Ristiriitoja ja reflektiota : opettajien näkemyksiä vuorovaikutuksessa tapahtuvasta arvioinnista

Tässä tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan opettajien näkemyksiä siitä, millaisia haasteita on luokkahuoneen vuorovaikutustilanteissa tapahtuvassa formatiivisessa arvioinnissa. Aineisto koostuu viiden opettajan keskusteluista täydennyskoulutuksessa. Keskustelujen teemoina olivat opettajien omien videonäytteiden ja kirjallisen materiaalin pohjalta opettajan sensitiivisyys, palaute ja dialogisuus. Vaikka keskustelun perussävy koulutuksen aikana oli myönteinen ja aineena oli oman työn kehittäminen, esiin nousi huomattava määrä oppimista edistävän luokkahuonevuorovaikutuksen ja arvioinnin haasteita. Laadullinen aineistolähtöinen sisällönanalyysi kohdistui näihin haasteisiin sekä opettajien esittämiin ra…

Students' dialogic and justifying moves during dialogic argumentation in mathematics and physics

In this study, we focus on dialogic argumentation among students in a whole class setting in mathematics and physics in lower secondary school. By drawing on previous studies on the structure of argumentation and dialogic interactions, we suggest that transparency of student reasoning and students' engagement with each other's ideas are two key aspects in dialogic argumentation. We examine what levels might exist in these key aspects and how they can exist simultaneously. We collected data by video recording mathematics and physics lessons in lower secondary school, and created a coding scheme for students' dialogic and justifying moves. By using the coding scheme, we recognized different k…

Dialogista argumentaatiota matematiikkaan ja fysiikkaan

Visualizing communication structures in science classrooms: Tracing cumulativity in teacher-led whole class discussions

Teacher-led whole class discussions are essential when it comes to guiding students' construction of knowledge, and recent studies on teaching and learning emphasize the need for more student-centered teaching methods. In previous studies, the extent to which different types of communication take place in the classroom have been extensively reported by means of lists, tables, and charts, yet these studies have not included overviews of how talk develops and progresses over time. This study addresses this aspect by presenting how different communicative approaches constitute a specific, cumulative communication structure. Within this structure, the role and temporal considerations of a dialo…

A multidimensional adapted process model of teaching

AbstractIn the present study, we aimed to specify the key competence domains perceived to be critical for the teaching profession and depict them as a comprehensive teacher competence model. An expert panel that included representatives from seven units providing university-based initial teacher education in Finland carried out this process. To produce an active construction of a shared understanding and an interpretation of the discourse in the field, the experts reviewed literature on teaching. The resulting teacher competence model, the multidimensional adapted process model of teaching (MAP), represents a collective conception of the relevant empirical literature and prevailing discours…

Towards Dialogic Teaching in Science: Challenging Classroom Realities through Teacher Education.

Lehesvuori, Sami Towards Dialogic Teaching in Science: Challenging Classroom Realities through Teacher Education Jyvaskyla: University of Jyvaskyla, 2013, 87 p. (Jyvaskyla Studies in Education, Psychology and Social Research ISSN 0075-4625; 465) ISBN 978-951-39-5151-1 (nid.) ISBN 978-951-39-5152-8 (PDF) Diss. Finnish summary The aim of this study was to explore dialogic teaching in school classroom and teacher education contexts. Despite moves towards more socially-oriented and student-centred curricula, science classroom communication remains prevailingly authoritative and monologic. In order to address the dialogic gap existing in the field, within this study an intervention was developed…

Introducing Dialogic Teaching to Science Student Teachers

It is commonly believed that science teachers rely on language that allows only minor flexibility when it comes to taking into account contrasting views and pupil thoughts. Too frequently science teachers either pose questions that target predefined answers or simply lecture through lessons, a major concern from a sociocultural perspective. This study reports the experiences of science student teachers when introduced to the Communicative Approach to science education drawing on dialogic teacher-talk in addition to authoritative teacher-talk. This approach was introduced to the students in an interventional teaching program running parallel to the student teachers’ field practice. The pract…

Exploring coherence and authorship in pedagogical link-making in science

Despite rapid changes in education, science classrooms will remain central forums where fragmented pieces of information are brought together to construct coherent knowledge as concepts and explanatory scientific storylines. There is limited work stressing the importance of the interplay between how content is communicated through pedagogical link-making and the use of communicative approaches. Even less research addresses the role of coherence in this process. In this study, through exploring three cases of teachers teaching the same topic, we will bring forth differences on how links between past and to be learned scientific knowledge are made. We look at how authorship – whether teacher …

Challenging Transmission Modes of Teaching in Science Classrooms : Enhancing Learner-Centredness through Dialogicity

