a principle- versus procedure-based approach to educational innovation, supported by new knowledge media. Thirty-nine Knowledge Building initiatives, each focused on a curriculum theme and facilitated by nine teachers over eight years, were analyzed using measures of student discourse in a Knowledge Building environment--Knowledge Forum. Results were analyzed from the perspective of student, teacher, and principal engagement to identify conditions for Knowledge Building as a school-wide innovation. Analyses of student discourse showed interactive and complementary contributions to a community knowledge space, conceptual content …

Technology-Supported Learning Innovation In Cultural Contexts, Jianwei Zhang

Educational Theory and Practice Faculty Scholarship

Many reform initiatives adopt a reductionist, proceduralized approach to cultural change, assuming that deep changes can be realized by introducing new classroom activities, textbooks, and technological tools. This article elaborates a complex system perspective of learning culture: A learning culture as a complex system involves macro-level properties (e.g., epistemological beliefs, social values, power structures) and micro-level features (e.g., technology, classroom activities). Deep changes in macro-level properties cannot be reduced to any component. This complex system perspective is applied to examining technology-supported educational change in East Asia and analyzing how teachers sustain the knowledge building innovation in different contexts. Working with …

Knowledge Building And Vocabulary Growth Over Two Years, Grades 3 And 4, Yanqing Sun, Jianwei Zhang, Marlene Scardamalia

Educational Theory and Practice Faculty Scholarship

High-level literacy and productive knowledge work are central to educational reforms. In the research reported in this article, students were engaged in sustained, collaborative knowledge building in science and social studies. The vocabulary growth of 22 students over Grades 3 and 4 was traced, based on their entries to Knowledge Forum—a knowledge building environment used as an integral part of classroom work. It is the communal space where ideas, reference material, results of experiments, and other inquiry work are entered and continually improved. Analysis of lexical frequency profiles indicated significant growth in productive written vocabulary, including academic words. In a …

Developing Deep Understanding And Literacy While Addressing A Gender-Based Literacy Gap, Jianwei Zhang, Yanqing Sun, Marlene Scardamalia

Educational Theory and Practice Faculty Scholarship

Online discourse from a class of 22 students (11 boys and 11 girls) was analysed to assess advances in conceptual understanding and literacy. The students worked over a two-­‐year period (Grades 3-­‐4), during which they contributed notes to an online Knowledge Building environment—Knowledge Forum®. Contributions revealed that both boys and girls produced a substantial amount of text and graphics, and that their written texts incorporated an increasing proportion of less-­‐frequent, advanced words, including academic vocabulary and domain-­‐specific words from grade levels higher than their own. Brief accounts of classroom discourse indicate how deep understanding and vocabulary growth mutually support each …

Knowledge Society Network: Toward A Dynamic, Sustained Network For Building Knowledge, Jianwei Zhang, Huang-Yao Hong, Marlene Scardamalia

Educational Theory and Practice Faculty Scholarship

The Knowledge Society Network (KSN) “takes advantage of new knowledge media to maximize and democratize society’s knowledge-­‐creating capacity” (www.ikit.org/KSN). This article synthesizes the principles and designs of this network which were initiated over 15 years ago, and presents an exploratory study of interactions in the KSN over four years, elaborating different network structures and the potential of each for knowledge advancement. Four major sub-­‐network structures for participant and idea interaction are described, as reflected in social network analysis of discourse in the KSN. Strengths and weaknesses of work within each sub-­‐network were identified with suggestions for creating a more dynamic, …

Early Development Of Graphical Literacy Through Knowledge Building, Jianwei Zhang, Yongcheng Gan, Marlene Scardamalia, Huang-Yao Hong

Educational Theory and Practice Faculty Scholarship

This study examined growth in graphical literacy for students contributing to an online, multimedia, communal environment as they advanced their understanding of biology, history and optics. Their science and history studies started early in Grade 3 and continued to the end of Grade 4; students did not receive instruction in graphics production, nor were they required to produce graphics. Results show that students spontaneously produced graphics that advanced along seven dimensions, including effective representation of complex ideas, use of source information and captions, and aesthetic quality. On average, the scores for the seven dimensions were higher for Grade 4 students …

The Language Of Digital Learning Objects: A Cross-Disciplinary Study, Carla J. Meskill, Gulnara Sadykova

Educational Theory and Practice Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Promoting Learning And Achievement Through Self-Assessment, Heidi Andrade, Anna Valtcheva

Educational Theory and Practice Faculty Scholarship

Criteria-referenced self-assessment is a process during which students collect information about their own performance or progress; compare it to explicitly stated criteria, goals, or standards; and revise accordingly. The authors argue that self-assessment must be a formative type of assessment, done on drafts of works in progress: It should not be a matter of determining one's own grade. As such, the purposes of self-assessment are to identify areas of strength and weakness in one's work in order to make improvements and promote learning. Criteria-referenced self-assessment has been shown to promote achievement. This article introduces criteria-referenced self-assessment, describes how it is …

Rubric-Referenced Self-Assessment And Self-Efficacy For Writing, Heidi Andrade, Xiaolei Wang, Ying Du, Robin L. Akawi

Educational Theory and Practice Faculty Scholarship

The authors investigated the relation between long- and short-term rubric use (including self-assessment), gender, and self-efficacy for writing by elementary and middle school students (N = 268). They measured long-term rubric use with a questionnaire. They manipulated short-term rubric use by a treatment that involved reviewing a model and using a rubric to self-assess drafts. The authors collected self efficacy ratings 3 times. Results revealed that girls’ self-efficacy was higher than boys’ self-efficacy before they began writing. The authors found interactions between gender and rubric use: Average self-efficacy ratings increased as students wrote, regardless of condition, but the increase in …

The Language Of Teaching Well With Learning Objects, Carla J. Meskill, Natasha Anthony

Educational Theory and Practice Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Dewey, Bruner, And "Seas Of Stories" In The High Stakes Testing Debate, Kristen Campbell Wilcox

Educational Theory and Practice Faculty Scholarship

This paper proposes that many of the questions surrounding high stakes testing being debated today are important, yet fall short of moving teachers, parents, students, administrators and legislators to think deeply about how optimal teaching and learning can be achieved in a high stakes testing environment. Finally, the high stakes testing debate is viewed, to borrow a term from Bruner, as a "sea of stories" in which the stakeholders see the same things, but come away with remarkably differing stories of what is happening (1996, p. 147). The principles of learning espoused by Dewey and Bruner put these "seas of …