ERIC Number: EJ1278914
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0950-0693
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Secondary Science Teachers' Use of Discourse Moves to Work with Student Ideas in Classroom Discussions
Carpenter, Stacey L.; Kim, Jiwon; Nilsen, Katherine; Irish, Tobias; Bianchini, Julie A.; Berkowitz, Alan R.
International Journal of Science Education, v42 n15 p2513-2533 2020
We investigated 10 secondary science teachers' facilitation of classroom discussions to examine how they went beyond eliciting student ideas to working with student ideas to support sensemaking. We qualitatively analysed video records of instruction and focussed our analysis on discussions stemming from formative assessments embedded in learning progression-based curricular units. We found that discussions could be placed on a quality continuum from recitation, to emergent, to transitional, to productive based on the degree to which teachers went beyond eliciting student ideas. We also found that discussion quality reflected the type and distribution of discourse moves teachers employed. In the highest quality (or productive) discussions, teachers used a concerted array of discourse moves to elicit, mark, and build on student ideas, including pressing students for reasoning, highlighting similarities and differences among the ideas and reasonings presented, and connecting student ideas to the learning progression. Teachers used these discourse moves relatively evenly throughout productive discussions. This study contributes to the growing body of literature on ways teachers can effectively support student sensemaking. It illustrates how science teachers' use of discourse moves can shape the quality of discussions and points to the potential of learning progressions as a tool to facilitate productive discussions.
Descriptors: Science Teachers, Middle School Teachers, High School Teachers, Classroom Communication, Discussion (Teaching Technique), Instructional Effectiveness, Thinking Skills, Learning Processes, Formative Evaluation, Environmental Education
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Junior High Schools; Middle Schools; Secondary Education; High Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: DUE0832173
Author Affiliations: N/A