Exploring epistemic agency in students’ problem-solving activities

Mahir Akgun; Priya Sharma

doi:10.29333/ijese/12970

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Mahir Akgun ¹ ^* , Priya Sharma ²

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¹ College of Information Sciences and Technology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA² College of Education, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA^* Corresponding Author

Abstract

This case study presents an exploration of epistemic agency in a middle school context. The main focus of this study was to identify and characterize the actions indicative of epistemic agency that emerged in student interactions. The study was conducted with sixth graders. Data were collected from multiple sources including records of student participation in the classroom and in the virtual space, student-created artifacts, and non-participant observations. A qualitative data analysis was conducted to identify actions indicative of epistemic agency. The findings showed that eleven actions emerged in students’ activities: generating new ideas, revising ideas, negotiating new ideas, sharing ideas, sharing data/information, drawing on other group’s ideas, drawing on other groups’ data/findings, collecting additional information, engaging in shared construction of data collection instruments, examining research data–seeking support for ideas, and creating a joint plan of actions. Future research identified by this study suggests further investigations of the interactional processes that may reveal key actions that trigger subsequent actions.

Keywords

epistemic agency
epistemic actions
science education

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

INTERDISCIP J ENV SCI ED, Volume 19, Issue 1, 2023, Article No: e2303

https://doi.org/10.29333/ijese/12970

Publication date: 18 Feb 2023

Article Views: 881

Article Downloads: 752

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How to cite this article

APA

Akgun, M., & Sharma, P. (2023). Exploring epistemic agency in students’ problem-solving activities. Interdisciplinary Journal of Environmental and Science Education, 19(1), e2303. https://doi.org/10.29333/ijese/12970

Vancouver

Akgun M, Sharma P. Exploring epistemic agency in students’ problem-solving activities. INTERDISCIP J ENV SCI ED. 2023;19(1):e2303. https://doi.org/10.29333/ijese/12970

AMA

Akgun M, Sharma P. Exploring epistemic agency in students’ problem-solving activities. INTERDISCIP J ENV SCI ED. 2023;19(1), e2303. https://doi.org/10.29333/ijese/12970

Chicago

Akgun, Mahir, and Priya Sharma. "Exploring epistemic agency in students’ problem-solving activities". Interdisciplinary Journal of Environmental and Science Education 2023 19 no. 1 (2023): e2303. https://doi.org/10.29333/ijese/12970

Harvard

Akgun, M., and Sharma, P. (2023). Exploring epistemic agency in students’ problem-solving activities. Interdisciplinary Journal of Environmental and Science Education, 19(1), e2303. https://doi.org/10.29333/ijese/12970

MLA

Akgun, Mahir et al. "Exploring epistemic agency in students’ problem-solving activities". Interdisciplinary Journal of Environmental and Science Education, vol. 19, no. 1, 2023, e2303. https://doi.org/10.29333/ijese/12970