Springer is proud to introduce the official blog of Cultural Studies of Science Education, moderated by the BLOG Editor, Stephen Ritchie, from Queensland University of Technology. The Editors-in-Chief for CSSE, Wolff-Michael Roth and Kenneth Tobin also will play active roles as will the members of the editorial board.

The journal’s homepage can be found on Springer.com, while the full-text can be found on SpringerLink.

The articles published in CSSE are cutting edge in terms of theory, method and the issues addressed in the research. Each published article emphasizes one or more of the following perspectives: empirical, topical/polemical and theoretical.  Once an article is accepted for publication the editors select the participants in a Forum, which is a companion publication that begins with an articulation of key issues in the article and then ratchets up the scholarly discussion by exploring the issues, theories and methods employed in the paper in a deep way. Hence, for each paper published in CSSE there is a companion Forum that begins and expands a scholarly conversation. We see this as an important way to initiate, continue and expand the quality of the dialogues in science education.

The BLOG is an extension of what we have initiated in CSSE with the paper and associated Forum. Participants in the BLOG contribute to the conversation, which, as it is a conversation among scholars, is conducted in a way appropriate for a community of scholars. Issues that arise in the published works from CSSE, that is, the editorials, contributed papers and forums, are possible foci for scholarly critique and expanded dialogue. Each article/BLOG is assigned a BLOG editor and any filters imposed are part of a peer review process.  We publish contributions that are thoughtful, contribute in a scholarly way, and fit the goals of the CSSE. All publications in the BLOG are expected to add substantively to cultural studies of science education. Argument is expected, as argument is understood within the academy. We expect rationale for positions taken and for sociocultural theory to be employed in ways that catalyze thought and higher levels of scholarship within our field.

Each text submitted to a BLOG is reviewed by a BLOG editor who decides whether to accept it for publication. The expected turnaround time on decisions normally is short—on the order of days rather than weeks. Hence, the CSSE BLOG is the field where science educators collectively engage in and produce the most recent and cutting edge thinking in the cultural studies of science education.

Ken Tobin, Michael Roth & Steve Ritchie

by Yerrick, Randy; Roth, Wolff-Michael; Tobin, Kenneth

DOI: 10.1007/s11422-005-9010-9
Online Date: 6/20/2006
Print publication date: 9/1/2006
View article on SpringerLink

by Tonso, Karen L.

The research reported here contributes to understanding how student engineers on an engineering campus in the US mid-continent not only talked about the kinds of people recognized as engineers on campus, but also juxtaposes their talk about “campus engineer identities” with two students’ ways of presenting themselves as engineers through engineering project teamwork to argue that campus engineer identities framed on-campus interpretations of actions, and ultimately that identity production was a complicated process through which campus engineer identities (cultural knowledge learned on campus) provided a lens of meaning through which to “recognize” (or not) performances of engineer selves as engineers. This research adds to conversations about identity in practice, especially identity production in science education, by suggesting the importance of cultural forms for belonging, especially at an obdurate site of science practice like the campus studied.

DOI: 10.1007/s11422-005-9009-2
Online Date: 6/20/2006
Print publication date: 9/1/2006
View article on SpringerLink

by Brickhouse, Nancy W.; Eisenhart, Margaret A.; Tonso, Karen L.

DOI: 10.1007/s11422-005-9011-8
Online Date: 6/16/2006
Print publication date: 9/1/2006
View article on SpringerLink

by Tobin, Kenneth

This paper analyzes teaching and learning in urban science classrooms in which most of the students are African American and from low-income homes. Their teachers are also racial minorities and yet they struggle to teach successfully across cultural boundaries. The first set of case studies involves a male teacher who taught in a high-energy way that produced structures for students to get involved in the doing of science. His verbal fluency and expressive individualism, involving emphatic gestures, rhythmic use of his body, and voice intonation maintained student participation. A second case study examines successful interactions among the students, involving an argument over competing models for chemical valence. Whereas the students interacted successfully, the teacher was frequently out of synchrony in terms of amplitude, pitch, and non-verbal actions. The key implication is the necessity for teachers and students to learn how to interact successfully in ways that produce positive emotional energy, a sense of belonging to the class, and a commitment to shared responsibility for one another’s participation. Aligning the cultures of teaching and learning offers a possibility that fluent interactions will occur, afford success, and facilitate the learning of science.

DOI: 10.1007/s11422-005-9008-3
Online Date: 6/8/2006
Print publication date: 9/1/2006
View article on SpringerLink