Re/Constructing Elementary Science seeks to improve the way science is taught in the elementary school. There are three main contradictions that make it difficult for teachers and students to engage in meaningful activities from which understandings result. The central issues in this book are framed in terms of three dichotomies that lead to tensions arising from the dialectic of opposing aspects of teaching and learning. First, there is a tension between learning as an individual process (cultural production) and as a cultural process (cultural reproduction). Second, there is a tension between science and technology (applied science). Finally, there exists a tension between children's interaction with nature and their language for describing and explaining nature. Exemplary case studies are featured that show the tremendous capabilities of elementary students to talk about technology and, in the process, to learn to talk science. These case studies are couched in an ongoing professional dialogue among the authors and the requirements to make such exemplary science happen in other classrooms. Re/Constructing Elementary Science seeks to improve the way science is taught in the elementary school. There are three main contradictions that make it difficult for teachers and students to engage in meaningful activities from which understandings result. The central issues in this book are framed in terms of three dichotomies that lead to tensions arising from the dialectic of opposing aspects of teaching and learning. First, there is a tension between learning as an individual process (cultural production) and as a cultural process (cultural reproduction). Second, there is a tension between science and technology (applied science). Finally, there exists a tension between children's interaction with nature and their language for describing and explaining nature. Exemplary case studies are featured that show the tremendous capabilities of elementary students to talk about technology and, in the process, to learn to talk science. These case studies are couched in an ongoing professional dialogue among the authors and the requirements to make such exemplary science happen in other classrooms. Introduction 1(14) Metalogue 2(9) Why Should Elementary Science be Re/Constructed? 2(2) Why Did I Do the Case Studies? 4(3) What Role Can a Re/Constructed Science Curriculum Play? 7(3) What Is a Metalogue? 10(1) Overview of the Book 11(4) Learning Science through Design Activities 15(34) Professional Design 16(5) Design Traditions and Theories of Designing 16(3) Relationship of Science and Technology 19(2) Understanding Design and Designing 21(5) Nature of Design 21(2) Analysis of Design Activities 23(2) Design Languages 25(1) Children's Design 26(10) Benefits of Design Activities 27(1) Design and the Development of Language Games 28(1) Nature of Children's Designing 29(1) Situated and Contingent Nature 29(3) Ontology of Setting 32(4) Role of Design Artifacts during Designing 36(7) Resources for Mediating Conversations 39(3) Material Grounding of Emerging Discourses 42(1) Learning Science through Engineering Design 43(6) Arguing Engineering Designs in Whole-Class Settings 49(38) Engineering for Children in a Grade 4-5 Class 50(1) Presenting and Defending a Bridge Design 51(18) ``Our bridge was made of straws and spaghetti...'' 51(4) ``It would have held a little bit less...'' 55(2) ``Did you write anything about that it held that many, but upside down?'' 57(3) ``Why do you think it's more flimsy with both legs on it?'' 60(4) ``...so it brings the weight down on the ends and then it is easier for a force to go across here.'' 64(3) ``If you took the legs...do you think it would hold the same as upside down?'' 67(2) Analysis of Children's Glossaries 69(8) Metalogue 77(10) Representation of Knowledge: Epistemology 77(3) Teachers' Mediational Roles 80(2) Role of the Artifact 82(5) Thinking with Hands, Eyes, Ears, and Signs 87(48) Talking Science 89(2) Simple Machines Unit in Grade 6-7 91(3) Learning about Pulleys 93(1) Characteristics of Whole-Class Conversations 93(1) Overview of Pulley-Related Activities 94(4) Students' Competencies Related to Pulleys 96(2) Arguing about a Tug of War 98(9) Constructing an Explanation 99(4) Designing New Configurations 103(3) Evaluating ``free-standing signs left behind...'' 106(1) Communicating with Hands, Eyes, Ears, and Signs 107(13) ``What's your point?'' 108(3) ``Is that what you mean?'' 111(4) ``You can pull on here...'' 115(5) Conversing toward Competence 120(4) Understanding Representational Technologies 124(3) Metalogue 127(8) Democratization of the Discourse, Evolving Conversation 127(2) Role of Inscriptions in the Conversation 129(1) Teacher Presence and Cultural Reproduction 130(5) Learn as You Build: Integrating Science in Innovative Design 135(38) Purposeful Design: The Marble Machine 138(4) Planning-Building-Testing 142(13) Dialectical Design Tasks 143(3) Mental Imaging in Design 146(5) Transformation of the Design Artifact 151(4) Learning Science from Building 155(6) Implications for Teachers 161(3) Metalogue 164(9) What Is the Role of the Devices Children Build? 164(2) Teacher as Co-Investigator 166(2) Talking and Gesturing: But Is It Science? 168(5) Learning Science in Design Communities 173(40) Electrifying Experiences 173(3) Learning Science: With a Little Help from Your Friends 176(14) The Thomas the Tank Engine Analogy 176(6) The Strawberry Yogurt Analogy 182(2) Elaboration of Shared Ideas 184(6) Learning Science with the Teacher's Help 190(10) Balancing Student Autonomy and Teacher Intervention: A Teacher's Dilemma 191(4) A Successful Teacher Intervention 195(5) Cultural Production and Reproduction of Science Discourse 200(4) Metalogue 204(9) The Role of Teachers' Subject Matter Competence and Experience 204(2) Student-Student Interactions and Gender 206(1) But This Is Not Science! 207(6) Castles, Castles, Castles: And Where Is the Science? 213(26) Ms. Scott's Perspective: Building Castles 214(2) A Researcher's Perspective: Where Is the Science? 216(2) Toward a Scientific Discourse 218(5) Going Deeper 223(3) Conclusions 226(4) Metalogue 230(9) What Should School Science Be? 230(4) How Can Teaching Mediate in the Process of Building Canonical Science? 234(5) Learning to Teach Science as Inquiry 239(38) Biography 240(4) Avoidance of Science Teaching 241(1) Accountability for Teaching Science 242(1) Negotiating Roles for the Teaching and Learning of Science 243(1) Building Knowledge of Science and Science Teaching 244(3) Building Expertise 245(1) Increasing Competence to Teach Science 245(1) Collaborating with a Scientist 246(1) Working at the Elbows of Professor Dean 247(4) Structure of the Workshop 248(1) Investigations 248(1) Role of Prior Knowledge 249(1) Student Presentations 250(1) Questions 250(1) Enacting Science Inquiry in the Classroom 251(13) Physical Environment 251(1) Parental Involvement 251(2) Investigations 253(2) Learning from Others 255(1) The Independent Inquiry 255(5) Writing a Book 260(1) Extended Inquiry 261(1) What Did Denise Learn? 262(2) Conclusions 264(3) Metalogue 267(10) Learning to Teach Science 267(2) Enacting an Inquiry-Oriented Science Curriculum 269(2) Blurring the Boundaries between School, Home and the Community 271(1) Was This Scientific Inquiry? 272(5) Concluding Metalogues 277(28) Epistemology 277(3) Teachers and Teaching 280(3) Material Resources and Artifacts 283(1) Discourse, Community, and Participation 284(4) Re/Constructing Elementary Science 288(8) Resources to Support Learning 296(9) References 305(16) Index 321