Abstract
Using three constructs taken from Latour's 2005 book, Reassembling the Social, we consider our work in 2 contexts that were part of a project to support science teachers working with English learners: an 8th-grade physical science class in a summer science enrichment academy, and a 6th-grade Earth science class in a public middle school. We utilize Latour's constructs of (a) group formation, (b) mediators and intermediaries, and (c) traces of intentionality to interpret the interactions that occur in these spaces. We analyze these interactions to make a broader argument about the limitations of improvement science perspectives that are increasingly influential in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education research in the U.S. context.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We thank the following individuals for thoughts and feedback as we conceptualized this article: Joe Tobin, Bettie St Pierre, Ajay Sharma, Jim Garrett, Hilary Hughes, and Mardi Schmeichel.
FUNDING
This work was supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Number # DRL-1316398. Opinions and conclusions are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.