Examining Science Teacher Reflections on Argument-Based Inquiry Through a Critical Discourse Lens

Developing the future scientists of tomorrow requires that the science teachers of today be well versed in the languages and practices of science. This may require in-service teachers to shift the way they think about learning and the role they play in their classrooms. One approach to helping teachers gain a sense of comfort with current science practices, including the process of argumentation, known as Argument-based Strategies for STEM Infused Science Teaching (ASSIST), has recently been designed as a means of providing professional development opportunities for K-12 science teachers. As part of the ASSIST program, participating teachers provided written feedback in the form of self-reflections that focus on the challenges they have faced when attempting to implement the ASSIST approach with their students. These self-reflections were examined using the tools of critical discourse analysis (CDA) to uncover themes in the language used by participants as they express difficulties in implementing a new approach to science teaching. Our analysis reveals struggles for power at the instructional, institutional, and interpersonal levels that can stand in the way of progressive approaches to teaching and learning. Fundamental to the power struggles reported on in this research are competing educational ideologies that can be discovered and explored using CDA. Implications for the planning and design of science teacher professional development programs will be discussed.