Learning Science in High School: What Is Actually Going On?

• In Event: Perspectives on Students

Abstract

This paper examines learning of science in 15 grade nine classrooms through analyzing the type of talk teachers engaged in. Adopting a socio-cultural perspective of teaching and learning, we argue that knowledge of and about science are constructed through social interaction between the teacher and the students and mediated by language. Consequently, we examine the talk by analyzing the text coverage per 1000 words spoken by teachers. We found that the talk defers in biology, chemistry and physics classrooms. Biology teachers privileged description more than physics and chemistry teachers. Chemistry teachers use more words for explanation when compared with physics and biology teachers. Biology teachers depended largely on empirical descriptions while their chemistry and physics counterparts relied on theoretical justifications

Authors

• Aik-Ling Tan, Nanyang Technological University

• Huaqing Hong, National Institute of Education - Nanyang Technological University