Whole-Group Question-Asking in Two Classrooms During a Complex Causal Science Curricular Intervention

• In Event: 14.044 - Roundtable Session 2
  In Roundtable Session: 14.044-20 - Mixed Methods in P–16 Research

Abstract

Human kind faces myriad environmental issues which will require sophisticated thinking to address effectively. In order for the next generation to be able to navigate the global issues of the future, students must become critical thinkers who are able to both respond to and generate questions that help them to deeply understand complicated scientific problems. The present study uses a mixed-methods approach to closely examine variations in two teachers’ question-asking patterns during whole-class discussions during a curricular intervention designed to teach complex causal thinking in ecosystems science. Initial results indicate notable differences in the number of student responses for each question, the length of student responses, and the frequency and thematic content of the teachers’ follow-up questions.

Authors

• Maleka Donaldson, University of Hartford

• Kasia Derbiszewska, Harvard University

• Tina A. Grotzer, Harvard University