Putting on a Green Carnival: Using a Critical Connection to Place to Reposition Science

• In Event: Science Education for the Competent Outsider: What We Already Know and Do

Abstract

This presentation investigates the work of youth in an after school science program as they planned and implemented a “Green Carnival” aimed at educating their peers and community members about green energy issues. Our research objective was to examine how investigating environmental issues through place motivates youth to act.

Theoretical framework

Our study is conceptually grounded in the literature on ecoliteracy and sense of place. Drawing upon the concept of “insideness” (Lim & Calabrese Barton 2010), the youth in this study exhibit a critical connection to place. We use the construct of a community science expert, characterized by a deep connection to place, the capacity to use this connection to engage community members, and the knowledge of scientific processes to take action on local issues.

Methods and data sources

Our research focused on eight middle grades youth who designed and implemented a Green Carnival at a local Boys and Girls Club focused on green energy technologies. The research was carried out as a critical ethnography. We assumed multiple roles throughout the project acting as both teachers and researchers. This afforded us access and positioned us as members of the group with varying degrees of influence on the direction of inquiry as the investigation progressed. Data sources include: field notes, small group conversations, individual interviews, green carnival visitor surveys and observations during the green carnival. Data were analyzed using constant comparative analysis by identifying themes among and between participant experiences.

Results

Our findings indicate these youths’ connection to their place was the driving force in motivating their efforts to share expertise and actions with members of their local community. Their knowledge of place provided an opportunity to reposition science as both engaging and connected to the local community. First, however, they needed to view their place through a critical lens, allowing them to recognize both positive and negative aspects of their community. To take up this critical stance, the youth positioned themselves as insiders due to their environmental understanding and ability to navigate the physical and social spaces of the community. This critical connection also resulted in a desire to defend their place from outside viewpoints and to take action aimed at making a positive impact in their community.

Significance

A critical connection to place not only motivated youth in our program to act, it also influenced how they acted. The carnival provided an opportunity for youth to reposition learning and doing science as fun, exciting and connected to the community. They merged scientific and community knowledge in ways that made science accessible to many and important for making a positive impact in their community.

Our work pushes the idea of the “competent outsider” (Feinstein, 2011) by shifting the central theme from knowledge of the scientific processes to a connection to place. We see the youth in our study as competent outsiders who also worked as insiders in their community, identifying important questions that, in turn, motivated them to employ scientific processes in investigating issues connected to their lived experience.

Authors

• Daniel Birmingham, Michigan State University

• Angela Calabrese Barton, Michigan State University