Question Chains: Effective Way for Student Teachers to Promote Science Talk in the Inquiry-Based Classroom

• In Event: Science Teaching and Learning: Student Discourse and Sense-Making

Abstract

This research examines how student teachers (STs) effectively use question chains and their impact on students’ learning in the inquiry-based classroom. By coding and analyzing classroom discourse within 15 video recordings of inquiry teaching, we identify critical questioning time and question types. Also, we find that: 1) iterative question chains with multiple types of questions can lead students throughout the inquiry progression; 2) as chains consisting of 5-6 questions (on average) progress, the percentage of high-level cognitive responses from students increases, while the rates of students’ silence and teacher self-answer decrease. Theoretically, this study portrays a clear picture of complex inquiry process. Practically, we provide STs and teacher educators with an explicit and operational model to teach science as inquiry.

Authors

• Boyin Chen, University of Hong Kong

• Xinning Pei, East China Normal University

• Gang Zhu, East China Normal University