For two decades, many researchers (for example Lave and Wenger, 1991) have been interested in knowledge and learning in terms of practices. Roth (1998) views practices as structured activities that people engage in to understand the world. Practices are seen as ways of engaging in the social world to develop, share and maintain knowledge (Wenger, 1998). Practices as activities reify and construct the understanding of individuals who become members of a community (Barab and Hay, 2001). However, practices can vary depending on social contexts: school science and real (authentic) science. For example, while scientists can generate and use mathematical models to understand the cardiovascular system of bats as part of an evolving scientific process, science learners can generate research questions, conduct their experiments, participate in class discussions and argue their results with others. class members on a particular ready-made science fact. The science classroom can be seen as sites that establish communities in which knowledge and learning occur through social participation in activity, negotiation, and sharing of meaning collectively (Lave & Wenger, 1991). ; Wenger, 1998; Roth, 1995, 2006; School science communities, unlike professional science research communities, present students with ready-made science facts (Latour, 1987). Science learners have the opportunity to learn science and learn about science, not to do science (Hodson, 1998). They are likely engaged in collective activities in a science classroom or laboratory, but their practical work, knowledge and discursive practices are limited to their classroom community and they interact with members of that community (Bowen, 2005). . . middle of paper ...... provided and their teacher gives instructions (Chinn and Malhotra, 2002). The lack of authenticity in their activities leads them to learn by following instructions (Roth, 2006) and to accomplish the assigned task rather than learning from it (Berry et al., 1999; Höngström et al., 2010). . Laboratory work associated with practical activities ultimately ignores the importance of discussion and negotiation of meaning (Jiménez-Aleixandre et al., 2000, Driver et al., 2000; Duschl et al., 2007). Even these activities are limited to the cognitive aspects of scientific practice (i.e., making observations, deducing consequences from a hypothesis). They do not reflect the epistemological and social processes linked to scientific practice (Duschl, 2008; Duschl and Grandy, 2008). Thus, integrating some ideas from the social studies of science into this study can help us reconsider what science is learned about in science classrooms..