Teachers' Use of Questioning in Social Learning Environments in Middle School Science Classrooms

• In Event: Developing STEM Teacher Practice

Abstract

The use of a social learning environment (SLE) complemented instructional practices in middle school science classrooms. This exploratory case study examined how seven middle school science teachers used an SLE to invite students to articulate, examine, and demonstrate their scientific knowledge and thinking. The prompts teachers used in the SLE were analyzed using Costa’s Levels of Thinking (2001) in an attempt to determine whether teachers used the SLE to move beyond recall and recite types of questions. Findings from this study shows the potential for rigorous and inclusive use of an SLE.

Authors

• Elena Contreras Gullickson, University of Minnesota

• Keisha Varma, University of Minnesota