Using Exploratory Talk to Enhance Problem-solving and Reasoning Skills in Grade-7 Science Classrooms

This study investigates whether the generation of exploratory talk in grade seven, second-language science classrooms in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, has a positive effect on learners in terms of their problem-solving and reasoning skills and whether socio-cultural milieus (urban, peri-urban and rural settings of schools) have an effect on any cognitive gains that may be made by learners. The findings were that there is a clear and statistically significant improvement in the mean test scores on problem-solving and reasoning of pupils who participated in the classroom discussion initiative (exploratory talk) over those of the comparison groups. This result was consistent in both the first- and second-studies that were undertaken. There was also a significant difference between the gains in problem-solving and reasoning test scores of the three socio-geographical settings in which the participating schools are found.     

Framing,Adapting, and Applying: Learning to Contextualize Science Activity in Multilingual Science Classrooms

Research in Science Education - In this article, we turn our attention to context-based approaches to science instruction. We studied the effects of changes to a set of secondary science teacher...     

Power Dynamics and Questioning in Elementary Science Classrooms

We describe the dynamic discourse interactions between a teacher and her students in a third-grade science classroom. We focused on how the teacher and students initiate, prompt, respond, and provide feedback; use questioning and power strategies; and how questions are associated with power dynamics. We relate the consequences of teacher use of power to the engagement of student with subject matter. Two classroom sessions were observed and teacher?Cstudent interactions audio recorded. Data were transcribed and a method was developed for analyzing teacher-student interactions, power dynamics, and types of questions asked. Results revealed that teacher talk was twice as frequent as students?? talk; questions were primarily closed-ended and task-oriented; and students asked few questions. The teacher exercised power by keeping activities organized and conventional, and utilizing subject matter. The developed methods showed us the complexity of question and power dynamics in classroom discourse and have implications for professional development and research.     

Aligning Teaching to Learning: A 3-Year Study Examining the Embedding of Language and Argumentation into Elementary Science Classrooms

How can classrooms become communities of inquiry that connect intellectually challenging science content with language-based activities (opportunities to talk, listen, read, and write) especially in settings with diverse populations? This question guided a 3-year mixed-methods research study using the Science Writing Heuristic (SWH) approach in cooperation with 2 universities, area education agencies, 6 school districts, 32 elementary teachers, and over 700 students each year. The participating teachers engaged in a yearly summer institute, planned units, implemented this curriculum in the classroom, and contributed to ongoing data collection and analysis. Findings demonstrate that critical embedded language opportunities contribute to an increase in student Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) scores in science and language based on level of implementation particularly for elementary students who receive free and reduced lunch (an indicator of living at the poverty level).     

Teaching and Learning Nature of Science in Elementary Classrooms

Science & Education - Our goal in this article is to provide research-based strategies for embedding Nature of Science (NOS) into science instruction at the elementary level. We thus intend to...     

Science Education and the Pandemic, 1 Year On

Science & Education -     

Safety in Science Classrooms: What Research and Best Practice Say

Turnaround leadership concerns the kind of leadership needed for turning around a persistently low-performing school to one that is performing acceptably as measured by student achievement according to state tests. I first treat this question in the narrow sense, i.e., as a strategy for targeting low-performing schools, and then place it in a larger context—namely, how such turnaround can be part of an overall approach to sustainable system change. The sequence I will consider moves from the school to the district to the system as a whole. My conclusion, which I state upfront, is that what looks like apparent success in turning around schools is actually quite superficial and indeed illusory.     

Managing Inquiry-Based Science: Challenges in Enacting Complex Science Instruction in Elementary and Middle School Classrooms

Effectively enacting inquiry-based science instruction entails considerable changes in classroom management practices. In this article, we describe five interconnected management areas that need to be addressed when managing an inquiry-oriented K-8 science classroom. We introduce a pyramid model as a framework for thinking about these management areas and present a brief review of what the research literature says about each area. We propose that enacting inquiry-based instruction requires a different kind of approach to classroom management that takes into account the close-knit relationship between management and instruction. This perspective recognizes the pervasive nature of managing the classroom for inquiry learning.     

Integration of Disabled Students into Regular Classrooms in the United States and in Victoria,Australia

The authors recently visited schools in Victoria, Australia, which were representative of those involved in educating students with disabilities. This paper compares beliefs and values in the US and Victorian systems as they relate tothe education of students with disabilities. It is suggested from the perspective of a practitioner how these varying beliefs are orchestrated in public policy, with comparisons being made of important differences in practice in the education of disabled students in the two systems.     

