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Language, learning and able pupils

This article explores the importance of challenging pupils intellectually in science lessons and suggests ways to encourage interactive and dialogic talk in the classroom. The article also discusses the Vygotskian framing and the use of language resources in teaching and learning science.

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Language, learning and able pupils

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  1. Language, learning and able pupils Phil Scott: School of Education University of Leeds Cambridge: October 2004

  2. Teaching and learning science From my experience… • pupils of all ‘abilities’ fleetingly provide glimpses of what they are capable of intellectually… • many science lessons don’t begin to challenge the pupils intellectually… • one way to challenge pupils is through encouraging different kinds of talk in the classroom.

  3. Vygotskian framing Personal (intramental) plane Social (intermental) plane Internalisation: with restructuring Social languages (Bakhtin) Toolkit of language resources (Wertsch)

  4. The analytical framework

  5. Non-interactive Interactive Focus on science view (Authoritative) Taking account of pupils’ understanding (Dialogic) Communicative approach Presentation Q&A Presentation ‘lecture’ Probing Elaborating Supporting Review

  6. Let’s just ignore the sparks (1) Teacher: Do you remember the electric bell? Students: Yes! [in chorus] Teacher:OK! Did any of you notice, did any of you actually hold onto the bell after it had...been working? What did you notice? Suzanne: Vibration Teacher: Well, the arm vibrated, yes. Sound. What else did you notice? Tom: It was loud. Teacher:That's not quite what I'm getting at.

  7. Let’s just ignore the sparks (2) Teacher: Remember the bell. There's the bell[holding up a bell in front of the class]. You did the experiment. If you held onto this bit here where the wires were [indicating], did you notice anything there? Jason: There were sparks there. Teacher: Heat, did you notice some heat? Jason: There were sparks from there. Teacher: There were? Jason: Sparks. Teacher: There were some sparks, yes. Let's just ignore the sparks a minute...some heat. There was a little bit of heat there with that one.

  8. Non-interactive Interactive Focus on science view (Authoritative) Taking account of pupils’ understanding (Dialogic) Communicative approach Presentation Q&A Presentation ‘lecture’ Probing Elaborating Supporting Review

  9. Let’s just ignore the sparks • Teaching purpose - developing the scientific story • Communicative approach - Interactive/authoritative • Pattern of discourse - I-R-E

  10. Other people are desperate to say (1) Teacher: Solids are hard? Students: No, no. Soft! [together] Teacher: Well, if you say ‘no’, put your hand up and tell me, give me an example, which would prove an exception to that... Suzanne: Powder’s a solid, but you can crush it. Teacher: Powder’s? Suzanne: …a solid but you can still crush it. Teacher: Powders aren’t particularly hard, yes, if you’re talking about hard to the touch. Paul? [who has his hand up] Paul: It’s…cos…it’s [the powder] got a gas in between, so it’s hard.

  11. Other people are desperate to say (2) Teacher: So you think that all solids are hard? Paul: Yeah. Teacher: Other people are desperate to say that all solids aren’t hard. Martin? Martin: Er…fabric’s soft. Students: Yeah…yeah…[lots of muttering] Teacher: Wait. Just a minute. If you’re saying things, can you say it to the front, so that we can all share these ideas.

  12. Other people are desperate to say • Teaching purpose - Exploring students’ views • Communicative approach - Interactive/dialogic • Pattern of discourse - I-R-F-R-F-

  13. Non-interactive Interactive Focus on science view (Authoritative) Taking account of pupils’ understanding (Dialogic) Patterns of discourse I-R-E Presentation ‘lecture’ I-R-F-R-F-R-F- Review

  14. Purpose: to explore pupils’ everyday views Communicative App: Interactive/dialogic Pattern discourse: open chains of interaction Purpose: to introduce a science concept Communicative App:Interact/authoritative Pattern discourse: triads/I-R-E Linking teaching to purpose

  15. Exercise: a teaching interaction ‘What is 'it' that is doing the pulling?: teacher-pupil interaction • Read through the transcript with your partner • What is the communicative approach? • How is it established by the teacher?

