Teacher Organization of Science Classroom Talk With Attention to Participation and Disciplinary Practices

• In Event: 26.026 - Expanding Frameworks for Talk in Science Classrooms

Abstract

Objective
This study examines how one science teacher organized classroom talk around the scientific practice of reasoning with evidence to support students in building conceptual understanding of natural selection.

Theoretical Framework
Educational inequity can be seen in both student participation and achievement outcomes. In science education, as in many other areas of education, disparities in equity of achievement and equity of participation have been well documented (Barton, 2003; National Center for Education Statistics, 2011; Parsons, Tran, & Gomillion, 2008). Some of these studies highlight the need to understand the components of effective science classroom talk as a way to bridge everyday and scientific discourse practices, to engage students in the intellectual work of sense-making in science. The National Research Council (2012) specifically named connecting everyday and scientific discourse as a focus for science learning equity in the Framework for K-12 Science Education. We frame our study using work in sociolinguistics (Gee, 2012) and classroom talk (Michaels et al., 2010) to socially situate student-teacher interactions in a community of learners (Rogoff, 1994).

Methods
We used discourse analysis (Gee, 2011) to locate patterns of talk during whole class and small group discussions to understand how one high school science teacher, Lisa, organized classroom talk to make the scientific practice of reasoning with evidence to connect the everyday to scientific concepts a common classroom practice. Our primary sources of data were classroom video of Lisa’s enactment of classroom-based assessments (7 enactments), which were collaboratively designed in a professional learning community facilitated by one of the authors over a two-year period. Transcripts were created of each classroom video and segments of video that included whole class and small group discussion were coded for science content and classroom talk moves (Michaels et al., 2010) (Table 1).

Results
There were three main ways in which Lisa promoted a community of learners around the practices of science: setting explicit norms for participation, asking clarifying and pressing questions, and linking everyday to scientific language. She wove together her expectations for general participation with science practice such as evidence based reasoning, “… lets stick with the facts…” Lisa also clarified or pressed for student reasoning in relation to her attempts to link everyday to scientific language. For example, when a student used the word “adapt,” Lisa responded with “Ok, let's put adapt up here and talk about that word. When we use that in common language what do we mean?” Lisa regularly organized classroom talk to promote a learning community grounded in the scientific practices of reasoning based on evidence and with increased opportunities for participation, likely due to the way she consistently reaffirmed classroom talk norms and linked everyday to scientific language to support students’ conceptual understanding of natural selection.

Significance
This study provides an example of how teachers can engage in classroom talk to create a community of learners focused on both scientific practices and conceptual development of complex science ideas.

Authors

• Deb Morrison, TREE Educational Services & Broomfield Heights Middle School

• Sara C. Heredia, Exploratorium Teacher Institute