Knowledge Production: A Case Study about Values, Epistemology and Conflicts in a 4th Grade Classroom.

This paper reports on a case study that was part of a 3-year longitudinal study about classroom discourse during a learning sequence related to environmental values and concepts. The lesson was planned and enacted by students in a fourth grade classroom during a field study. Whole class and small group classroom conversations and a field trip to a pond were recorded and interpreted in terms of knowledge production and use, goals pursued, and values. The data demonstrate how students are able to propose, evaluate, and justify sophisticated science-related questions and challenge book authority. Implications for science and environmental education are discussed. (WRM)