Fostering Epistemic Space for Collaborative Solutions in Primary Science Through a Socratic Seminar Inquiry Approach

Abstract

With the critical nature of socio-ecological challenges, the need to empower young people to generatively grapple with these science-related issues is crucial for developing their agentic citizenship. This paper reports on a primary science project that adopted a Socratic Seminar pedagogical strategy to enable student voice and collaborative solutions to a local/global socio-ecological challenge. Exploring microorganisms in a COVID-19-affected world, student agency and investigative practices were prioritised. We report a semiotic analysis of the student-led investigations and discussions informing decision-making and action. Students enacted scientifically grounded reasoning, posed evidence-focused questions and engaged in collaborative argumentation towards solutions. The culminating ‘Scientists for Solutions’ Socratic Seminar closely emulated the practices of the science community in supporting the generation of evidence-informed solutions. This paper unpacks this pedagogical approach. The findings inform the nature and creation of epistemic space within the primary science classroom that fosters student scientific questioning, inquiry decisions and collaborative decision-making through a Socratic Seminar process.