Teachers as participant-narrators in authentic data stories

ABSTRACT

This study describes outcomes from a place-based, teacher-scientist partnership intended to support teacher use of authentic data for science and math instruction. Teachers worked with scientists in the field to practice collection and analysis of authentic data. This case study investigated how narrative structure and contextualisation were created and used by teachers to convey meaning from the scientists to students. Participant interviews, focus groups, and researcher notes were qualitatively analysed through production and testing of propositions. The results show that teacher narratives were based heavily on the scientists’ narratives as informed by teachers’ own field experiences and authentic data. Teachers served as participant-narrators in the narratives rather than central agents, and they used the elements of narrative structure to frame knowledge that is co-constructed by the scientists, teachers, and students. This model of transfer through story is described in detail along with implications for research and practice.

KEYWORDS:

• Place-based
• teacher-scientist partnership
• science stories
• narrative
• data literacy
• Contextualisation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Michael Giamellaro http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2826-6057

Kari O’Connell http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2656-9898

Melinda Knapp http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6511-1041

Additional information

Funding

This work was funded by a U.S. Department of Education Title II-A grant (award # S367B150032-15A) and the Roundhouse Foundation. Data were provided by the HJ Andrews Experimental Forest and Long Term Ecological Research program, administered cooperatively by the USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station, Oregon State University, and the Willamette National Forest. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation [grant no. DEB-1440409].