Tracking a learner's verbal participation in science over time: Analysis of talk features within a social context

Abstract

Visions of Next Generation Science Standards‐aligned instruction place high discursive demands on learners. Learners are expected to articulate, develop, and defend their ideas and respond to the ideas of others. Decades of prior research have carefully documented features, processes, and potential benefits and shortcomings of an emphasis on talk in science learning. Yet, the task of documenting change in learners’ talk over time remains a major methodological challenge. To address this challenge, we examine one Korean immigrant girl's (Selena) oral participation during an informal science learning program called Science Club. Quantitative analysis showed that, over time, Selena spoke more often and for longer. However, fine‐grained qualitative analysis of features of her talk (e.g., use of a variety of bids and hedges) demonstrated Selena's persistent desire to share ideas, even though the intellectual merits of those ideas went largely unacknowledged. Methodologically, Selena's case illustrates the importance of considering multiple features of learner talk, understood in the social context, when making claims about changes in oral participation over time. Pedagogically, Selena's case highlights the importance of teachers’ attention to how learners’ ideas are taken up, in addition to how frequently they are speaking in class.

Making in‐the‐moment learning visible: A framework to identify and compare various ways of learning through continuity and discourse change

“…Although our framework may be valuable for certain kinds of learning, there are several limitations to note. In this study, we did not attend to important interpersonal dynamics such as racialized and gendered dynamics (e.g., Ryu & Sikorski, 2019) and sociopolitical dimensions (Suárez et al, 2023) that influence how students learn. We only attended to discourse, which means that the experiences of silent students who may be learning but not verbally participating is opaque using this lens.…”

“…However, identifying and characterizing what “counts” as learning in these interactions is often challenging for both instructors and researchers. The social spaces in which these learning moments occur are complicated since they are mediated by complex interpersonal dynamics during which students navigate and negotiate competing social and cognitive needs and a heterogeneity of knowledge resources and starting points (Barron, 2003; Brookes et al, 2021; Keen & Sevian, 2022; Lo & Ruef, 2020; Ryu & Sikorski, 2019; Sohr et al, 2018). This complexity may impede understanding whether and what students are learning.…”

Co‐creating a community of belonging and presence: Multilingual learners' experiences of science and language learning at an urban, inclusive STEM‐focused high school

“…As they argued, “greater attention needs to be given to those often‐ignored but critically important noninstructional spaces and activities, like those that occur within the informal peer groups, that influence engagement with and identification in reform‐based science” (p. 405). That is, peer interactions, even if they are informal, are important in cultivating a community of belonging for multilingual students (Ryu & Sikorski, 2019). Code switching, language brokering, and language play comprise the “intricate dynamics” (Gamez & Parker, 2018, p. 407) that help forge student bonds.…”

“…That is, peer interactions, even if they are informal, are important in cultivating a community of belonging for multilingual students (Ryu & Sikorski, 2019). Code switching, language brokering, and language play comprise the "intricate dynamics" (Gamez & Parker, 2018, p. 407) that help forge student bonds.…”

Is there room for science at aquariums? An analysis of family conversations and interactions during visits to AquaRio, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

“…Considering the above, it becomes evident that the investigation of conversations and interactions of families in aquariums in the Brazilian/Latin American context can contribute to the understanding of the manner in which visitors construct their perceptions, understandings, and interest in science, as discussed in Archer et al (2014, 2015). As such, we concentrate our discussion around the construction of meanings regarding science and the conservation of the oceans, but, in addition, we highlight the collaboration of children in conversations and interactions, favored by the social context of the experience, as indicated by Ryu and Sikorski (2018).…”