“I like sharing ideas because that means people learn”: Cultivating a Kindergarten Science Knowledge Building Community

Abstract

This dissertation contains qualitative multi-case studies, which are the result of a four-year, teacher-researcher partnership focused on intellectual and social relationality that was co-designed and developed within a kindergarten knowledge building community. This study focuses on elements of a designed learning environment, which were theorized to support a range of participation styles as children leveraged scientific models to learn about complex phenomena, explain their thinking, and engage earnestly as participants in a range of disciplinary practices. Analysis of video data across the three phases of the physics unit and of student-generated models of physics concepts in action, reveals how students collectively developed as a knowledge building community and described physics concepts. I present a vision of how student collaboration can support scientific modeling, when the content is grounded in young children’s natural capabilities (such as relationships, imagination, play, and movement), in their interests (their playground slide) and through cultural practices (collaborative learning within community and linguistic freedoms). Tracing participation and growth in development with scientific practices, the findings demonstrate how knowledge was co-constructed by students, and unique participation was ultimately leveraged to advance their meaning-making and their models of physics phenomena. The findings suggest that the design framework afforded emergent bilingual children the opportunities to take advantage of a system of supports where they could make intellectual connections between their everyday ideas and experiences to support their development of a relationship with science and scientific practices and with their knowledge building community.