Abstract
In research on science education, there is a need to further understand the relation between longer and shorter processes of teaching and learning in the classroom. With a theoretical framework based on dialogical theories of communication, this thesis investigates three aspects of the formation of a science classroom practice: the making of conceptual distinctions, classroom organisations and the making of connections between lessons. The empirical material consists of eleven video recorded lessons on biological evolution in grade 9 (15 year old students). The analysis connects different levels of classroom interaction and patterns in the communication over several lessons as well as the details of particular situations. The empirical findings of the thesis are presented in three studies. The first study shows co-existing meanings of the word explanation and three conversational structures that the teacher used for making distinctions between them. The second study shows how small-group activities are used for coordinating the pace of students’ participation in these lessons. The third study shows strategies for link-making and a topic trajectory including questions that were raised in relation to survival and extinction of species. The conclusions point to the significance of coordinating the communication so that patterns such as those described can provide learning opportunities for students.
Reference
Rocksén, Miranda. (2015). Reasoning in a Science Classroom. (Doctoral thesis, Gothenburg studies in educational sciences, 365). Göteborg: Acta Universitatis Gothoburgensis. Retrievable from http://hdl.handle.net/2077/38324
Full text available in English: http://hdl.handle.net/2077/38324
Three appended manuscripts are published
Rocksén, Miranda & Olander, Clas. (2016). A topical trajectory on survival: an analysis of link-making in a sequence of lessons on evolution. E-pub ahead of print. Research in Science Education. doi: 10.1007/s11165-015-9509-3
Rocksén, Miranda. (2016). The temporality of participation in school science: coordination of teacher control and the pace of students’ participation. E-pub ahead of print. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research. doi: 10.1080/00313831.2016.1147070
Rocksén, Miranda. (2016). The many roles of “explanation” in science education: a case study. E-pub ahead of print. Cultural Studies of Science Education. doi: 10.1007/s11422-014-9629-5
Correspondence
Miranda Rocksén
Department of Pedagogical, Curricular and Professional Studies
Box 300
SE-405 30 Göteborg
Tel. +46 31 7866775
e-mail: miranda.rocksen@gu.se
