Local Communities of Practice of Science Teaching: proposition of an analysis tool

In this theoretical article, we present an analytical tool built from studies that present relations between learning and communities of practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Wenger, 2016; Wenger, McDermot, & Snyder, 2016) and also the development of scientific practices in science classrooms (Duschl, 2008, Stroupe, 2014). The development of the tool took place through a process of bibliographic studies and proposition of relationships among them considering the context of initial training of teachers who will teach science. The tool “Local Practice Communities of Science Teaching” (CoPLEC) was proposed based on questions that permeate important elements highlighted in studies on communities of practice and on science as a social practice. These questions deal with the purposes of the internship activities expressed by the students; the collective involvement, sharing and legitimation of social practices and norms that occurred in internship; knowledge considered, shared and legitimated in the development of activities; and the resources used during planning and carrying out the internship. Based on the tool, it should be possible to characterize and analyze the involvement of undergraduates in communities of practice during their internship in science education.