Lesson Transcripts Research Articles

How the Affordances of Different Modeling Tools Impact Kindergartener‐Constructed Models and Modeling Reasoning

ABSTRACTThis study seeks to enrich our understanding of modeling‐based learning (MbL) in kindergarten science education, investigating the influences of different modeling tools on kindergarten child‐constructed models and their modeling reasoning. Therefore, this multi‐case study aimed at providing in‐depth descriptions of how MbL was enacted by 66 kindergarteners while combining the use of three modeling tools: paper‐and‐pencil, three‐dimensional structures, and dramatic play. We studied three different classes of children engaged in MbL who studied and modeled three different physical phenomena (wildflowers' parts and their functions, dissolving substances in water, shadow formation). We varied the modeling tools to investigate the ways these tools contributed to children's MbL. Data sources included the child‐constructed models, their modeling discourse, and mechanistic reasoning. From the videotaped lesson transcripts, we developed detailed accounts of the three MbL cases, and we analysed the discourse using modeling frame analysis and mechanistic reasoning analysis, along with the model component artifact analysis of the child‐constructed models. Findings suggested that the use of different modeling tools impacts child‐constructed models and their corresponding modeling‐based mechanistic reasoning. The findings also suggest that children's representational proficiencies seem to be related to the use of a variety of modeling tools, which enabled children to talk about the possible different ways of developing models and the different affordances of the various modeling tools' representational power. We use this evidence to argue that different modeling tools may afford different modeling possibilities that kindergarten children may draw upon possibly combining with modeling resources they have (e.g., role‐playing, storytelling, drawing).

Helping teacher education students’ understanding of self-regulated learning and how to promote self-regulated learning in the classroom

This research investigated the details and effects of a short online Professional Learning Program designed to develop teacher education students’ knowledge about how to promote self-regulated learning (SRL) in the classroom. The Program was based on a new framework for how teachers can promote SRL, the SRL Teacher Promotion Framework (SRL-TPF), which focused on the promotion of SRL strategies, students’ knowledge about learning, and students’ metacognition. It consisted of seven modules describing the different SRL promotion types and SRL capabilities and ways to promote them through teacher talk and action. Modules included written information and video examples taken from observations of real classrooms, which were used to illustrate the transfer of SRL theory to instructional practice. Each module concluded with several assessment items. During the Program the participants, 91 teacher education students, were asked to use a simplified scoring system based on the SRL-TPF to code lesson transcripts taken from classroom observations. The results showed that by the end of the program over 85% of the participants were able to provide teacher instructions that included explicit SRL promotion and/or promoted students’ SRL knowledge. Our study contributes to research findings on teacher education students’ knowledge of SRL, their promotion of SRL to students, and the contribution of short duration SRL professional development.

The nexus between research methodology, classroom data and instructional policy: insights from enacting the Zimbabwe curriculum framework 2015–2022 reforms

ABSTRACT This article explores the nexus among research methodlogy, classroom data and instructional policy enactment through content analysis of lesson transcripts. It is a multiple-case research of four Zimbabwean secondary school geography teachers’ classroom practices. Coded lesson-transcripts and post-lesson teacher-interview transcripts subjected to thematic content analysis yeilded patterns of classroom interaction. Most lessons were teacher dominated question and answer episodes which failed to achieve mandated learner-centred teaching.Teachers relied on recall-type questions while failing to scaffold onto learner contributions for deeper geographical conversations. A weak pedagogical content knowledge partially contributed to this. Content analysis of lesson transactions showed a symbiotic nexus among research methodology, classroom data and instructional policy implementation. Coded classroom data holds opportunities for critcal scrutiny of classroom transactions to gauge instructional policy implementation. Findings suggest succesful instructional policy implementation can benefit from teacher training in content analysis of classroom transactions for reflexive practice.

When algebra makes you smile: Playful engagement with early algebraic practices

BackgroundThe typical competitive and results-driven approach to school mathematics has traditionally been conceived as devoid of play, joy, and positive affect. AimsIn this paper we address the following questions: What markers of positive affect are observed while students are doing early algebra? Specifically, how are students’ markers of joy related to early algebraic practices? What are the characteristics of playful stances to learning early algebra that are observed when children express positive epistemic affect? SampleWe analyze three cases in which elementary school students engaged in tasks from an early algebra classroom teaching experiment. MethodsDrawing from two theoretical frameworks, epistemic affect and early algebra, we conducted microgenetic analyses of lesson transcripts to identify markers of joy and early algebraic practices. We conducted frequency analyses to determine their co-occurrence. ResultsOur results indicate that children expressed joy while engaging in early algebraic practices, evidence of positive epistemic affect. We describe the aspects of each of the cases we present in terms of prior literature on playful stances to learning to further bolster our claims about the relationship between joy and engagement with the early algebraic practices. ConclusionsWe conclude that mathematical learning environments should include open opportunities for students to engage with mathematical content, with multiple entry points and ways to respond. We also conclude that early algebraic practices provide opportunities for playfully engagement and positive epistemic affect.

