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The Language, Culture, and Knowledge-building through Science (LaCuKnoS) project tests and refines a model of science teaching and learning that brings together current research on the role of language in science communication, the role of cultural and community connections in science engagement, and the ways people apply science knowledge to their daily decision making. One key component of the model brings families together as co-learners and co-teachers through family learning experiences. We describe our work to promote more robust family conversations about science in our lives within an existing research practice partnership, using a two-tiered qualitative conversational analysis to compare the family conversations that result from three family engagement models: (a) family science festivals; (b) family science workshops; and (c) family science home learning. More specifically, this paper addresses the question: How do families describe and evaluate science in their lives and communities during family conversations that occur during each of these three engagement models? Discourse analysis using the appraisal dimension of systemic functional linguistics highlights the affective components of families evaluating science in their lives, as well as how each model provided unique affordances for different communicative goals. These findings are used to propose a set of design principles to guide the continued exploration of community-sustaining and family-centric models of family engagement as a key strategy for broadening science participation.
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Family-Centered Research: Reflections From a Zoom-Based Recording Method of Families Learning Together at Home
Although schools are a primary focus of education research, we have long known that families are equally critical in supporting children’s learning. However, many existing studies put families in situations that share little resemblance to what family learning looks like outside of school. These limitations undermine both the quality of the research and our commitments to equity. Based on our experiences during the global health pandemic, we reflect on these limitations and offer thoughts to motivate a new vision of family learning research. Among other things, the process revealed the power of allowing families to choose how and when they engage in learning experiences together and finding ways to capture more authentic family configurations beyond the parent-child dyad.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1930848
- PAR ID:
- 10468645
- Publisher / Repository:
- DOI PREFIX: 10.3102
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Educational Researcher
- Volume:
- 52
- Issue:
- 9
- ISSN:
- 0013-189X
- Format(s):
- Medium: X Size: p. 580-587
- Size(s):
- p. 580-587
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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