Lessons with Dr. Christine Bae, Tracyee Hogans Foster and Michael Stange

This episode features a conversation with Christine Bae of Virginia Commonwealth University, Tracyee Hogans Foster of Richmond Public Schools, and Michael Stange of Chesterfield County Public Schools. The three are engaged in a 5-year-long initiative funded by the National Science Foundation to examine student engagement in science instruction in the middle grades through a method called "authentic science discourse."

Christine, Tracyee, Mike and Jason talk about the research base around student motivation in learning, why science is a particularly good subject in which to study student motivation, what educators are experiencing this year in terms of student motivation in general after a year of long-term remote learning, and the practice of science discourse as a way to inspire and compel students to engage more with the content. They also talk about what science discourse looks like in virtual and in-person learning settings, how the practice can be sustained over time, and the value of research-practice partnerships - like the one they are participating in - to educators and to the field as a whole.

Additional Readings and Resources:

• Discourse and Learning Lab
• National Science Foundation
  • Building on diverse students' funds of knowledge to promote scientific discourse and strengthen connections to science learning in urban classrooms
  • Faculty Early Career Development Program
• Virginia Commonwealth University
• Richmond Public Schools
• Chesterfield County Public Schools
• Flipgrid