There is an ongoing reform towards more inquiry-based teaching in school curriculum policy in South Africa. Reform towards more inquiry-based approaches is already integrated in pre-service teacher education programmes. As inquiry-based approaches have been gaining momentum worldwide, there is an increasing concern that dialogic interaction in classroom communication is being neglected. This is especially within teacher-orchestrated classroom interactions that should foster greater learner centredness and thus authentic scientific inquiry. In learner-centred teaching approaches, student contributions should be explicitly taken into account as part of classroom interactions in science. Learn…

Analyzing science teachers’ support of dialogic argumentation using teacher roles of questioning and communicative approaches

The purpose of this study is to investigate how teachers use different types of discourse to support dialogic argumentation. Dialogic argumentation is a collaborative process in which students construct arguments together and examine arguments presented by their peers. Science teachers can use argumentation as a vehicle to help students gain a working understanding of science content and the nature of science and its practices. Whole-class closing discussions from video-recorded lessons are analyzed to study the discourse used to support argumentation by two physics teachers in lower secondary schools. Analysis of discourse includes coding of communicative approach at the episode level and …

Inquiry-Based Approaches in Primary Science Teacher Education

This chapter introduces an interactional graphic tool together with a model for inquiry-based science teaching (abbreviated as IBST). The combination of the graphic tool and model offers an approach to support the planning, implementation, reflection and analysis of dialogic IBST. The potential use is illustrated here using a case study in which student teachers used IBST to develop their teaching. The interactional graphic and the model are fundamentally related to three established approaches to science teaching: inquiry-based science teaching, dialogic teaching and the communicative approach. Together, these approaches draw attention to learner participation in inquiry-based science teac…

Attending to and fostering argumentation in whole class discussion

Prior studies highlighted the importance of whole class discussion after student activities and have focused, for example, on teacher moves in supporting discussion. We characterize two processes in teacher-students interaction in argumentation discussions: attending to and fostering. These processes describe how student argumentation feeds teacher talk that in turn feeds student argumentation. We analysed video recordings of one whole class 7th grade lesson when students made geometric constructions and engaged in argumentation discussion. We elaborated on four themes in how the teacher talk attended to and fostered student argumentation. We argue that the concepts of attending to and fost…

ASR in Classroom Today : Automatic Visualization of Conceptual Network in Science Classrooms

Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) field has improved substantially in the last years. We are in a point never saw before, where we can apply such algorithms in non-ideal conditions such as real classrooms. In these scenarios it is still not possible to reach perfect recognition rates, however we can already take advantage of these improvements. This paper shows preliminary results using ASR in Chilean and Finnish middle and high school to automatically provide teachers a visualization of the structure of concepts present in their discourse in science classrooms. These visualizations are conceptual networks that relate key concepts used by the teacher. This is an interesting tool that gives…

Utilizing Informal Formative Assessment and Dialogicity During Reflections on Educational Dialogue in Mathematics

In this study, educational dialogue is explored through informal formative assessment and dialogicity. We enhance the understanding of informal formative assessment and dialogicity by considering their relationship. Even though the interconnection of informal formative assessment and dialogicity is acknowledged, it has not been explicitly examined in research on educational dialogue. The data consists of video-stimulated joint reflections between mathematics student teachers and a teacher educator. The reflections were part of a teacher education program integrated in a mathematics pedagogic course. Conversational analysis was conducted to detect interactional patterns and indicators that e…

Enriching primary student teachers’ conceptions about science teaching: Towards dialogic inquirybased teaching

Inquiry-based teaching has been at the heart of science education since it was first outlined in national standards over a decade ago. The general idea behind the inquiry guidelines is that pupils would adopt ways of conducting science, in addition to conceptually learning, thus attaining also the epistemological dimension of science. Although curricula are based on these ideas of inquiry, all too often authentic inquiry is hindered by overly authoritative approaches and teacher directions. To avoid this, the communicational ways in which teachers can encourage pupil reasoning during different phases of inquiry should be explicitly addressed. This paper addresses this gap by introducing a d…

The automatic analysis of classroom talk

The SMART SPEECH Project is a joint venture between three Finnish universities and a Chilean university. The aim is to develop a mobile application that can be used to record classroom talk and enable observations to be made of classroom interactions. We recorded Finnish and Chilean physics teachers’ speech using both a conventional microphone/dictator setup and a microphone/mobile application setup. The recordings were analysed via automatic speech recognition (ASR). The average word error rate achieved for the Finnish teachers’ speech was under 40%. The ASR approach also enabled us to determine the key topics discussed within the Finnish physics lessons under scrutiny. The results here we…

