Research
Dr. Emily H. van Zee

Investigation of Questioning Processes during Conversations about Science

National Science Foundation MDR 91-55726
Duration: September 1, 1992 - November 17, 1997
Budget: $190,475

With support from the National Science Foundation, I collaborated with a group of experienced teachers who examined student and teacher questioning during conversations about science. Data sources included videotapes of student/student and student/teacher interactions during hands-on science activities. Analysis involved: a) identifying instances of active student thinking in which students express their own ideas in comments and questions, and b) examining what these ideas were and how they were elicited by the teacher, by other students, or by the speaker in the process of thinking aloud. Results included development of case studies of conversations about science for use with teachers interested in fostering student-generated discussions in their classrooms.

The case studies included:

Patterns of Questioning in Parent-Child Conversations about the Moon
Alison Hydorn

This case study examines parent-child interaction during a shared experience. While I was observing the moon as an assignment for a seminar in science education, my six-year-old son frequently observed with me and we had many conversations about what we saw. Unlike other forms of family talk, our conversations about the moon were free of directives and commands. Looking at the moon took us out of the home and helped create an environment where we were two people in the world, engaging in a common activity that was not task-oriented. The transcripts of our taped discussions show this verbal interaction to be characterized by negotiation of meaning, reassessment of old ideas and formation of new ones. The best opportunities for learning seemed to arise out of my questions that raised issues, not out of questions to resolve them. In looking at patterns of questioning, it is also important to look at the various types of responses a child's question triggers in a parent. It is apparent that my son is seeking not so much an answer as an opportunity to negotiate and illuminate his own thought processes and to keep me engaged in a collaborative move toward a meeting of minds.

Kids Questioning Kids about Arithmetic: "How can you find out" versus "The answer is..."
Marletta Iwasyk

This case study involves analysis of questioning during student/student talk in which one student is helping another learn mathematics. The first author describes the study as follows: I plan to have a tape recorder permanently set up near the computers where the children work on many math disks of varying levels. The object is to record the children's talk while they work together in solving problems. I plan to share some of the interactions as examples of how young children can communicate on different levels. As part of my regular teaching procedure, I use questions to help students think about problems in math and science. Sometimes the questions are "leading" to achieve a desired goal that I have. Sometimes they are just "open-ended" with many possible answers, and I do not necessarily even want them to discover a "correct" answer. The discussion and interaction between myself and the students is the goal instead. To create the case study, I plan to review the tapes of their conversations and choose segments that illustrate different questioning techniques the children are using. This will enable me to see if the group lessons have carry-over in interactions between the children when they are working on their own. If I identify children who need more help, I plan to include them more in the group discussions by encouraging them to share and take more risks in participating. I am anticipating that the children, especially those with language deficits, will become more successful in math and science. Their skills in these areas should grow as their ability to question and discuss ideas grows. The questioning techniques can be used by students to help them to learn how to ask questions of themselves if they're stuck on something. If they know how to talk it through, they can discover the answer for themselves - they help themselves figure out how to figure it out. As the children become more competent in their questioning skills, they become teachers too, and then there are lots of teachers in the room, not just me. I firmly believe that as one teaches, one also learns, and thus the children grow in their own skills as they teach others. Documenting this might encourage other teachers to empower students to have a greater role in their own education.

"Eyes on Science": Asking Questions about the Moon on the Playground, in Class, and at Home
Akiko Kurose

