Mapping literacy practices: theory,methodology, methods

This study identifies ideas about science to which elementary school students are exposed and the manner in which teachers convey those ideas. This is accomplished by developing a scheme ‐based on the work of Hanson – for observing and analyzing classroom interactions, both dialogue and activities, as they occur during science lessons. A set of observation clues, which comprise a nine‐category analytical scheme, disclose three views about science – sensationalist, formalist, and rational – that are presented through the activities of observation, experiment, and explanation.