Increasingly, studies are investigating the factors that influence student discourse in science courses, and specifically the mechanisms and discourse processes within small groups, to better understand the learning that takes place as students work together. This paper contributes to a growing body of research by analyzing how students engage in…

This paper describes the outcomes of a qualitative investigation into the range of different approaches that students use to solve open-ended, context rich problems. The study involved a small cohort of students individually solving open-ended, context-rich problems using a think aloud protocol. The problems required the students to develop a…