ERIC Number: ED587813
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2018
Pages: 139
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: 978-0-4381-7653-9
ISSN: EISSN-
EISSN: N/A
Negotiating Open Access: AP Science Identities in a Project-Based Learning Context
Goodell, Alexandra
ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Washington
This dissertation studies students' identity negotiation in a project-based Advanced Placement (AP) Environmental Science class. The College Board has encouraged schools to diversify enrollment in AP STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) courses, in which White and Asian males have been historically overrepresented. This trend may be connected to the ways in which underrepresented students socially identify with this learning context. Project Based Learning (PBL) has the potential to support students' connection with AP STEM coursework by tasking them with solving real-world problems by using discipline-specific skills and practices. This mixed-methods study uses situative theories of identity to analyze the opportunities and constraints to students' identities in the context of a PBL AP Environmental Science course offered in an urban, poverty-impacted school district. Findings from this study highlight the different ways that AP and Science identities can manifest, and suggest a relationship between perceived agency in the class and certain students' future plans to pursue science majors in college. In studying the identity processes involved in this evolving context, I hope to shed light on ways that increasingly diverse groups of students might socially identify with the domains of AP and Science. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
Descriptors: Self Concept, Student Projects, Active Learning, Teaching Methods, Advanced Placement, Environmental Education, Science Education, STEM Education, Poverty, School Districts, Disadvantaged Schools, Majors (Students), Problem Solving, Urban Schools
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Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A