Purdue University Graduate School
Browse
TUVILLA_DISSERTATION 2.0_FINAL.pdf (46.82 MB)

MULTIMODAL ANALYSIS OF MINORITIZED LEARNERS’ SCIENCE ENGAGEMENT IN AN AFTERSCHOOL SCIENCE PROGRAM

Download (46.82 MB)
thesis
posted on 2020-03-03, 20:26 authored by Mavreen Rose Sta ana TuvillaMavreen Rose Sta ana Tuvilla

Science engagement, defined as a learners’ active participation in learning, is traditionally viewed as a linguistic accomplishment. In U.S. superdiverse learning contexts, English language learners’ (ELLs) science engagement is often left unrecognized because English is deemed as the sole site of scientific sensemaking, and, writing and speech as the main ways of teaching and assessment. This dissertation explores how resettled Burmese refugee youth, who are ELLs and multilinguals, engaged in science learning in RESET, an afterschool program. Combining microethnography with video analysis, I investigated how youth used multiple modes (e.g., language, gesture, posture, proxemics, etc.) in coordinating with one another to accomplish their learning task. I collected two years of data including: field notes, video- and audio-recordings of RESET sessions, digital recordings of participants’ computer use, youth-generated artifacts, and semi-structured interviews. Drawing from principles of video analysis, ethnography, and multimodal analysis, I identified how learners used multimodality in their science engagement and how their strategic use of multimodality afforded productive science engagement. This work impacts education by broadening definitions of learners’ science engagement; compelling educators to reassess current perspectives on engagement and restructure current ways of teaching and assessing learners; suggesting innovations on how researchers study engagement; and contributing to research on the transformation of learning spaces for more equitable instruction both in informal and formal settings. Finally, this adds to the few existing science-focused literature on refugee education and furthers our understanding of how minoritized youth agentively negotiate engagement in learning settings.

Funding

NSF 1612688

NSF 1813937

History

Degree Type

  • Doctor of Philosophy

Department

  • Chemistry

Campus location

  • West Lafayette

Advisor/Supervisor/Committee Chair

George M. Bodner

Advisor/Supervisor/Committee co-chair

Minjung Ryu

Additional Committee Member 2

Kathryn M. Obenchain

Additional Committee Member 3

Wayne E. Wright

Additional Committee Member 4

Ala Samarapungavan

Usage metrics

    Categories

    Licence

    Exports

    RefWorks
    BibTeX
    Ref. manager
    Endnote
    DataCite
    NLM
    DC