Barbara Ladewski
PhD (August, 2006): Science Education
Concentrations: Social cognition, teacher-student shared sense-making, and technological tools to support shared sense-making--in science and across disciplinary areas.
Masters: Zoology. Concentration: Cellular and molecular biology, with additional course work in computer information/control engineering.
BS: Zoology. Concentration: Cellular and molecular biology.
BA: French language/literature, with additional coursework in linguistics/semiotics.
Dissertation topic : Making sense of shared sense-making in an inquiry-based science classroom: Toward a sociocultural theory of mind.
The dissertation explores interactions in the science classroom from the perspective of teacher-student shared sense-making rather than individual student learning or teacher enactment. The research includes theoretical and empirical components. The theoretical component elaborates and synthesizes ideas from several different strands in the literature (socioculturalism, inquiry, reflection, theory of mind) to develop a theoretical model of shared sense-making in an inquiry-based science classroom. The empirical component uses the model of shared sense-making and methods of conversation analysis to develop an interpretive case study of teacher-student interactions over the course of a year of scaffolded introduction to inquiry-based science instruction.
Prior to coming to SOE: I worked as a research associate in the biological sciences, part of a research team investigating effects of nutrient enrichment on phytoplankton assemblages in the Great Lakes and exploring innovative uses of technological tools to support that research. I also worked as a systems analyst/project manager, designing and developing custom process control computer networks for industry. Prior teaching experience included teaching grades 6 through 8 in an urban setting in Melbourne, Australia; teaching pre-school/pre-kindergarten, including developing a curriculum to support young children making sense of their world; and serving as graduate teaching assistant for a graduate-level course in biological electron microscopy.
What I learned in the SOE program: The SOE program afforded exceptionally rich opportunities for me to explore cutting-edge questions of theory and practice:
• From an interdisciplinary perspective (science education, literacy education, educational psychology, social cognition, the learning sciences, teacher education/professional development);
• Within collaborative teams of university and school district researchers/educators;
• In authentic classroom contexts diverse with respect to student achievement, socioeconomic status, and race/ethnicity;
• Using state-of-the-art technological tools.
The program provided a highly supportive context for the theoretical and empirical explorations of human systems of shared sense-making that formed the basis for my dissertation research.
