Multicultural Inquiry Toward Demystifying Scientific Culture and Learning Science

Abstract

This study investigated how student participation in an authentic scientific investigation may shape underrepresented students’ views of science and support students in learning science. The research centered on the instructional approach used in a fifth-grade classroom to engage English language learning students from Latino backgrounds in a geological investigation using Devonian fossils. The teacher combined the use of inquiry with multicultural education strategies and explicit instruction in nature of science. The unique combination of these instructional strategies, which we refer to as “multicultural inquiry,” provided students with opportunities for experiencing scientific activities and negotiating their understandings about scientific culture. Through this instructional approach, students demonstrated science learning and also came to view science as (1) more than just a subject at school, (2) different from media-based depictions, and (3) aligned with the actual disciplines of geology and paleontology. Students also demonstrated self-identification with scientists and interest in pursuing scientific careers. These changes highlight the value of bringing actual scientific practices into classroom settings as related to student views of science.

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