ERIC Number: EJ1172436
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018-Apr
Pages: 27
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0022-4308
EISSN: N/A
Positioning as Not-Understanding: The Value of Showing Uncertainty for Engaging in Science
Journal of Research in Science Teaching, v55 n4 p573-599 Apr 2018
Not understanding is central to scientific work: what scientists do is learn about the natural world, which involves seeking out what they do not know. In classrooms, however, the position of not-understanding is generally a liability; confusion is an unfortunate condition to resolve as quickly as possible, or to conceal. In this article, we argue that students' public displays of uncertainty or confusion can be pivotal contributions to the classroom dynamics in initiating and sustaining a class's science inquiry. We present this as a central finding from a cross-case analysis of eight episodes of students' scientific engagement, drawing on literature on "framing" to show how participants positioned themselves as not-understanding and how that was consequential for the class's scientific engagement. We show how participants enacted this positioning by asking questions or expressing uncertainty around a phenomenon or model. We then analyze how participants' displays of not-understanding shaped the conceptual, epistemic, and social aspects of classroom activity. We present two cases in detail: one in which a student's positioning helped initiate the class's scientific engagement and another in which it helped sustain it. We argue that this work motivates considering how to help students learn to embrace and value the role of expressing one's confusion in science.
Descriptors: Science Education, Science Process Skills, Comprehension, Ambiguity (Context), Knowledge Level, Case Studies, Epistemology, Science Activities, Class Activities, Learning Processes
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A