Teachers' Experiences Understanding and Supporting Student Epistemic Agency

• In Event: AERA Poster Session 3
  In Poster Session: Science Teaching and Learning

Abstract

Classrooms in which students use science and engineering practices in meaningful ways hold promise for supporting students’ epistemic agency. Because teachers are critical to fostering such classrooms, it is necessary to examine how they develop understandings of students as epistemic agents. This exploratory study investigates the relationship between teachers’ understandings of student epistemic agency and their instructional practices. Specifically, we employ multiple-case study methodology to explore two middle school teachers’ sensemaking about student epistemic agency, and the ways their understandings influence their instruction. Findings indicate that a factor impacting teacher sensemaking is tension between what is valued in school and goals of reform oriented instruction. This tension resulted in teachers sometimes supporting student epistemic agency, and other times hindering it.

Authors

• María González-Howard, The University of Texas at Austin

• Victor Sampson, The University of Texas at Austin

• Jocelyn Sosa-Ramirez, The University of Texas at Austin

• Christina Baze, The University of Texas at Austin