Exploring Linguistic Practices: Black and Brown Youth Brilliance and confidence with STEM Learning

• In Event: Research In Progress Roundtables Session 4
  In Invited Roundtable: Gender, Race, and Identity in STEM Education (Table 6)

Abstract

This qualitative case study explores the linguistic practices of an African-American youth, Darian (pseudonym), during a STEM summer camp activity, helmet design, highlighting language as both a cognitive tool for meaning-making and problem-solving, and as a form of liberatory praxis that reflects confidence, brilliance, and resistance. Grounded in Paulo Freire’s (1970) concept of language as praxis and Moll et al.'s (1992) Funds of Knowledge, the research emphasizes the integration of cultural and community resources in fostering critical consciousness and transformative learning. Darian’s use of reflective reasoning, playful imagination, analogies, self-correction, and linguistic creativity demonstrates his ability to connect prior knowledge to STEM concepts. His humor and resistance to authority challenge traditional expectations, asserting his agency in designing a "nature-inspired" helmet.

Authors

• Fatemeh Mozaffari, University at Buffalo - SUNY

• Noemi Waight, University at Buffalo - SUNY

• Ryan M. Rish, University at Buffalo - SUNY

• Stacy Scheuneman, University at Buffalo - SUNY

• Finn Goehrig, University at Buffalo - SUNY

• Jennifer Tripp, University at Buffalo - SUNY