Starting With Students' Ideas: How Teachers Use and Modify Curricula to Elicit Students' Incoming Ideas

• In Event: 47.032 - Science Disciplinary Talk in K–2 Classrooms: Developing Supports for Teachers

Abstract

Purpose:
It is important for teachers to understand ideas and experiences students bring to the classroom in order to support student learning (National Research Council, 2007). However, traditional science teaching methods rely on transmitting knowledge without eliciting and using student ideas (Wilson, Schweingruber, & Nielsen, 2015). Teachers may fear the uncertainty of inviting a range of student ideas in the classroom, so it is important to examine ways in which support this type of practice (Clayton, 2007). Therefore, we examine how two kindergarten teachers used and modified lessons in an NGSS-aligned curriculum to elicit and respond to student ideas at the beginning of the unit.

Methods & Data
This qualitative case study (Yin, 2014) examines how two White female kindergarten teachers, who taught in the same suburban school, implemented the first three lessons from the [Name] physics unit. We analyzed the videos from these lessons in order to focus on the introduction to the unit during which students share more divergent science ideas. Specifically, we coded the videos using the observation tool (see Paper 1) and, for segments that scored high, we mapped the teachers’ implementation back to the written lesson plans.

Results
Our results report on curriculum design principles and educative features that supported the teachers’ elicitation of student ideas, as well as moves the teachers made from their own teaching repertoires. For this proposal, we limited our results to one teacher, Ms. Earnst, but in the full paper, we compare across cases.
Structural Design Principles. The general structure of lessons led to productive generation of ideas. For example, a primary design principle for the curriculum is to include Ask, Explore, Write, Read, and Synthesize in each lesson (Authors, 2017). We observed that having a concrete experience (e.g. an exploration or read-aloud) around which to elicit ideas supported teachers’ facilitation of discourse. Table 1 and the full paper have additional examples.
Educative Features. Additionally, there were some educative features embedded in the lessons that were generative in supporting teachers in eliciting student ideas. For example, teaching tips prompted teachers to record students’ ideas using their own language and provide students with vocabulary in context. Table 2 and the full paper have additional examples.
Teachers’ Repertoires. We also noted teacher moves that were not specified in the curriculum, yet which provided “space” for productive talk and elicitation of students’ ideas. For example, Ms. Earnst supported students’ emotional well-being in ways that seemed to support students in engaging in productive discourse. We expand on this and other examples in Table 3 and the full paper.

Significance
This study provides insight into factors that influenced how two kindergarten teachers elicited students’ ideas at the beginning of a unit. Some examples mapped back to specific curricular design features, while others were more tied to pre-established norms or interpersonal relationships. One implication is the important role teachers’ repertoires played, suggesting that including educative features related to social-emotional learning or managing participation may be productive additions to curricular educative features.

Authors

• Kirsten D. Edwards, Michigan State University

• Christa Haverly, Michigan State University