Research Description

My research has focused on two main areas within science education: inscriptions, particularly photographs, and gestures studies. I use qualitative ethnographic and social semiotic/discursive interpretive methods to investigate classroom interaction and pedagogical materials used for teaching science at the senior level.

My research on inscriptions investigated the use of photographs in high school biology textbooks in terms of their pedagogical potential based on the interpretive work needed for textbook users to make sense of these images as part of the major context made available through words and images in these texts. Of notice is the book "Critical Graphicacy: Understanding Visual Representation Practices in School Science" (Springer, 2005), which I co-authored with Dr. Wolff-Michael Roth and Dr. Jae Young Han.

My research on gestures emphasizes the embodied nature of cognition and communication, especially in classroom interactions, as a teacher performs concepts using speech, gestures, body posture, eye gaze, and various materials (on the board, screen, walls, or manipulated). All of these are considered semiotic resources that are part of the same meaning unit, through which complex and often times abstract concepts are communicated to students. A compilation of some of the results from this research is available in "Staging & Performing Scientific Concepts: Lecturing is Thinking with Hands, Eyes, Body, and Signs" (Sense Publishers, 2010).

Branching off from this latter area of research, I have been interested in understanding the negotiation of identity through interactions in science classrooms. Relying on sociocultural theories, and using a multimodal analytical approach to live (video) data, this line of research attempts to contribute to a broader understanding of how and why students align themselves to science and available scientific positionings during their trajectories as high school students, which can have implications for student achievement in science and overall interest in science related careers.

Teaching Description

At the undergraduate level, I teach courses focused on teaching science at the senior (high school) and middle years (grades 4-8). These courses are a combination of theory and practice, where teacher-candidates explore issues related to the Nature of Science (NOS), Socio-scientific issues (SSI), Sustainability, and teaching science for Social Justice and inclusion. Practical work includes opportunities to analyze and discuss lesson plans and teaching/learning activities, as well as design and teach lessons to peers, following principles discussed in class, such as learning styles, cognitive theories, authentic science teaching, teaching by inquiry, sustainability, and teaching science for social justice and equity. Teacher candidates also have the opportunity to practice laboratory, ludic and manipulative activities focused on specific Manitoba science curricular content for grades 4 to 12. During these courses, we also explore the Manitoba science curriculum for senior and middle years, discussing its main objectives and key concepts, as well effective approaches to teach this content.

At the graduate level, I have experience teaching introductory Research Methods courses and Qualitative Research Methods in Educational Research. The focus of these courses has been on the epistemological assumptions of different types of Educational research methodologies; the design of educational research, and the preparation of proposals for research ethics review. The courses were organized as seminars with ample opportunities for discussions based on concrete examples and copious feedback to individual students working on their thesis/dissertations or comprehensive final papers.