Social Dynamics: Leveraging Online Social Networks to Shape Science Identities and Support Learning Science Concepts in Middle School Students

摘要：社会动力学是一个探索性项目，旨在研究利用在线社交网络学习平台(SNLP)进行面对面教学如何增加中学生的科学学习，并促进他们对科学相关背景认同的发展。最近开发和测试的海洋系统科学(OSS)课程中的单元是教学的基础。所有六名教师在第一个暑假接受专业发展，并在第一年教授OSS。测试是在第二年和第三年与相同的教师进行的。这项基于设计的研究为教师如何使用类似Facebook的社交网络平台My Big Campus提供了证据，目前全国各地的学区都在使用该平台来补充面对面的课堂教学。该项目调查了SNLP中的参与如何支持学生科学认同的发展和学习；支持SNLP中参与的教学实践；教师如何使用这些实践来支持学习和塑造学生的科学认同；以及在面对面和SNLP的背景下，学生科学认同和学习之间存在的关系。为了消除SNLP和身份认同对学习的影响，来自奥克兰联合学区的两名教师只使用面对面的教学。一种只使用科学学习策略，另一种除了使用科学学习策略外，还使用认同策略。在圣地亚哥，两组两名教师同时使用面对面和SNLP-一组只使用科学学习策略，另一组既使用科学学习策略又使用认同策略。教师被随机分配到只实施科学和科学加身份的实施中，并将在专业发展期间分开。12名在网上表现出突出行为的学生被选为深入访谈的对象。分析需要复杂的数据跟踪系统，允许在一年的时间内将学生的成绩联系起来，并在一年的过程中将学生与他们的老师联系起来。这个项目应该有助于对在科学教学中使用社交媒体的有效性进行稀缺的研究。

Abstract:Social Dynamics is an exploratory project to investigate how face-to-face teaching leveraging the use of an online social network learning platform (SNLP) can increase middle school students' science learning and enhance their development of contextual identities related to science. Units from the recently developed and tested Ocean System Sciences (OSS) curriculum are the basis for the instruction. All six teachers receive professional development in the first summer and teach the OSS in year one. Testing is carried out with the same teachers in years two and three. The design-based research generates evidence about how teachers can use a Facebook-like social network platform, My Big Campus, which is currently used by school districts nationwide to complement face-to-face classroom instruction. The project investigates the ways engagement in an SNLP supports student science identity development and learning; the instructional practices that support engagement in an SNLP; how teachers use these practices to support learning and shape student science identities; and the relationships that exist between student science identities and learning within the face-to-face and SNLP contexts. To disassociate the impacts of the SNLP and identity on learning, two teachers from Oakland Unified School District use only face-to-face instruction. One only uses science learning strategies; the other employs identity strategies in addition to the science learning strategies. In San Diego, two sets of two teachers use both face-to-face and SNLP - one set using only science learning strategies and the other set using both science learning and identity strategies. Teachers are assigned randomly to the science only and science plus identity implementations and will be separated during professional development. Twelve students, who exhibit online behaviors that stand out, are selected for in-depth interviews. The analyses requires sophisticated data tracking systems that allow for student scores to be linked over the period of one year, and students to be linked to their teachers over the course of one year. This project should contribute to the scarce research about the effectiveness of the use of social media in science instruction.