Entrepreneurial teaching in creating third spaces for experiential learning: a case study of two science teachers in low-income settings

Abstract

This three-year study focuses on two high school science teachers who created active learning opportunities that invite students to go beyond the textbooks and did so within low-income settings. The first case centered on Faith Cumberland, a teacher who created summer science camps and science road shows for elementary-age students. Partnering with high school students to lead and mentor younger students, Faith built opportunities for elementary-age students to experience science through experiential, reform-minded science activities designed around scientific topics such as forensics, physics, engineering, chemistry, and contemporary topics such as nanotechnology. Working with local community centers, Faith brought science experiences into the community as well as provided part-time summer employment for her students. The second case focused on David Dressler, a teacher who developed after-school opportunities for students to apply physics to real-world environmental and societal issues. Working within three different low-income, urban schools, David developed a school beautification project and used solar panels and biodiesel to bring electricity to a Haitian school. This second case investigated the project-based, experiential science curriculum David used in school and after-school clubs. With both cases, the animation of marginalized youth in social action through science is explored through an entrepreneurial lens. David and Faith established new spaces for science learning to occur and gained financial support through external resources. They animated students, teachers, and community members and invited them to take an active role in shaping the projects, and they acknowledged them publicly. They fostered enough community support for their projects to be ongoing. These teachers’ entrepreneurial actions created third spaces beyond existing school structures, providing students with learning opportunities to experience science.