What More in Lectures for Learning Science? Body Positioning as a Pedagogical Resource for Communication

• In Event: Poster Session 6
  In Poster Session: Learning Sciences SIG Poster Session

Abstract

The lecture has been an established way of communicating concepts for centuries. They have recently gained popularity again in online spaces (e.g., Khan Academy). As part of a series of studies on the performative dimensions in science lectures, we propose the lecturer’s body position as a pedagogical resource that distinguishes lectures from reading a textbook or watching a video. We analyze science lectures from 10th-grade Singapore classrooms and articulate and exemplify two assertions. First, students participate in concept development by corporeally orienting to the lecturer’s patterns of utilizing the local spaces in the classroom. Second, different artifacts, social configurations, and physical arrangement lead to different interactional spaces and participant role, and to different levels of participation in classroom conversation.

Authors

• SungWon Hwang, University of Calgary

• Wolff-Michael Roth, University of Victoria