Discourse Remixed: Shifting Science Learning Through Talk

Increasing student engagement with the social practices of science (i.e., communication, collaboration, and critique) is a goal throughout K-16 science education and provides an opportunity for science educators to leverage student discourse to optimize learning. Yet how instructors can encourage fo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of experimental education 2023-04, Vol.91 (2), p.336-357
Main Authors: Premo, Joshua, Cavagnetto, Andy, Collins, Larry, Davis, William B., Offerdahl, Erika
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accuracy
Biology
Classroom communication
Collaboration
College Science
College students
Cooperative Learning
discourse
Discourse Analysis
Educational activities
Group Discussion
interdependency
Introductory Courses
Learner Engagement
Pragmatics
Science Achievement
Science Education
Science Laboratories
Science Process Skills
student collaboration
Student participation
Undergraduate Students
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Summary:Increasing student engagement with the social practices of science (i.e., communication, collaboration, and critique) is a goal throughout K-16 science education and provides an opportunity for science educators to leverage student discourse to optimize learning. Yet how instructors can encourage forms of discourse which predict increased achievement remain unclear. We examined how structured interdependence shifted student discourse and learning for student groups (n = 78) completing collaborative learning activities in undergraduate science classrooms. All discourse was recorded (3,628 student talk turns) and coded. Results showed that groups experiencing structured interdependence had higher rates of science accuracy, idea reiteration, and justification, as well as higher assessment performance. An additional examination of discourse found accuracy and justification of ideas to have greater presence in the highest performing groups overall. The "in common" nature of discourse shifts between both interdependency groups and those with the highest performance suggest that interdependent structuring may promote learning through shifting idea accuracy and justification during talk. These findings support that interdependency may be a pragmatic step for increasing undergraduate student engagement with social practices of science in laboratory settings.
ISSN:0022-0973
1940-0683
DOI:10.1080/00220973.2021.1993771