  16. A. What is 'it' that is doing the pulling? 1. Jamie: Well, it was like, er....you're making the space bigger and it's only got a small amount of air [inside the syringe]. So it's trying to get more air in and it can't cos that's [the plunger] there. So instead of bringing more air from there, it's bringing that [the plunger] in. 2. Teacher: Mmm....you know when you say,'it, pulls in the plunger'.....what is it that is doing the pulling? 3. Jamie: I don't know.....[5 seconds]

  17. B. How can air do any pulling? 4. Teacher: Cos normally if something's doing the pulling... 5. Jamie: Mmm.....[7 seconds] 6. Teacher: A bit of a problem, eh? 7. Jamie: Yeah. Is it the small amount of air that's pulling and trying to get a bigger amount of air?.... 8. Teacher: The only bit that I don't understand is what...how air can do any pulling.....

  18. C. You know when there's air in... 9. Jamie: You know when there's air in... 10. Teacher: Mmm... 11. Jamie:and you know when…you pull it out? 12. Teacher: Yeah 13. Jamie: What's in there then? [inside the syringe] Further discussion led to agreement that there was 'thinner air' inside the syringe when the plunger is pulled back: 14. Teacher: So the air is thinner and fills the whole of that space. 15. Jamie: like if you're higher up. 16. Teacher: Yes, exactly like that. There's a bit of a problem here, isn't there? How thinner air can do any pulling at all?

  19. D. ...it was trying to adapt 17. Jamie: ...was it that... the thinner air just trying to make itself thicker air because it's thicker air all around it, so…it was trying to adapt... 18. Teacher: Mmm... 19. Jamie: ...to the normal air...around here? So it's like if you fill that with air here and you kept it so as no air could get in or out and you pulled it and took it high up... 20. Teacher: Yeah... 21. Jamie:...it doesn't go back in. It doesn't come back because the air's the same. 22. Teacher: Yes. 23. Jamie: Right I understand.

  20. The virtuoso teaching performance The teacher: • is aware of, and recognises, the pupil’s thinking • understands the scientific point of view • is able to operate in the ‘gap’ between everyday and scientific views, recognising the differences • listens, prompts, reviews, encourages…

  21. How does it happen that bonding comes back? (1) • 1. Paul: I mean we’re more or less clear how things go from solids to liquids to gases, but not from gases to liquids to solids. • 2. Jane: The point is, in the gas the bonding has totally gone. • Paul: So, how does it happen that bonding comes back? • 4. Jane: I suppose it works vice-versa, when it’s heated it destroys the bonding, when it’s cold…you know…it remakes it. • 5. Clare: But how does it remake it? What does it remake it with though? • 6. Alan: When they’re hot they [atoms] vibrate more, so that the bond isn’t as strong.

  22. How does it happen that bonding comes back? (2) • Paul: Yeah, I know, but they vibrate more and break the bonding and then they finally get to a gas and that’s as far as they go…but how does it get the bonding back? Ah!…when it starts to cool down, they don’t vibrate as much. • Jane: Ah yeah! When they cool down the bonding will be increased so they won’t be able to move around as much. That fits in doesn’t it? • 9. Paul: Yeah…but the point is, how do we get the bonding back?

  23. How does it happen that bonding comes back? (3) 10. Alan: Slow down the vibrating… 11. Paul: Slow down the vibrations 12. Alan: I suppose it’s ever-present there, but…yeah! It hasn’t got a chance to like grip, grip them, you know and keep them together. Well, where it slows down, you know, it might get to grips with…

  24. Small group discussion work • Talking in small groups…demands careful framing of the task (it doesn’t just happen!) • Talking in small groups…modelled on talk in whole class (show how first!) • Talking in a dialogic manner…thinking in a dialogic manner (basic Vygotskian psychology) • Quality of talking…quality of thinking

  25. Teaching: changing rhythms to the communicative approach Exploring students’ views [Interactive/dialogic] Maintaining scientific story [Non-interactive/ authoritative] Working on students’ views [Interactive/authoritative]

  26. Carbon dioxide ? Planning teaching

  27. Lesson: as taught...as planned

  28. Horrocks: philosopher age 14 Well the thing is, say with God. People say there is a God, and all that; but it’s pretty hard to actually believe that there is one. And I think it’s the same with atoms and stuff like that. But there MUST be atoms making things up, but they’re pretty hard to believe.

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