Beyond Representationalism

In this chapter, the authors explore the relationship between representationalism – which they position as a particular form of axiological commitment to valuing symbolic (including computational) representations more than experience – and centering the dignity of historically marginalized learners in technoscience education. They argue that viewing language in technoscience as inherently heterogeneous enables us to reorient historically colonial and exclusionary disciplinary practices toward ethical and affective realms that are essential for centering dignity of marginalized students. In the context of technoscientific work, representationalism can be understood as an ideological and epistemological stance that “casts science as an activity that seeks to represent nature, to produce knowledge that maps, mirrors, or corresponds to how the world really is”. The authors explain how a commitment to heterogeneity can help us counter technocentric stances. Learning scientists working with children and youth of color have also argued for heterogeneity in technoscience classrooms and informal educational contexts.