Expertise in Scientist-Teacher Partnerships

• In Event: Communication and Communities

Abstract

Arguments for scientist-teacher partnerships often emphasize the mutual benefits that participants gain by engaging as collaborators and co-learners. These arguments include underlying assumptions regarding the participants’ recognition and utilization of each other’s expertise. In this paper, we examine these assumptions regarding expertise by comparing two multiple-case studies of scientist-teacher partnership programs that occurred in different contexts (laboratory versus classroom). The findings show differences between the two contexts in the ways that the scientists and teachers perceived their own and the other's expertise. These findings suggest the need to further investigate the influence of the place in which collaborations take place, the tasks in which partners are involved, and the societal expectations of expertise that may influence interactions in scientist-teacher partnerships.

Authors

• Jerine Pegg, University of Alberta

• Marie-Claire Shanahan, University of Alberta