Content Learning and Identity Construction: A Framework to Strengthen African American Students’ Mathematics and Science Learning in Urban Elementary Schools

Abstract

We present a theoretical framework that views learning as a process involving content learning (CL) and identity construction (IC). We view identities as lenses through which people make sense of, and position themselves, through stories and actions, and as lenses for understanding how they are positioned by others. As people become more (or less) central members of a disciplinary community (e.g., a science or mathematics classroom) and engage (or not) in various cultural practices, changes in identity and knowledge accompany changes in position and status. IC and CL share an important characteristic: they both involve meaning making. For IC, it is the development of reasoned, coordinated, coherent, and meaningful ways of seeing one’s self in relation to communities, and for CL, it centers on the development of disciplinary concepts, processes, tools, language, discourse, and norms within practices. Focusing on Black students in mathematics and science classrooms, we claim that three intersecting identities are particularly important: disciplinary identity (as doers of the discipline, i.e., mathematics and science), racial identity (emerging understandings of what it means to be Black), and academic identity (as participants in academic tasks and classroom practices). In this paper, we elaborate on the CLIC framework as a useful tool for understanding how Black students negotiate participation in, and come to see themselves as doers of science and mathematics in their school classrooms. We synthesize empirical findings from our research with younger and older students, as well as with parents and community members, to illustrate dimensions of this framework.

Attitudes, Beliefs, Motivation, and Identity in Mathematics Education

“…In later publications, many writers defined identity more explicitly, though often authors resisted constraining their definition to narrative and included in it "beliefs," "perceptions of self," "perceptions of mathematics," and "ways of being" (e.g., Bishop 2012). In particular, authors have stressed the importance of performances or enacted identities (Varelas et al 2013). In addition, many authors have refined the concepts related to identity, including "current and designated" identities (Sfard and Prusak 2005), "normative" and "personal" identities (Cobb et al 2009), "leading identities" (Black et al 2009b), and "identifying" as a process of identity construction (Heyd-Metzuyanim and Sfard 2012).…”

Relevance and Care in Teacher Practices: Supporting African American Students as Learners

“…Patterns of instruction that "skip" narratives detailing the perspectives, experiences and contributions of subpopulations may result in students learning that such perspectives and contributions are insignificant, anomalies or nonexistent. Considering that sense and meaning-making are both connected to identity development (Nasir, 2011;Varelas, Martin & Kane, 2012), students' interactions with people and curriculum within the classroom are not so much a matter of whether or not they learn, but what they learn about the discipline, themselves and their environment (Nasir & Cook, 2009;Sfard & Prusak, 2005).…”

“…The acquisition of new content knowledge and identity development are separate, but interwoven processes (Varelas, Martin & Kane, 2012). In addition to influencing the likelihood of long term storage of important content, concepts and skills, the extent to which students can identify connections between curriculum and their personal lives, interests and goals can also have implications for both student engagement and their beliefs about what opportunities and future identities are personally and collectively achievable.…”

“…Nasir (2002) observes that as students identify more closely with the content and practices of learning contexts, they may also "beg[i]n to construct more sophisticated (as the play context affords) practice-linked goals (increasingly aligned with those of experts)" (p. 240). Students' experiences with curriculum within different learning environments influence and are influenced by their cultural experiences and racialized sense of identity (Gay, 2013;Martin, 2012;Nasir, 2012). Of students who have been "historically portrayed as underachieving and underrepresented in mathematics and science, " Varelas, Martin and Kane (2012) suggest, With respect to knowledge construction…What is needed is explicit, continuous, systematic, and extensive building of connections among the various experiences and underlying concepts and processes.…”

“…Students' experiences with curriculum within different learning environments influence and are influenced by their cultural experiences and racialized sense of identity (Gay, 2013;Martin, 2012;Nasir, 2012). Of students who have been "historically portrayed as underachieving and underrepresented in mathematics and science, " Varelas, Martin and Kane (2012) suggest, With respect to knowledge construction…What is needed is explicit, continuous, systematic, and extensive building of connections among the various experiences and underlying concepts and processes. Similarly, with respect to identity development, using pedagogical and curricular approaches that value students' meaning making, funds of knowledge, experiences in the world, and cultural ways of being is not enough for them to develop positive identities in relation to a disciplinary domain...Such students need to be explicitly positioned by themselves and others as capable doers of science and mathematics and in ways that build strong connections between their racial and ethnic identities and their disciplinary identities (p. 325, emphasis added).…”