ABSTRACT
Educational researchers have become increasingly interested in the role identity plays in education, and specifically in how identity and learning are linked and interrelated (e.g., Gee, 2000; Nasir & Hand, 2008; Rahm, 2007; Wortham, 2006), and as accounting for intellectual development. In my own work, I have described how school identities and affiliation group identities such as “gamers” and hip hop music fans intersected and sometimes conflicted for participants in after-school history clubs I had organized (Polman, 2006). More recently, study of an out-of-school learning environment focused on science and engineering practices and outreach work (e.g., Polman & Miller, 2008, 2010) has extended and deepened my interest. In this chapter, design-based research in these two out-of-school learning environments informs an analysis of opportunities for intellectual development relating to the disciplines of history, science, and engineering. The ways that the learning environments relate to outside communities of practice and identity groups impact both the discourse and action within the environment, and the possibilities for participants to understand and appropriate disciplinary tools for their future endeavors. Identity development, involving acts of selfpositioning by individuals themselves and positioning by others over time, results in recognizable trajectories and relates to both broad sociohistorical and local models. The mastery of a discipline’s “cultural tools” and practices is related to both cognitive challenges and the motivational and emotional aspects of identity positionings. In this chapter, I will examine the impacts of a history learning environment designed to foster the historical inquiry practices of interpreting events within their historical context and using primary sources; a science learning environment designed to foster the scientific inquiry practices of supporting claims with evidence and fitting within an explanatory conceptual or theoretical framework; and an engineering learning environment designed to foster the engineering practice of “design–build–test” cycles with team presentations. After presenting an analysis of cases, I will discuss implications of these findings for educators wishing to design learning environments that are “hybrids” in the sense that they incorporate powerful disciplinary thinking tools, while genuinely engaging learner interests and agency.
