Five Phases for Engaging Secondary Teachers in Expansive and Connective Sensemaking

Abstract

Visions of equitable science teaching emphasize the need to engage with heterogeneity in scientific sensemaking, valuing diverse ways of knowing and resources for understanding the natural world. However, most secondary science teachers have not had opportunities to experience science in these ways, making it challenging to implement in their classrooms. Therefore, we have been designing and facilitating activities for teachers to engage in expansive and connective sensemaking to invite their diverse resources for understanding phenomena and to connect to their identities, histories, and futures. In this paper we share our instructional framework for these activities and how this framework supports heterogeneity in scientific sensemaking. This framework consists of five phases of our design and facilitation: (1) motivating our inquiry, (2) posing a broad launching question, (3) surfacing heterogeneity, (4) supporting material engagement, and (5) deepening connections to contexts. We offer concrete examples of this framework across two contexts: a preservice teacher education content course and an in-service teacher professional learning community. These examples illustrate the possibilities of creating space for current and future educators to imagine more expansive and connective forms of science.