This article is a response to Randy Yerrick and Joseph Johnson's article "Negotiating White Science in Rural Black America: A Case for Navigating the Landscape of Teacher Knowledge Domains". They write about research conducted by Yerrick in which videos of his teaching practice as a White educator in a predominately Black rural classroom were…

Previous research has suggested that competitive classroom environments can play a role in perpetuating race and class inequalities. However, classroom competition can also promote learning, and eliminating it could do students a disservice. This paper draws on research literature and data from a qualitative study by Konstantinos Alexakos, Jayson…

This forum article consists of commentaries--authored by Sumi Hagiwara, Maria S. Rivera Maulucci and Lizette Ramos--on the feature article by Virginia Jennings Bolshakova, Carla C. Johnson, and Charlene M. Czerniak. We reflect on a series of questions that take retrospective, introspective, and prospective views of self-efficacy in science…

In this forum, we summarize CRT's origins, tenets common to most CRT writings, and CRT's evolution. We discuss Yerrick's article "Negotiating White Science" with respect to certain CRT premises. Specifically, we use the CRT tenet of racism as emphasized in first- and second-generation CRT and CRT elements liberal racial ideology and voices of…

In this response to Konstantinos Alexakos, Jayson K. Jones, and Victor H. Rodriguez's study, I discuss ways attending to student membership in groups can both inform research on equity and diversity in science education and improve the teaching of science to all students. My comments are organized into three sections: how underrepresented…

Due to the growing number of students from populations underrepresented in the sciences, there is an intensified need to consider alternatives to traditional science instruction. Inquiry-based instructional approaches provide promise and possibility for engaging underrepresented students in the activities of science. However, inquiry-based…

This review explores Meyers and Crawford's "Teaching science as a cultural way of knowing: Merging authentic inquiry, nature of science, and multicultural strategies" by examining how they combine the use of inquiry-based science instruction with multicultural strategies. In this conversation, I point to the need of specific discourse strategies…

This is a study of teaching about the human body. It is based on transcribed material from interviews with 15-year-old students and teachers about their experiences of sex education and from recordings of classroom interactions during a dissection. The analysis is focused on the relationship between what students are supposed to learn about the…

How should we think about the body in science education? What ought it mean to be alive and live within epistemologies and pedagogies? What does it mean to be human in science education? In response to Auli Arvola Orlander and Per-Olof Wickram's article, this essay explores some of the possibilities and questions that the body evokes in science…

In this Forum paper I examine how Orlander and Wickman represent Descartes philosophy, noting that while it might be tempting to apply one facet of a philosopher's argument, such as Descartes separation of mind and body, by doing that we do not capture the development of his thinking. I propose the phenomenological philosophy of Edmund Husserl can…

In this Forum paper we synthesize some of the main ideas from three papers: Auli Orlander and Per-Olof Wickman's ("Cult Stud Sci Educ" 6, 2011), "Bodily experiences in secondary school biology," Roger Sages' ("Cult Stud Sci Educ" 6, 2011), "About Descartes: Uses and misuses," and Steve Alsop's ("Cult Stud Sci Educ" 6, 2011), "The body bites back!"…

In this essay I elaborate on three ideas that emerged from reading the work of Sylvie Barma. These points are in response to curriculum reform and the use of activity theory: (a) curriculum reform as a public policy; (b) a reflection about the process followed by teacher implementation of that reform in a biology classroom; and (c) the sense of…

This collection of historical accounts provides diverse perspectives on the structure and culture of the community of researchers who completed their studies under the mentorship of researchers at "SMEC." These her/histories provide multiple perspectives on the goals and values that motivated educators to become "SMEC" scholars.

For almost a half century David F. Treagust has been an exemplary science educator who has contributed through his dedication and commitments to students, curriculum development and collaboration with teachers, and cutting edge research in science education that has impacted the field globally, nationally and locally. A hallmark of his outstanding…

This response to Jesse Bazzul and Heather Sykes' paper, "The secret identity of a biology textbook: straight and naturally sexed," explores their critiques of textbooks and curricula that authoritatively present scientific accounts of the natural world without engaging students in critical thinking. It proposes that we need to go beyond such…