Dialogic Teaching during Cooperative Inquiry-Based Science: A Case Study of a Year 6 Classroom

Abstract

Teachers play a critical role in promoting dialogic interaction in their students. The purpose of this case study was to investigate how one very effective teacher taught two, cooperative, inquiry-based science units to her Year 6 class. In particular, the case study focused on how she used different discourses to capture students’ curiosity in the inquiry-based tasks, provided hands-on activities to enable them to test out their hypotheses and develop explanations for what they found in order to help them become more scientifically literate and have a broader understanding of the role of science in the world in which they live. The results showed that the students engaged constructively with their peers on the inquiry group tasks; they used the correct scientific language to discuss phenomena, make claims, and compared findings. Furthermore, they became more adept at expressing their opinions and providing explanations and justifications for the ‘scientific’ positions they had adopted across the six inquiry-based science lessons; core cognitive practices that support learning. This case study highlights the importance of utilizing both authoritative and dialogic discourse to challenge and scaffold students’ thinking to support enhanced understandings and reasoned argumentation during inquiry-based science. This case study fills a gap in the literature on how teachers can utilize different communicative approaches during inquiry-based science units to promote student engagement and learning.

On critical thinking and content knowledge: A critique of the assumptions of cognitive load theory

“…Granted that it would be more efficient in terms of knowledge transmission to simply tell students the answer in accordance with P3, but that would diminish the skills development just outlined. What's more, the gains in student engagement through a dialogic and collaborative approach would be lost (Gillies, 2020;Kuhn, 2015), as would the realistic experience of what doing science collaboratively is like. None of this worthwhile activity seems to permeate or even be accounted for in a CLT approach.…”

Advantages and Challenges of Cooperative Learning in Two Different Cultures

“…They could access the content recorded in the classroom. They missed student-centred activities such as group work, and live talks which is emphasized by Gillies [12], and instructors had to adjust the method to be useful to all students. To overcome this challenge, external students' classrooms could be formed separately, enabling instructors to conduct the class through the e-learning system from their office.…”

“…Challenges include dependence on others for solutions [25], the lack of time provided in the curriculum [26,27] and students' lack of skills needed to cooperate [28]. These challenges can be minimized by teaching skills such as actively listening to each other, sharing ideas and information, providing help to others, sharing leadership and planning roles [29], and also dialogic teaching [12]. In CL classrooms, the basic challenge shifts from learning in the conventional sense to the construction of collective knowledge [30].…”

The Benefits of Cooperative Learning of Language in Different Subject Lessons as Seen by Primary School Pupils: The Case of One Lithuanian City School

“…eoretical Foundations for Successful Cooperative Learning. Cooperative learning is defined by 5 attributes of successful cooperation in groups where children work to help, advise, and discuss [23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33]:…”