My Journey as an Elementary Science Teacher: From Linear to Authentic Criticalities

• In Event: A Broad Array of Criticalities and Lived Experiences in STEM Education: Llano Grande, Aztlán, México Profundo

Abstract

Objectives

This study is about a journey of change in instruction fostered by a change of identity as a science teacher, using the butterfly cycle as a metaphor of transformation to describe the levels of critical consciousness that led to a process of understanding, analyzing, and action, against systems of oppression (Clark, & Flores, 2010).

Perspectives(s) Theoretical Framework:

Organized through Freire’s (1970) notion of situated and contextualized critical consciousness, the theoretical frameworks are grounded in three main ideas: (a) self-reflexivity, drawing from the initial understanding of reflexivity as reflection with social and scientific foundations that leads to social change (Mora, 2014), (b) self-study of teacher practices as a rigorous way to understand the development of personal practice over time; and (c) metaphors to examine phenomena from a unique and creative perspective, provide structure to the data, to understand a familiar process in a new light, and to evoke emotion (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980).

Methods, Techniques or Modes of Inquiry:
This study uses reflexive inquiry (Mora, 2014) to ground ideas on the need to deeply understand one’s reality, contexts, and participants as an obligatory step before engaging in change. Running counter to scientifically based best practices, reflexive inquiry as method articulates localized, contextualized, and politically conscientized study of the researcher’s experiences and teaching practices within community and bioregion.

Data Sources, Evidence, Objects or Materials
There are two primary data sources. The first included journal entries that (1) recorded experiences and memories, (2) present practitioner and/or classroom experiences, and (3) reflective practitioner experiences. The second data sources are from lesson plans, school curriculum, and school information. The analysis proceeded along reflective processes which emphasized reflexive researcher meaning-making within classroom, community, bioregion, and broader political contexts.

Results/Findings/Conclusions
The findings in this study follow the flow of experience rather than a linear progression through time that focuses on critical consciousness development where I came to recognize and oppose neoliberalism and capitalist ideologies that pertained to power structures. This awakening or conscientization reflects a greater understanding of oneself but also developed community-located scientific ways of knowing. These located ways of knowing moved from linear to authentic science teaching constituted a pedagogical metamorphosis. The analysis then is not mechanical stages within research but instead creative processes that allow to engage with and in the data.

Scholarly Significance
The process of critical consciousness provided a deepened and complex understanding of epistemologies of power and the impact of colonialism and neoliberalism on praxis in science education (Freire, 1970).

References
Clark, E.R., & Flores, B. B. (2010). The metamorphosis of teacher identity. An intersection of ethic consciousness, self-conceptualization, and belief systems. In P. Jenlink (Ed.), Teacher Identity and the struggle for recognition. New York: Routledge.

Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed. Continuum.

Lakoff, G. & Johnson, M. (1980). The metaphorical structure of the human consciousness system. Cognitive Science, 4, 195-208

Mora, R. A. (2014). Reflexivity. Key Concepts in Intercultural Dialogue, 21, 330-347.

Authors

• Johanna Lynn Esparza, University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley

• James C. Jupp, University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley