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Teachers' Feedback to Foster Scientific Discourse in Connected Science Classrooms

Lee, Soon Chun
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1343178075

Abstract Details

2012, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, EDU Teaching and Learning.
Science classroom discourse contributes in important ways to the development of students’ scientific understanding and reasoning skills. However, many science teachers are not ready for scientific discourse, given that much of their time is spent delivering scientific knowledge. A classroom dialogue should be differentiated from an argumentation or explanation because its fundamental purpose is to assist students to reach a certain point of understanding or learning. Two purposes of this dissertation study have been accomplished. One is to develop a conceptual model that explains how scientific reasoning can be practiced through classroom discourse. Through the literature review, a conceptual model that encompasses the aspects of scientific reasoning and inquiry, formative feedback, and scientific discourse was developed .The other is to develop a Classroom Discourse Analytical Tool (CDAT) and to apply that tool to assess how a teacher leads her/his classroom discourse with scientific reasoning components. The data used in this study are all classroom observation videos and the transcripts from five physical science teachers who completed the first year of the Classroom Connectivity in Promoting Mathematics and Science Achievement (CCMS) project. The results from the CDAT data analyses generated two models: one explains how teachers’ questions and feedback affect the classroom discourse, and the other identifies how the reasoning components utilize the discourse. In addition, the results produced three representative and quantitative values: (1) Length of Dialogue (LOD), (2) number of Reasoning Components (#RC), and (3) Movements in Reasoning Components (MRC). Several implications are suggested for the science teachers to support their scientific classroom discourse. First, subsidiary questions and elaborative feedback play a critical role in building a productive dialogue. Second, the use of reasoning components enhances subsidiary and feedback questions that increase students’ engagement in the classroom discourse. Third, the evaluative and corrective feedback usually terminates the discourse quickly. Therefore, using these types of feedback should either be carefully considered or avoided in many discourse situations. Lastly, in a dialogue or through dialogues, talking only about scientific knowledge (SK) does not engage the students in the classroom discourse. The analysis with CDAT can potentially identify how educational interventions affect the classroom instructions/discourse. In this study, how the use of connected classroom technology (CCT) affects the teachers’ discourse has been examined. The CDAT analysis revealed how and what differences CCT can make in both the teacher’s discourse patterns and the characteristics of each classroom discourse. This study reveals that the use of CCT often increases students’ opportunities to talk (Chi-Square = 3.347, p = .06), decreases teachers’ explanatory talk, and increases talk about scientific observation/data and patterns from data in their classroom discourse. Interventions that support teachers to effectively use discursive dialogue with CDAT could be validated by examining the effects on students’ achievements and cognitive development in future studies. Further research and professional development for secondary science teachers and pre-service teachers can be applied to improve the skills and understandings that will generate productive and scientific classroom discourse and enhance students’ scientific literacy and reasoning skills.
Karen E. Irving, PhD (Advisor)
Douglas T Owens, PhD (Committee Member)
Bruce R. Patton, PhD (Committee Member)
290 p.
Science Education
Teachers&8217; Feedback, Formative Feedback, Scientific Discourse, Connected Science Classrooms, Discourse Analysis, Discursive Dialogue, Scientific Reasoning, Scientific Inquiry, Audio Response System, Observation, Data, Patterns, Model, Theories

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Lee, S. C. (2012). Teachers' Feedback to Foster Scientific Discourse in Connected Science Classrooms [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1343178075

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Lee, Soon Chun. Teachers' Feedback to Foster Scientific Discourse in Connected Science Classrooms. 2012. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1343178075.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Lee, Soon Chun. "Teachers' Feedback to Foster Scientific Discourse in Connected Science Classrooms." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2012. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1343178075

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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© 2012, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.