An invited talk by Hosun Kang at the Winter meeting of AAPT. -- There is growing evidence that out-of-school informal science programs, such as after-school science clubs, can promote science learning (NRC, 2009). We have been studying young women’s learning and participa- tion in science as they traverse across various “science spaces,” including after-school science clubs and school science classrooms, and the impact this has on their identity development (or sense of future selves in science). Findings indicate that informal learning opportunities, when they are both continuous and complementary to school science, play critical roles in shaping how and why girls identify with science, and the ways in which such identity work can transfer from out-of-school settings to in-school settings, in ways that positively impact their participation and learning there. In my talk I focus on these findings, and describe the mechanisms of transfer that support girls in leveraging out of school learning for success in school science.

1. 2012
AAPT
conference,
Ontario,
CA
Authoring
New
Iden00es
through
Engagement
in
an
A5er
School
Science
Club,
GET
City
Hosun
Kang,
University
of
Washington
Angela
Calabrese-­‐Barton,
Michigan
State
University

2. Think
about
this!
• Who
is
a
good
student
in
your
school?
– Think
of
a
couple
of
people.
Why
do
you
think
they
are
good
students?
What
makes
them
as
good
students?
?

3. Think
about
this!
• Who
is
a
good
science
student
in
your
classroom?
– Think
of
a
couple
of
people.
Why
do
you
think
they
are
good
science
students?
?

4. Think
about
this!
• How
many
of
your
students
think
of
themselves
as
good
science
students?

5. As
science
teachers,
we
hope
all
our
students
to
learn
science
meaningfully.
What
do
we
mean
by
‘learn
science
meaningfully’?

6. • Showing
higher
level
of
performance/
proficiency
in
standard
achievement
tests?
• Developing
deeper
understanding
of
scien0fic
ideas?
• Iden0fying
oneself
as
an
agent
in
the
world
of
sciences;
seeing
the
meaning
of
self(s)
in
and
with
science?

7. Iden0ty
is
a
powerful
construct
for
understanding
student
learning
• Science
learning
involves
mastering
systems
of
ac0vi0es
that
bear
social
and
cultural
prac0ces
of
science.
Iden0fying
oneself
as
an
agent
in
the
system
(e.g.,
science
classroom,
science
club),
and
having
others
iden0fying
a
person
as
an
agent
in
the
system
is
a
precursor
to
mastering
a
system
(Holland,
et
al.,
2001)

8. We
are
concerned
about:
• The
on-­‐going
underrepresenta0on
of
girls
from
non-­‐dominant
backgrounds
in
the
sciences
and
engineering
• While
white
girls
have
“caught
up”
to
white
boys
in
school
achievement,
girls
from
other
ethnic
groups
have
not,
and
girls
from
all
groups
s0ll
opt
out
of
science-­‐related
trajectories
at
far
higher
rates,
especially
in
the
physical
sciences
(Na0onal
Academies,
2007;
NCES,
2007)

9. We
have
been
studying:
• young
women’s
learning
and
par0cipa0on
in
science
as
they
traverse
across
various
“science
spaces,”
including
a5er-­‐school
science
clubs
and
school
science
classrooms,
and
the
impact
this
has
on
their
iden0ty
development
(or
sense
of
future
selves
in
science)

10. Green
Energy
Technology
(GET)
in
the
City
GET
City
is
a
Lansing,
MI-­‐based,
year-­‐round
program
for
youth
focused
on
the
science
and
engineering
of
energy
sustainability
using
advanced
informa0on
technologies.

11. GET
city
provides
Experiences
with
advanced
IT
youth
with:
skills
(i.e.,
GIS,
data
management
and
acquisi0on
systems,
data
analysis
tools,
and
communica0on
tools)

12. GET
city
provides
youth
with:
Opportuni0es
to
develop
scien0fic
research
skills
and
conceptual
understandings
related
to
energy
technologies,
produc0on
and
sustainability

13. GET
city
provides
youth
with:
Job
skills
development
for
the
growing
IT
market
and
an
awareness
of
STEM
careers

14. A
curriculum
for
informal
science
and
IT
educa0on
that
can
be
adapted
for
other
urban
communi0es
(h;p://getcity.org/blog/)

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in
the
beginning
of
7th
grade
• Wanted
to
be
a
professional
dancer
or
singer
• A
0ny
and
so5-­‐spoken
girl,
quite,
rarely
got
into
trouble
at
school,
get
her
work
done

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21. From
Club
to
Home,
Home
to
Club:
using
stories
to
begin
to
engage
in
scien0fic
talk
• Chantelle:
My
grandmother
had
a
lot
of
incandescent
bulbs.
We
put
in
18.
• Teacher:
What
did
you,
Mom,
or
Gramma
say
[when
you
put
in
18]?
• Chantelle:
My
Gramma,
she
had
helped
us,
but
my
grandpa
says
‘What
are
you
doing
to
my
light
bulbs?’
But
my
grandmother
says
‘Sush,
she
is
doing
work.’
• Teacher:
And
did
you
explain
why
it
was
important
to
change
light
bulbs?
• Chantelle:
Yep!
• Teacher:
Good,
and
you
said
what?
• Chantelle:
I
explained
to
him
why
it
was
important
to
change
light
bulbs
because
you
was0ng
money.
• Teacher:
And
then
he
said
what?
• Chantelle:
Get
back
to
work
then!

