Making Connections Between School Earth Science and Lived Experiences: An Investigation of Urban Fifth Graders

• In Event: Communication and Communities

Abstract

Using constructivist grounded theory and the framework of place-based education, this research investigated how urban fifth graders describe, identify, and make connections between formal/school earth science concepts and their own everyday lives. Six urban fifth grade participants were observed during their earth science unit and interviewed twice over the course of that unit. Data collected involved individual interviews supported by auto-driven photo elicitation.
By focusing specifically on students’ connection making processes and decisions, this study’s findings produced a theory explaining the role of direction observation and indirect connections in students’ connection making, as well as highlighting the critical role, and potential source of confusion, in the non-rock materials commonly found in urban environments, including concrete, brick, and asphalt.

Author

• Katie Brkich, Georgia Southern University