Developing Identity in a
Kitchen Science
Community of Practice
Tamara L. Clegg
PhD Qualifying Exam
Learning Sciences & Technology
College of Computing
November 2, 2005

 The Fire in my Belly
 Background Information
 First Steps: Little League Cooking
 Kitchen Science Investigators
 Research Questions
 Next Steps
The Fire in my Belly Background LLC KSI Research Questions Next Steps

 Academic excellence in the African American
Community

Particularly in math and science
 Issue (in my own experience):

Lack of African American students in the more advanced science and mathematics classes
The Fire in my Belly Background LLC KSI Research Questions Next Steps

 Lack of minorities and women going into science, math, and engineering (Dozier et al 1997)
 Nasir and Saxe (2003) suggest this is because of the tension between…

Values of community (e.g. neighborhood, family) and

Identity
 Specifically in Urban Learning Centers and underserved communities (Fordham 1988)
The Fire in my Belly Background LLC KSI Research Questions Next Steps


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Creating an informal learning environment for learners to explore Chemistry through cooking

To foster the development of learners’ identities as scientific thinkers
Cooking as a lever
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Motivation

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Science involved (Corriher 1997; Brown 2002)
Accomplishment and contribution (WebMD)
Social bonds (Nardi)
Studies

First implementation: Little League Cooking

Kitchen Science Investigators Science Club
The Fire in my Belly Background LLC KSI Research Questions Next Steps

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Learning and motivation can go hand-in-hand with properly designed projects (Blumenfeld et al. 1991)
Learners need to work on problems that are…


Open-ended and ill-structured (Koschmann 1996)
(Disciplinary Authenticity - Shaffer 1999)
Real-world (Kolodner 2003; Koschman 1996)
Culture of practices leading to effective learning can be established by…



Sequencing conversations and activities
Ritualizing scientific practices
(Koldner et al. 2003)
The Fire in my Belly Background LLC KSI Research Questions Next Steps

 Sew seeds of interest and motivation (Wellington
1990)


Islands of expertise (Crowley & Jacobs 2002)
Epistemic frames (Shaffer 2004)
 Conceptual understandings develop gradually over time

With help of parents

(Crowley 2001)
The Fire in my Belly Background LLC KSI Research Questions Next Steps

 Identity is formed with respect to (and as a result of) the community (Gee 2001)
 Learners are affected by what their community values

Learning Outcomes
(Nasir, 2000)

Identities
(Nasir & Saxe 2003)
The Fire in my Belly Background LLC KSI Research Questions Next Steps

 There are many types of Communities of Practice that form where learners develop identities through participation (Lave & Wenger 1991,
Barab & Duffy 2000)

Needed:
 A common cultural and historical heritage
 A reproduction cycle
 An interdependent system
The Fire in my Belly Background LLC KSI Research Questions Next Steps

 Leveraging subjects learners are more likely to engage in to get them to connect them to other subjects
 Digiquilt
 AquaMOOSE
 Dispositions
 Learners can develop dispositions towards learning that transfer to other environments
 (Bereiter 1995)
The Fire in my Belly Background LLC KSI Research Questions Next Steps

 To create and sustain a community that values scientific reasoning
 To use cooking as a leverage into science
 To design and implement this learning environment and supporting software
The Fire in my Belly Background LLC KSI Research Questions Next Steps


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 After-school program at a private school
Four 1.5 hour sessions
Seven 5-8th grade learners
Learners explored the chemical properties of eggs

Cooking activities


Science experiment
Science cooking visualizations


Learners…

Cooking reflection software was useful


Could explain the roles eggs played in their recipes
Enjoyed working with their self-selected groups
Science visualizations did not fit well in the environment
The Fire in my Belly Background LLC KSI Research Questions Next Steps

 Transitioning LLC to KSI

The name change reflects focus shift from competition activities to investigation

Learners engage in self-motivated explorations/experiments to find answers to their own questions

The overall sequencing of activities has shifted from structured activities into a more informal semi-structured sequence of exploration.
The Fire in my Belly Background LLC KSI Research Questions Next Steps

Problem-Based Learning
- Structured Activities
- Supporting Chemistry Experiments
The Fire in my Belly
Project-Based Learning
- Less Structured Activities
- Student Driven Experiments
Background LLC
Barron et al 1998
KSI Research Questions Next Steps

Structured Experiment
Ex: Baking Soda vs. Baking Powder
Group Discussion:
Predictions & Planning
Observations
Pictures
Unstructured Experiment: Retry Day
Pizza With Baking Soda/Powder
Group Discussion:
Reflection & Expl.
The Fire in my Belly Background LLC KSI Research Questions Next Steps