22. A
Light
Bulb
Audit
at
School
• “Make
a
Change”
video
• Slowly
changing
the
roles
of
Chantelle:
– Playful
ac0ng
and
dance
choreography
– Edi0ng
the
video
– Opening
scene
– “It’s
just
13
waes”
• Expanding
access
to
science
through
dance
and
playful
ac0ng

23. From
Club
to
School:
Making
a
‘Real’
Change
at
school
• Presen0ng
a
workshop
to
the
school’s
student
government
(January
in
7th
grade)
• Presen0ng
the
same
workshop
to
her
science
class
on
Earth
Day
(April
of
7th
grade)
• Light
bulb
green
compe00on
(May
2010)

24. ’ I d Ni d
-­‐ t
c w gB
n N 00
g

25. w g w gh G
Si P Nwi
; dt uw
h O
dWI t
c
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dt
n n 5gh dC
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5d
h uw g
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26. t g d ii d t
n yI t
iyg i5 h G uw
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dt

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dC t g d ii B 5 I It
n h n C 5 ut d wI
g k c I I n w dy t w
ih v B c
w w g
r y gu u h g
I hg

28. Shi5ing
Iden0ty
Trajectories
• Mother:
“You
have
no
idea
the
difference
GET
city
has
made
in
my
daughter's
life.
She
ran
for
student
council
this
semester
and
even
though
she
didn’t
win,
she
wrote
a
great
speech
and
handled
herself
really
well.
I
was
so
proud
of
her
and
there
is
no
way
she
would
have
done
that
if
it
wasn't
for
GET
city.
She
was
a
girl
who
didn’t
talk
unHl
she
was
4
and
then
she
hardly
spoke
at
all.
And
now
she
is
geKng
up
in
front
of
people
and
giving
speeches
and
more.”

29. c
5i t g d ii th t w
A h
g hg T
Future sense
of self(s)
t h gu w i I yNw 0 h
gy
Ah
N0
? h w I dh I h g
gd g
w g g wuC
I hg lN wd
P dt uw O
;
w I I h gi
g w
w
I h wP w
gu iC
D dt uw O

30. Future sense of
self(s)
Figured world
Space
Identity work at classroom Identity work at
Identity work at teaching event & energy Green Carn-val
make a change expert event
workshop
Time
Community
Future self(s) in Future self(s) in Future self(s) in
science science science
Science Science School Science School
School
Club club science club science
science

31. What
does
Chantelle’s
story
tell
us?
• Girls
can
leverage
experiences
from
out
of
school
in
order
to
refigure
the
space
of
school
science,
allowing
for
a
broader
range
of
resources,
rela0onships,
forms
of
exper0se
and
ul0mately
iden00es
to
be
legi0mized
there.
• This
lamina0on
of
spaces
–
of
school
with
a5erschool
–
creates
a
moment
of
iden0ty
work
that
reposi0oned
Chantelle
and
her
teachers
and
peers
vis
a
vis
science
and
each
other.
New
construc0ons
of
what
it
meant
to
be
expert
were
sanc0oned
and
further
held
up
as
examples
of
the
school
mission.
• Girls
view
possible
future
selves
in
science
when
their
iden0ty
work
is
recognized,
supported,
and
leveraged
towards
expanded
opportuni0es
for
engagement
in
science.

32. Things
to
think
about
• What
it
means
to
be
a
good
science
student
in
the
classroom
context
is
a
product
not
only
of
standard
achievement
but
also
of
who
one
is
allowed
to
be
through
the
norms
and
rou0nes
that
shape
classroom
life
• Teacher
is
one
of
key
actors
who
play
cri0cal
roles
in
crea0ng
norms
and
rou0nes
that
shape
students’
life

33. What
can
we
do
to
beeer
recognize
and
support
students’
iden0ty
work?
• Who
is
allowed
to
be
as
a
good
(science)
student
in
our
school
or
science
classroom,
and
who
is
not?
• How
can
we
create
flexible,
porous,
and
safe
space
where
students
can
draw
on
resources
from
other
spaces
and
try
on
new
iden00es
in
science?

34. Thank
you!
Hosunk@u.washington.edu
GET
City:
(hep://getcity.org/blog/)