Enhancing Dialogic Argumentation in Mathematics and Science

This paper reports on a teacher professional development (PD) programme addressing dialogic argumentation in mathematics and science classrooms. While argumentation skills are becoming more and more important in an increasingly polarised society, the social aspect of argumentation is often neglected in secondary education. Moreover, it is agreed that genuine argumentation requires time and space in classroom dialogue. There have been calls for research delving into how teachers could be familiarised with dialogic argumentation so that they could foster such dialogue in students. The described PD programme features versatile and continuous cooperation between scholars and participating teach…

Teacher and student teacher views of agency in feedback

The present study compares the feedback themes that groups of teachers (n = 5) and student teachers (n = 15) discussed in a professional development programme concerning teachers’ classroom interaction and formative assessment, and the agents they assigned the feedback to. The results of the thematic analysis show little variation with the conversation themes between the groups, but they did show more with the appointed agents of feedback themes. The teachers assigned feedback themes to the teacher and the students, as student teachers assigned them to the teacher and the learning environment. By referring to feedback as the shared responsibility of the teacher and students, the teachers de…

How to Link Teacher Education to Educational Research

Assessing Teacher’s Discourse Effect on Students’ Learning: A Keyword Centrality Approach

The way that content-related keywords co-occur along a lesson seems to play an important role in concept understanding and, therefore, in students’ performance. Thus, network-like structures have been used to represent and summarize conceptual knowledge, particularly in science areas. Previous work has automated the process of producing concept networks, computed different properties of these networks, and studied the correlation of these properties with students’ achievement. This work presents an automated analysis of teachers’ concept graphs, the distribution of relevance amongst content-related keywords and how this affects students’ achievement. Particularly, we automatically extracted…

Recognising Articulated Reasoning in Students' Argumentative Talk in Mathematics Lessons

Previous studies have reported difficulties in analysing students’ argumentation. Especially the warrant, which connects data with claims, is found to be problematic to recognise. Weexamine how specific criteria for different forms of reasoning could decrease this difficulty. Instead of identifying warrants, we recognise whether students’ argumentation contains explicitly stated reasoning. We have developed an analysis method for recognising reasoning in argumentative talk. We collected video data from two mathematics lessons where students had to state claims about a mathematical situation and build convincing justification for their claims. The focus of analysis is in how the students art…

The connection between forms of guidance for inquiry-based learning and the communicative approaches applied : a case study in the context of pre-service teachers

Recent research has argued that inquiry-based science learning should be guided by providing the learners with support. The research on guidance for inquiry-based learning has concentrated on how providing guidance affects learning through inquiry. How guidance for inquiry-based learning could promote learning about inquiry (e.g. epistemic practices) is in need of exploration. A dialogic approach to classroom communication and pedagogical link-making offers possibilities for learners to acquire these practices. The focus of this paper is to analyse the role of different forms of guidance for inquiry-based learning on building the communicative approach applied in classrooms. The data for th…

Reflections on dialogicity: Challenges and suggestions by mathematics student teachers

Abstract Research related to dialogic teaching has been gaining ground in recent decades. On a theoretical level, researchers have described how sociocultural approaches are linked to dialogic teaching. In addition, empirical studies have explained how dialogic teaching manifests itself in educational dialogue and classroom interactions. However, studies addressing how the dialogic theory and practice could be linked meaningfully in teacher education and professional development programs in subject teacher education and related praxis are still limited. Especially in the case of math teacher education, the reported professional development programs are limited in number. Whereas the tendenc…

Towards dialogic teaching in science : challenging classroom realities through teacher education

Teacher orchestration of classroom interaction in science: exploring dialogic and authoritative passages in whole-class discussions

Whereas science is fundamentally a result of a dialogic debate, the authoritative approach has been conceived of as a fundamental part of school science. Dialogic interactions encompass the mutual appreciation of different ideas manifested in teacher supportiveness toward students and, in authoritative interactions, the focus is more on the science’s or teacher’s point of view. Whereas dialogic and authoritative interactions have been viewed as oppositional in recent educational research, authoritative interactions could well be the seed for and give strength and meaning to dialogic interactions, and thus, to the overall dialogue. The focus in this study is on the interplay between authorit…

Three Dimensions of Dialogicity in Dialogic Argumentation

Three dimensions of dialogicity are emphasised in the literature: dialogic teacher talk, students' dialogic moves and organising for dialogic teaching. In this article, we examine these dimensions and the interplay between them in supporting dialogic argumentation in the context of whole-class discussions in mathematics and physics. Three seemingly different seventh-grade lessons were selected for further analysis from the database of a research project on dialogic argumentation. In this paper, we focus on whole-class discussions after a group assignment. The lessons were video recorded with multiple cameras and transcribed. We characterised dialogic features of teacher talk, more general t…

Primary Student-Teachers’ Practical Knowledge of Inquiry-Based Science Teaching and Classroom Communication of Climate Change

A teacher’s practical knowledge contains the teacher’s beliefs about the goals, values and principles of education that guide his or her actions in the classroom. There is still a lack of knowledge about how teachers’ practical knowledge influences their teaching. The present study examines student teachers’ practical knowledge in the context of teaching climate change in elementary schools. Participating student-teachers planned their lessons using the principles and ideas of inquiry-based science teaching and the communicative approach. The same two approaches were applied in analysing the lessons, providing a broader basis on which to study student-teachers’ beliefs about teaching scienc…

Assessment conceptions of Finnish pre-service teachers

The aim of this quantitative survey study (N = 287) was to investigate the assessment conceptions of three different pre-service teacher groups (classroom teachers, subject teachers and special needs teachers). Assessment conceptions were best described by the following three main factors: 1) assessment of learning, 2) assessment for teaching and learning and 3) assessment as a harmful action. These main factors were clustered into three assessment conception profiles – assessment-cautious, assessment-positive and assessment-critical. Pre-service special needs teachers showed more assessment-oriented conceptions emphasising both the assessment of learning and assessment for learning than th…

Eritrean teachers' perceptions of learner-centred interactive pedagogy

In most sub-Saharan African countries, mainstreaming learner-centred interactive pedagogy (LCIP) is defined as a policy priority. Similarly, Eritrea has adopted the same policy to seek a solution to its educational challenges. Rather than rote mastery of course content, the LCIP approach prioritises learners in constructing knowledge through interaction, active participation and controlling the learning process. This paper explores secondary school teachers' perceptions of LCIP and their challenges in implementing this pedagogical approach. Constructivism and sociocultural learning theory are considered conceptual frameworks to highlight LCIP as an approach for teaching and learning. Qualit…

Exploring coherence and authorship in pedagogical link-making in science

Despite rapid changes in education, science classrooms will remain central forums where fragmented pieces of information are brought together to construct coherent knowledge as concepts and explana...

A methodological approach to exploring the rhythm of classroom discourse in a cumulative frame in science teaching

The purpose of this study was to characterise the nature and purpose of different types of classroom discourse and to explore how the rhythm of classroom discourse provides a cumulative frame for the teaching of science. The overall data consisted of a teaching sequence of eight lessons on the moment of force as taught to physiotherapy students at a Finnish University of Applied Sciences. Our in-depth multiple timescale analysis of two episodes illustrated in this study shows examples how cumulation was instantiated by the different types of classroom discourse. The methodology and findings of this study have implications both for teacher education and further research. peerReviewed

Oppilaslähtöisyyden ja dialogisuuden ilmeneminen matematiikan opetuskeskusteluissa

Tässä tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan, miten oppilaslähtöisyys ja dialogisuus ilmenevät matematiikassa ja miten ne kytkeytyvät toisiinsa erityisesti oppilaiden näkökulmien, ajatusten ja kokemusten huomioimisen kautta. Tutkimuksen aineistoksi valittiin matematiikan aineenopettajaopiskelijoiden pitämiä oppitunteja, joissa havaittiin keskimääräisesti enemmän oppilaslähtöisyyden ja dialogisuuden ilmenemismuotoja. Keskustelunanalyysin keinoin osoitettiin, että oppilaslähtöisyyttä ja dialogisuutta voidaan edistää niin matematiikkaa kuin muitakin aiheita käsittelevissä opetuskeskusteluissa. Esimerkkien avulla pohditaan, miten vallitseva auktoritatiivinen ja oppiainekeskeinen opetusvuorovaikutus on haa…

Reflections on dialogicity : Challenges and suggestions by mathematics student teachers

Research related to dialogic teaching has been gaining ground in recent decades. On a theoretical level, researchers have described how sociocultural approaches are linked to dialogic teaching. In addition, empirical studies have explained how dialogic teaching manifests itself in educational dialogue and classroom interactions. However, studies addressing how the dialogic theory and practice could be linked meaningfully in teacher education and professional development programs in subject teacher education and related praxis are still limited. Especially in the case of math teacher education, the reported professional development programs are limited in number. Whereas the tendency has bee…

PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENT TEACHERS´ CLASSROOM TALK DURING INQUIRY-BASED BIOLOGY LESSONS

Article

In Search of Dialogicity: A Comparison of Curricular Documents and Classroom Interactions from Finland and Hong Kong

The prevailing consensus is that science teaching should be more student-centered and guide learners towards more phenomenon-based and authentic problem-solving activities. This approach is reflected in educational policies and recently reformed curricula. However, there is limited research on how these frameworks actually manifest in curricula and how to facilitate student-centered pedagogy. In this study, we examine the student-centered features of the curricula of two countries: Finland and Hong Kong. Student-centeredness in the classroom can be assessed using the principles of dialogicity. Dialogic principles underpin student-centeredness, particularly in teacher-orchestrated whole-clas…