Dialogic action in climate change discussions: An international study of high school students in China, New Zealand, Norway and the United States

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Published: Jul 16, 2015
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5195/dpj.2015.53
Keywords:
science education digital literacy dialogic practices

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Diana J. Arya
The University of Colorado, Boulder
Jessica K. Parker
Sonoma State University

Abstract

Global efforts to prepare young developing minds for solving current and future challenges of climate change have advocated interdisciplinary, issues-based instructional approaches in order to transform traditional models of science education as delivering conceptual facts (UNESCO, 2014). This study is an exploration of the online interactions in an international social network of high school students residing in Norway, China, New Zealand and the United States (N=141). Students participated in classroom-based and asynchronous online discussions about adapted versions of seminal scientific studies with facilitative support from seven scientists across various fields. Grounded in a language-in-use frame for investigating facilitation and demonstrations of problem-based and evidence-based reasoning (Kelly & Chen, 1999), we traced the varied questions, assertions, and evidentiary sources within student-led online discussions. We found that questions from scientific experts in the form of unconstrained, open-ended invitations for exploration were followed by students’ acknowledgement and consideration of complex and, at times, conflicting sociopolitical and economic positions about climate change issues. These findings suggest that broadening science classroom discussions to include socially relevant, unsolved issues like climate change could open potential entry points for a dialogic approach that fosters a scientific community in the classroom.

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How to Cite
Arya, D. J., & Parker, J. K. (2015). Dialogic action in climate change discussions: An international study of high school students in China, New Zealand, Norway and the United States. Dialogic Pedagogy: A Journal for Studies of Dialogic Education, 3. https://doi.org/10.5195/dpj.2015.53
Issue
Vol. 3 (2015)
Section
Articles

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Author Biographies

Diana J. Arya, The University of Colorado, Boulder

Diana J. Arya is currently an assistant professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her research interests include digital literacy practices and fostering collaborative learning and discussions among adolescent students from various cultural background.

Jessica K. Parker, Sonoma State University

Jessica K. Parker is associate professor in the School of Education at Sonoma State University. Parker studies how secondary schools integrate multimedia literacy into academic literacy learning. Her areas of emphasis include new literacies, educational technology, new media studies, and gender studies.