Deb Morrison

Conceptualizing color-evasiveness: using dis/ability critical race theory to expand a color-blind racial ideology in education and society

Abstract Color-blind racial ideology has historically been conceptualized as an ideology wherein race is immaterial. Efforts not to ‘see’ race insinuate that recognizing race is problematic; therefore, scholars have identified and critiqued color-blindness ideology. In this paper, we first examine Gotanda’s (1991) identification and critique of color-blind racial ideology, as it was crucial in troubling white supremacy. We then explore literature in both legal studies and education to determine how scholars have built upon Gotanda’s intellectual theoretical foundations. Finally, using a Dis/ability Critical Race Theory (DisCrit) framework, we end by expanding to a racial ideology of color-evasiveness in education and society, as we believe that conceptualizing the refusal to recognize race as ‘color-blindness’ limits the ways this ideology can be dismantled.

Arctic Climate Connections Curriculum: A Model for Bringing Authentic Data Into the Classroom

ABSTRACT Science education can build a bridge between research carried out by scientists and relevant learning opportunities for students. The Broader Impact requirements for scientists by funding agencies facilitate this connection. We propose and test a model curriculum development process in which scientists, curriculum developers, and classroom educators work together to scaffold the use of authentic, unprocessed scientific data for high school students. We outline a three-module curriculum structure that facilitates these goals. This curriculum engages students in the collection, description, visualization, and interpretation of data; develops understanding of the nature of science; includes prompts to develop higher-order thinking skills; builds knowledge of regional relevance of climate change in students; uses active learning techniques; and can be easily integrated with the Next Generation Science Standards. The curriculum was reviewed and tested in the classroom. To shed further light on the curriculum development process, we gathered reflection data from the scientists, curriculum developers, and educators. Scientists appreciated the collaborative process in which they contributed their expertise without requiring a large time commitment or strong expertise in science education. The curriculum developers viewed the modular structure as helpful in breaking complicated scientific concepts into teachable steps. Classroom educators appreciated the detailed description and step-by-step instructions to navigate data analysis tools like Excel or Google Earth. Initial classroom implementation of the curriculum by 11 teachers with over 1,100 students showed high levels of interest in the topic and engagement. Further work is needed to assess efficacy of the curriculum through classroom observations and measures of student learning.

Science Teachers’ Representations of Classroom Practice in the Process of Formative Assessment Design

Formative assessment has been recognized as an essential element of effective classroom practice; as a result, teachers are increasingly required to create formative assessments for their classrooms. This study examines data drawn from a long-term, site-based professional development program that supported a department of biology teachers in the iterative design and enactment of common formative assessment tools. We analyze teacher conversations to understand how teachers collaborated to design formative assessments. Results indicate that when teachers attended to problems of practice related to teaching evolution, increased transparency in their talk helped build consensus about the design of formative assessment tools. These results highlight the importance of encouraging transparency in teacher dialog when they are engaged in collaborative design of formative assessments.

Exploring the influence of plant and animal item contexts on student response patterns to natural selection multiple choice items

BackgroundResearch has shown that students have a variety of ideas about natural selection that may be context dependent. Prior analyses of student responses to open-ended evolution items have demonstrated that students apply more core ideas about natural selection when asked about animals, but respond with the same number of naive ideas for plant and animal items. Other research has shown that changing an item to ask about trait loss or gain shifted the types of naive ideas applied by students in their responses. In this paper, we take up both of these findings to determine if differences exist in the types of ideas students apply to similar items with either a plant or an animal in the item stem.ResultsIn order to understand if students applied different ideas to plants or animals in distractor-driven multiple-choice questions, we analyzed high school biology students’ responses to matched-item pairs. Dichotomous scoring revealed that students chose the correct response more often for the animal items as compared to the plant items. Chi squared analyses revealed significant differences in the distribution of student responses to matched items. For example, more students chose responses that defined animal fitness as related to their strength and plants’ fitness related to its longevity.ConclusionsThese results suggest that varied context of plants or animals in item stems on diagnostic assessments can provide teachers with a more complete picture of their students’ ideas about natural selection prior to instruction. This is particularly important in assessments used prior to instruction; as teachers will gain greater insight into the variety of ways students think about natural selection across different types of plants and animals.

Identifying Dysfunctional Education Ecologies: A DisCrit Analysis of Bias in the Classroom

Abstract In this critical theoretical conceptualization situated in Disability Critical Race Theory (Annamma, Connor, & Ferri, 2013), we identify the current education system as a series of dysfunctional education ecologies. We next analyze how dysfunctional education ecologies are maintained through implicit bias, consider how these biases may impact classroom interactions, and reframe bias as dysconscious racism (King, 1991). Finally, we explore how school personnel can use transformative praxis (Freire, 1970) to actively dismantle these dysfunctional education ecologies through a shift in both their epistemological and axiological commitments to develop functional ecologies of learning by enacting a DisCrit Classroom Ecology.