Constraints on Development and Change to Science Teachers' Practice in Egyptian Classrooms

This paper addresses the general question of why teachers teach in the way they do. Data collected from Egyptian science teachers both in the UK during an in-service course and on their return to Egypt are reported. The teachers' evaluation of which in-service experiences they thought of most use is contrasted with the changes they were able to bring about in their own teaching on return to Egypt. Follow-up interviews and classroom observations in Egypt showed the teachers to be frustrated in introducing even limited changes to their practice. This paper proposes that Schön's notion of the reflective practitioner may not be suitable for modelling a mechanism of change in classroom practice for all teachers. Teachers in developing countries, with educational systems that Beeby characterises as mechanical or untrained, are more constrained than the notion of the reflective practitioner allows.     

Goal-setting and self-assessment in Year 7 students

Recent legislation has raised awareness about the need for those involved in making decisions about children to take into account the views of the child. With the recent government drive towards target-setting, it has become necessary to acknowledge that pupils can have an input into decisions affecting their learning. The aim of this study is to evaluate a classroom-based project for increasing pupil involvement in their learning. A solution-focused framework was used to support teachers’ dialogue and to enable pupils to talk about and to record their progress. The targets focused on two areas, specified by the teachers. Measures of perception of progress were also taken to explore whether both parties (teachers and pupils) became closer in their perceptions. The findings of this study provide evidence that involving pupils in their learning can raise attainment levels in spelling and punctuation. Other factors, such as feedback to pupils, are also discussed in light of these findings.     

Teaching High School Students with Learning and Emotional Disabilities in Inclusion Science Classrooms: A Case Study of Four Teachers' Beliefs and Practices

Journal of Science Teacher Education -     

Opportunities for Inquiry Science in Montessori Classrooms: Learning from a Culture of Interest, Communication, and Explanation

Although classroom inquiry is the primary pedagogy of science education, it has often been difficult to implement within conventional classroom cultures. This study turned to the alternatively structured Montessori learning environment to better understand the ways in which it fosters the essential elements of classroom inquiry, as defined by prominent policy documents. Specifically, we examined the opportunities present in Montessori classrooms for students to develop an interest in the natural world, generate explanations in science, and communicate about science. Using ethnographic research methods in four Montessori classrooms at the primary and elementary levels, this research captured a range of scientific learning opportunities. The study found that the Montessori learning environment provided opportunities for students to develop enduring interests in scientific topics and communicate about science in various ways. The data also indicated that explanation was largely teacher-driven in the Montessori classroom culture. This study offers lessons for both conventional and Montessori classrooms and suggests further research that bridges educational contexts.     

Science and Language Integration in Elementary Classrooms: Instructional Enactments and Student Learning Outcomes

Research in Science Education - While some students will pursue careers in science, all will engage with multimodal science-based texts. The effective use of language skills is essential to support...     

人才观、质量观和教学观视野下的高职教育考试观

高职教育的考试观取决于人才观、质量观与教学观,而人才观、质量观与教学观的本质是＂以学生为本＂。＂以学生为本＂的高职教育考试观体现为三个方面：尊重学生的个性差异、导向学生的自主学习、导向学生的能力发展。     

地方本科院校理工科学生参与科研训练的探索

目前,世界进入新一轮世界范围的科技革命和产业变革.我国的高等学校人才培养工作已进入提高质量的升级期和改革创新的攻坚期.地方本科院校由于底子薄、人才培养观念落后,管理体制不完善等原因,本科生参与科研程度不高.在新时代背景下,本文结合湘南学院化学生物与工程学院学生参与科研的管理模式,从人才培养方案修订、实施科研导师制和学生参与地方特色项目等方面,探索地方本科院校理工科学生参与科研的方法和思路.     

The Relationship Between Teacher Behaviours and Student Talk in Promoting Quality Learning in Science Classrooms

This paper distils 24 years of classroom research into promoting quality learning in science classrooms to develop an overall framework for better understanding and describing both the learning and the teaching approaches that stimulate and support it. For me, quality learning is characterised by adjectives such as informed, purposeful, reflective, intellectually active, metacognitive and independent. Central to quality learning is the role of talk, and central to promoting talk which promotes quality learning are certain teacher behaviours. I first focus on the ways that teachers behave in the classroom in order to promote, react to and use student talk. These behaviours are summed up in a list of twelve principles for quality teaching. Each of these principles requires, as well as appropriate teacher behaviours, the use of effective teaching procedures. I then focus on four kinds of student talk that exemplify informed, purposeful, reflective and intellectually active thinking. These variously involve students’ existing ideas and explanations; increasing student ownership of practical activities; constructive challenges to the teacher (or text’s) idea, and lateral, reflective ‘thinking’ questions.