Eliciting Student Ideas About a Phenomenon: An Analysis of Multiple Enactments

• In Event: Examining Practice-Based Science Teacher Education

Abstract

Objectives
The goal of this study is to examine the ways in which secondary preservice science teachers (PSTs) draw upon specific high leverage practices (HLPs) and strategies as they enact an instructional activity designed to elicit student ideas about an anchoring phenomenon. The instructional activity occurs on the first day of a unit just after the anchoring phenomenon has been introduced and problematized. The research question was: Which HLPs and strategies are PSTs drawing upon as they enact the instructional activity? To inform my own work, I look for not only those HLPs and strategies highlighted in the methods courses, but for additional ones developed by the PSTs as they adapt to their practicum contexts.

Theoretical Framework
I draw upon recent work in practice-based teacher education (Grossman & McDonald, 2008). A practice-based approach organizes the work of teaching and teacher education around core practices of K-12 instruction. These core practices, here referred to as HLPs and strategies, are specific characterizations of everyday aspects of teaching that maintain the complexity of classroom interactions by demanding professional judgment, rather than adhering to scripts or routines. I have developed a framework building upon work in science (Windschitl, Thompson, Braaten, & Stroupe, 2012) and mathematics (Lampert et al., 2013) education that centers around specific and rehearsable instructional activities that draw upon suites of HLPs and strategies to support enactment (see Figure 1).

Methods & Data Sources
This exploratory study involved the coding of transcribed videos of classroom enactments by seven secondary PSTs enrolled in a graduate certification program in science education. First, I identified specific HLPs and strategies identified in the program framework and utilized in the methods courses and rehearsals. Next, I coded for additional HLPs and strategies developed by the PSTs that were unique and not part of the program framework or methods course rehearsals. I then identified patterns across the seven enactments.

Results
The analysis revealed patterns in the specific HLPs and strategies PSTs drew upon for their enactment of this instructional activity. For example, they drew upon HLPs such as orienting students to one another and constructing and organizing public records in their enactments, but not representing student reasoning. Similarly, they utilized specific discourse moves (e.g., pressing and revoicing), but not others such as putting an idea on hold. I identified additional HLPs and strategies such as tying ideas together that were not part of the original framework. The seven PSTs varied in their levels of enactment and the HLPs and strategies drawn upon increased in number and complexity across those levels.

Significance
The current study provides evidence for the ways in which PSTs utilize HLPs and strategies when adapting instructional activities to their specific contexts. Here I have identified specific HLPs and strategies that PSTs drew upon for eliciting student ideas as well new HLPs and strategies developed by the students that may be utilized in future work.

Authors

• Ron Gray, Northern Arizona University

• Courtney Barnes, Northern Arizona University