EXPLORATORY TALK IN SCIENCE EDUCATION: INQUIRY-BASED LEARNING AND COMMUNICATIVE APPROACH IN PRIMARY SCHOOL

TitleEXPLORATORY TALK IN SCIENCE EDUCATION: INQUIRY-BASED LEARNING AND COMMUNICATIVE APPROACH IN PRIMARY SCHOOL
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2013
AuthorsLöfgren, R, Schoultz, J, Hultman, G, Björklund, L
JournalJournal of Baltic Science Education
Volume12
Issue4
Start Page482-496
Date PublishedDecember/2013
Type of ArticleOriginal article
ISSN1648-3898
Other NumbersICID: 1067195
Keywordsexploratory talk, primary school, science
Abstract

Recent research on science education has increasingly focused on the role of exploratory talk for learning science in school. This study was conducted in third grade in the Swedish compulsory school and shows how difficult exploratory talk in science is to achieve. The recordings of each lesson focused mainly on the teacher but included the pupils as the teacher interacted with them. The empirical material was analysed from two different perspectives: ways of communicating the science content and communicative approach. The analysis of the classroom practice showed that scien¬tific descriptions were dominating ways of communication. Only in a few cases explanations of scien¬tific phenomena were in focus. Those situations caused turning points into more interac-tive/dialogic communications or exploratory talk. One main conclusion is that exploratory talk and scientific explanations are not easily achieved when working in primary school. These skills are not automatically attained by the use of inquiry-based material – it needs to be trained!

URLhttp://oaji.net/articles/2015/987-1425809431.pdf
DOI10.33225/jbse/13.12.482
Refereed DesignationRefereed
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