Negative Emotional Events During Science Inquiry

Abstract

In this chapter I present an original study of the interplay between emotions and science inquiry in an 8th-grade science class. I address the need to research emotional learning events by focusing on third-order (introspective) rituals. Research on emotion and science inquiry is scant, making the need for work like this pressing. Through analysis of student emotion diary data during three different inquiry activities, I focus on emotional events that may work against sustained engagement with inquiry. Practical implications are considered through the development of two inter-related perspectives named pedagogy of emotion and emotional pedagogy to assist teachers and students in addressing deleterious emotions related to science inquiry.