Relationships Among Teachers’ Instructional Practices Within Mathematics and Science: An Investigation of Subject-Specific Differences

• In Event: Teachers’ Instructional Practices and Students’ Mathematics Learning

Abstract

National mathematics and science standards have encouraged teachers to use similar instructional practices to promote student understanding. However, little is known about the effects of the discipline on teachers’ instructional practices. Over 200 classroom observations conducted from twenty-five K-8 in-service teachers were used to investigate the relationship between the subject matter taught and the instruction given. The findings indicate that the extent to which science lessons were inquiry-oriented was highly dependent upon the tasks used in the lesson. However, in mathematics, the inquiry-oriented nature of lessons was more closely related to teachers’ questioning skills. Furthermore, students’ sharing of ideas and explaining their thinking was more intertwined with student sense-making in science than in mathematics lessons.

Authors

• Yasemin Copur-Gencturk, University of Southern California

• Tang Wee Teo, National Institute of Education - Nanyang Technological University

• Sarah Theule Lubienski, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• Barbara Hug, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign