Gaining Power and Shaping Space Through Helping in Introductory Physics Classes (Poster 26)

• In Event: AERA Poster Session Thursday 5:25 p.m.
  In Poster Session: Socio Political Issues in Mathematics and Science Education SIG Poster Session

Abstract

In physics classrooms, like in society writ large, power is embedded in space—both material space and actors’ conceptions of space. In this paper, we explore space and power through the lens of “helping.” Using classroom video clips and excerpts from stimulated recall interviews, we offer an analysis that showcases ways in which “helping” mediates spatiality, reifying a hierarchy. Using Seawright’s theory of racialized temporality and Ahmed’s phenomenology of whiteness, we connect this dynamic to age-old narratives of “helping” that are embedded in white supremacy to critically examine ways “helping” can be oppressive. Analyses like this open up possibilities for re-imagining physics classroom spaces, toward more just and equitable physics teaching and learning.

Authors

• Lauren Catherine Bauman, Western Washington University

• Tra Huynh, Western Washington University

• Amy Robertson, Seattle Pacific University

• Verónica Nelly Vélez, Western Washington University