Examining Students Epistemic Agency When Implementing Culturally Relevant Practices in the Physics Classroom

• In Event: 34.095 - MTCC Roundtable Session 11
  In Roundtable Session: 34.095-10 - Exploring Innovations: School, Classroom, and Teacher Perspectives

Abstract

The degree to which traditional physics instruction serves to marginalize many groups of students (including students of color, students of poverty, and women) is well documented. In response, culturally relevant approaches to instruction has shown to improve outcomes for many. However, not much is known about how a culturally relevant approach to physics instruction influences students’ responsibility for knowledge construction in physics, that is their epistemic agency - something essential in the development of science proficiency. Here, we examine students’ participation in a high school physics course featuring a culturally relevant approach to identify patterns in students’ participation, allowing us to understand how students’ participation in a culturally relevant physics course supports their development of epistemic agency

Authors

• Clausell Mathis, Florida State University

• Mark Akubo, Florida State University

• Sherry A. Southerland, Florida State University