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Private school
10-week Science Club afterschool program
1.5 hour sessions
Once per week
16 participants
5th grade learners
School cafeteria/lobby and kitchen
 Data Collection

Learner interviews



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Group
 Individual
Observation
Field notes
 Video data
Learners’ artifacts
 Physical

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Software
Photos (food)
The Fire in my Belly Background LLC KSI Research Questions Next Steps

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Evidence of learning

Problem-based -> Project-based sequence


 Alternating
 Science Experiments
 Informal Artifacts
Needed help with group planning
Lack of quantitative comparisons
Technology use

Messy Environment


Interface
Prompts
Water cooler effect
 Pragmatics
The Fire in my Belly Background LLC KSI Research Questions Next Steps

QuickTime™ and a
TIFF ( Uncompressed) decompressor are needed to see thi s pi ctur e.
 Helping students in underserved communities to develop and maintain identities as scientific reasoners and thinkers (The fire in my belly)

That they can take with them throughout life

KSI’s potential

What are the additional needs of this community?

What do we need to do to adapt to this community?
The Fire in my Belly Background LLC KSI Research Questions Next Steps

 What are the affordances of the surrounding community for supporting aspects of this community of learners vital to it’s success?

Development of scientific practices



Sustaining motivation and engagement
Providing access to Legitimate Peripheral Participation
Already known:
 Sequencing

Problem-based Activities to Project-based Activities
 Cooking
 Attention grabbing experiments
 Informal artifacts
 Community involvement
The Fire in my Belly Background LLC KSI Research Questions Next Steps

 What role can the technology play in this environment

In conveying the shared history?



In promoting learning and exploration?
In supporting the community’s growth and knowledge buildup?
Already known:
 Documenting shared experience - pictures and storytelling
 Technology Setup
 Scientific planning and analysis

KWL chart (Know, Want to learn, and Learned)


Measurements and comparisons
Group display
The Fire in my Belly Background LLC KSI Research Questions Next Steps

 Develop a working implementation of KSI
(curriculum and software)
 Extending KSI into an underserved community or
Urban Learning Center after-school environment to


Extend on these questions, applying them to these environments
To find out what the different needs are in these communities
The Fire in my Belly Background LLC KSI Research Questions Next Steps

 Spring 2006: KSI formative study (private school)
 Fall 2006: Data analysis/software and curriculum revisions
 Spring & Fall 2007: Proposal and study in ULC or underserved community
 Spring 2008: Writing and defense of dissertation
The Fire in my Belly Background LLC KSI Research Questions Next Steps

 My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
 Janet Kolodner
 Christina Gardner
 Oriana Williams
 Alex Rudnick
 Allison E. Tew
The Fire in my Belly Background LLC KSI Research Questions Next Steps

LLC Software: Cooking Journal and
Reflection
The Fire in my Belly Background LLC KSI Research Questions Next Steps

Chemistry Learning Modules
The Fire in my Belly Background LLC KSI Research Questions Next Steps

Chemistry Learning
Activities & Reflection
The Fire in my Belly Background LLC KSI Research Questions Next Steps

 In the classroom

Problem-based Learning
(e.g., Barron et al. 1998)



Project-based Learning
(e.g. Blumenfeld et al. 1991)
Inquiry Science Learning
(e.g. Edelson & Pea 1999)
Learning By Design
(Kolodner et al. 2003)
 Out of the classroom

Museum Learning
(e.g. Crowley & Galco 2001, Wellington
1990)
The Fire in my Belly Background LLC KSI Research Questions Next Steps

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Science and Cooking Competitions
Create and support a community of learners with

Activities

Software
Promoting learning for transfer

Cooking techniques


Conceptual understanding of science
Scientific reasoning
Enhance learner’s conceptualization of Chemistry and cooking

Visualizations and simulations
The Fire in my Belly Background LLC KSI Research Questions Next Steps

The Fire in my Belly Background LLC KSI Research Questions Next Steps



Swiki-based
Used to…

 provide documentation of their shared experiences
Provide experiment planning and observation prompts
The Fire in my Belly Background LLC KSI Research Questions Next Steps

The Fire in my Belly Background LLC KSI Research Questions Next Steps

 Nasir, N. i. (2000). "Points Ain't Everything": Emergent
Goals and Average and Percent Understandings in the
Play of Basketball among African American Students.
Anthropology and Education Quarterly, 31 (3), 283-305.
 Nasir, N. i., & Saxe, G. B. (2003). Ethnic and Academic
Identities: A Cultural Practice Perspective on Emerging
Tensions and Their Management in the Lives of Minority
Students. Educational Researcher .
The Fire in my Belly Background LLC KSI Research Questions Next Steps