The purpose of this case study is to document student and teacher questioning during conversations about the moon with first graders. The first author describes the study as follows: Observing the moon is a way to give children experience in making discoveries in a cooperative and sharing way and helps them to understand that everybody on planet earth is sharing the same phenomena. You can't grab the moon, you can't push it around, you can't change its position, but you can see it, draw pictures of it, and talk about it. We go out and observe the moon at different times of the day so that the children can see the different phases that can be observed at the different times. We don't use a lot of words and explain it as much as we do the observations. We draw the trees and houses on the horizon so they become aware of the position of the moon, not only in the sky but with respect to the horizon. After some experience observing, the students are able to illustrate the different phases of the moon and keep in mind their relationship to the objects in the horizon. They are also able to make predictions as to when and what the next phases will be as well as tell us what phase of the moon it was previous to the moon they just illustrated. Eventually the students are able to seriate the different phases of the moon and identify which ones will be setting in the evening and which ones will be setting in the morning. The students also express their knowledge as well as their appreciation of the moon by writing prose and poetry relating to the phases of the moon. Observing the moon is a good home activity because it can involve the parents. This case study can be used in a workshop for teachers to demonstrate how to bring everyday experiences into the classroom as a part of a science curriculum. It is not enough to demonstrate experiences but it is also important to consider the questioning strategies that will encourage and inspire students to pursue their interests and involvement in talking about their experiences.

Student and Teacher Interactions which Encourage Student Questions and Logical Thinking in Physics
Dorothy Simpson

The purpose of this case study is to analyze student and teacher interactions which encourage student questions and logical thinking in a high school physics classroom. The first author describes the study as follows: We are starting with the premise that students who actively think and discuss ideas will be empowered to reach logical conclusions about the physical world. We believe that this kind of dialogue will enable students to change their original conceptions to fit their logical conclusions. This study provides a specific example of encouraging dialogue among students and the teacher in the context of forces on a thrown ball. The focus of the analysis is upon the nature of the interactions among students and the teacher that enable the students to express and refine their ideas in a public manner. In the Data Analysis Roundtable, I would present this excerpt and, using the same technique as in the classroom, have the participants discuss what they can notice from the teacher/student and student/student exchanges. Issues that might be discussed include: What might be the students' preconceptions with which I need to deal? How might a teacher ask questions direct enough to lead the students in the right direction while enabling them to do their own logical thinking about the concepts? How might students be prepared to feel safe enough in a classroom situation to be willing to make and correct errors in thinking? What might a teacher do to ensure that each student is drawn into the conversation and thus encouraged to do his/her own thinking? How might a classroom discussion be directed to encourage students to talk to each other and help each other? What is the criteria for following up on an idea presented by a student while possibly, acknowledging another student idea with a follow up? What is in this excerpt which might lead us to these conclusions? In analyzing the kinds of questions asked by the teacher and the kinds of questions asked by the students we can follow the logical progression of student thinking as they make thoughtful observations and construct sound inferences.

Attempting to Understand Fourth Grade Students' Conceptual Development of Electric Circuits: Asking Students Why
Judy Wild

As part of a fourth grade science unit on energy, I conducted 11 lesson of approximately 45 minutes each on the topic of electrical circuits. The objectives of the lessons were to involve students in activities using scientific processes such as observing, predicting, experimenting, and model building to help them discover how electrical circuits work and to help them develop a conceptual understanding of circuits and energy. The students were then expected to apply this knowledge by making a project on their own and sharing it with their classmates and other students in school. I try to engage students in activities which allow them to discover for themselves while developing concepts and processes. In attempting to do this, it is important to ask questions, especially why, and to give students opportunities to explain their reasoning and to benefit from hearing how others reason. In these situations I view the teacher as a facilitator of learning. I have selected an example transcript from a videotape I made of a discussion of series and parallel circuits. The transcript could be used in a workshop for teachers to discuss how the questions asked by the teacher and responses of students illustrate model building. The paper is a summary of the class lessons with an evaluation of the lessons and implications for further lesson planning. The lessons include examples of questions asked by the teacher and responses by the students which demonstrate their reasoning about electric circuits. Although lesson plans for the unit were developed prior to the first lesson, they needed to be reevaluated and modified each day based on the progress of the students. This illustration might enable other elementary teachers to conduct such a unit and to help their students develop these concepts and processes.

If interested, please call Emily van Zee, (301) 405-0056
or send an email message to ev14@umail.umd.edu


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