"I'm Curious ...": A Critical Examination of Pronoun Use in the Co-Construction of Science Student Identities

• In Event: Roundtable Session 6
  In Roundtable Session: VISUALizing Qualitative Methods

Abstract

This paper describes an observational video study of an upper elementary science classroom. The study probed ways in which students and their teacher used pronouns to position themselves and others in the classroom in relation to the role of a good science student. The analysis was conducted by creating detailed transcripts of classroom videos and applying a constant comparative method to facilitate coding of pronoun use. The authors describe the evolution of a protocol for discourse analysis that rests firmly within the interpretive framework of research methodology. We describe how a familiar research approach can be utilized in a critical way to examine more deeply notions of science student identity construction.

Authors

• Marie-Claire Shanahan, University of Calgary

• Lydia E Carol-Ann Burke, University of Toronto