In the Trading Zone

Abstract

In this article, we describe and discuss the negotiations and processes of carrying out a science curriculum-based research project with multiple stakeholders, including an 8th grade science teacher/soccer coach, and 24 student-participants from a middle school in the South-eastern United States. Drawing on the theoretical notion of trading zones, we focus on the negotiations, commitments, and collaborations that took place in order to: (a) teach science to Latino students in the context of an after-school soccer program, (b) develop curriculum and (c) carry out a research program in which both material things and physical spaces are recognized as central to this process. Our study presents these experiences and processes in relation to the characteristics of the human and non-human elements involved in this work. We conclude with a set of recommendations for pre-service and in-service science teachers developing science activities as part of a broader curriculum and teaching science to middle school students in multilingual, multi-ethnic, and multicultural settings.