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Examining Hispanic students' science learning in an argument-based inquiry classroom

The Hispanic population in the United States experiences many challenges in education that have placed them behind their Euro-American counterparts in terms of achievement. These challenges are associated with socioeconomic status and family structure, educational expectations, cognitive skills, and low-quality schooling in the elementary grades. The purpose of this study was to examine how Hispanic students construct science learning in an argument-based inquiry classroom. This research constitutes a qualitative case study grounded in a sociocultural constructivist framework. Data was collected using a variety of qualitative techniques, including nonparticipant observations, analysis of semi-structured interviews, audio recordings, transcription, and observations. The focal participants of this study are three Latino/Hispanic students, two in fifth grade and one in fourth grade. Findings indicated that the two aspects of an argument-based inquiry approach impact students learning in science under diverse conditions. Students also encounter particular challenges while they are involved in this learning context.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:uiowa.edu/oai:ir.uiowa.edu:etd-5578
Date01 May 2015
CreatorsAguirre-Mendez, Claudia Patricia
ContributorsPark, Soonhye
PublisherUniversity of Iowa
Source SetsUniversity of Iowa
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
Typedissertation
Formatapplication/pdf
SourceTheses and Dissertations
RightsCopyright 2015 Claudia P. Aguirre-Mendez

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