Extending science instruction beyond the CER: Use of critical questions in the argumentation of middle school science students

AbstractCritiquing arguments is important for K‐12 science students to learn but not emphasized by the predominant claim‐evidence‐reasoning (CER) argumentation model. Drawing on the work of Yu and Zenker (2020), and Dove and Nussbaum (2018), we developed a tool for supplementing CER with critical questions (CQs) from philosophy that cover most, if not all, the logical dimensions of argument critique. Six middle school science teachers designed lessons involving argumentation, including the use of CQs. We assessed the effects on student self‐efficacy for engaging in argument critique, teacher self‐efficacy for using argument pedagogy, and teachers’ perceptions of the value of CQs. Qualitative data included teacher interviews, lesson transcripts, and student work samples. Quantitative data included surveys of student self‐efficacy administered at the beginning and end of the school year. There was evidence suggesting an increase over time in students’ confidence for engaging in argument critique and teachers’ confidence with argument pedagogy. However, only four of the six teachers were confident and skilled enough to include CQs in their lessons. Those who did use CQs tended to perceive them as providing a helpful structure for critique, prompts for deeper thinking, and a tool for fostering critical classroom norms. Discussion of CQs may have benefitted students’ writing by promoting peer critique and encouragement to elaborate. Overall, CQs afford students with a framework for judging argument strength. Scientific argumentation involving CQs provides a more contemporary philosophical basis for scientific argumentation than CER or the Toulmin model as it emphasizes the critical and dialogic nature of science.

The Realization of the Initiation-Response-Feedback (IRF) Model in English Classroom at STAIKAP Pekalongan

This study aimed to identify the realization of the initiation-response-feedback (IRF) model in English Classroom at STAIKAP Pekalongan. It used a descriptive-qualitative study that implemented classroom interaction analysis by Sinclair and Coulthard in 1975 which stands for teacher initiation, students’ response, and feedback by lecturer. The subjects of this study are the first semester from Manajemen Pendidikan Islam Major which consists of 16 students and 1 lecturer. This study used three instruments: observation classroom, video recorder, and lesson transcript to gain the data. Then, the data is analyzed by Sinclair and Coulthard's (1975) theory. The study results showed that the lecturer and student implemented the IRF model in the teaching and learning process in English class. In this study there are the IRF pattern that was found to dominate in speaking skills was teacher elicit, in reading skills the IRF pattern that dominated was also teacher elicit, in listening skills the IRF pattern that dominated was Acknowledge act, and last in writing skills the IRF pattern that dominated was student response react. In conclusion, it is advised that the lecturer should uphold the quality of classroom interaction and provide ample opportunities for students to participate in verbal exchanges actively. Keywords: Classroom Interaction, English Classroom, IRF

Las prescripciones y la epistemología práctica de los profesores de música: el caso de la orquesta escolar

This study focuses on research into the work of music teachers and visiting musicians in a primary school in France. Their teaching activities are part of the "Orchestre à l'école" scheme. This scheme enables children from working-class and sometimes disadvantaged backgrounds to access and develop instrumental and orchestral practice at different times of the week. The observations were made at the request of the music teachers, who wanted to take stock of their work after several years. The pedagogical quality of these music and music teaching professionals, the institutional framework and the friendly atmosphere of the project enabled this participatory research to take place under the best possible conditions. The study focuses on the effects of the prescriptions set out by the instrument teachers on their practical epistemology. The hypothesis is that the polymorphous nature of the prescription, of the instruction, has as much effect on the pupils as on the teacher's practical epistemology. To verify this hypothesis, the analysis of the documents collected during this participatory research concerns the transcripts of the instrument lessons and the simple self-confrontation interviews conducted with the teachers. How does the practical epistemology of a music teacher evolve through feedback from his or her pupils?
 After reviewing the literature on the notions of prescription and practical epistemology, the article describes the main methodological aspects and develops an analysis of snippets of lessons and interviews selected by the teachers, before proposing a discussion. If the top-down prescription reveals the teacher's practical epistemology, then the students' bottom-up prescriptions should reveal what makes it evolve.

Applying constructivism in driving teacher education: Analysis based on transcripts of videotaped lessons

Modern learning focuses heavily on theory and ideals, offering scant practical guidance on execution and outcome evaluation. This research paper aims to show that the integration, in 2018, of a contemporary educational approach into the driving teacher training program at Tallinn University, Estonia, with specific implementation and evaluation criteria, changes actual teaching behavior towards constructivist principles. This approach involved a change in which students began video recording their driving lessons and transcribing them using a web-based speech recognition tool while following specific instructions. This process allowed for feedback and self-analysis throughout the learning process.The study analyzed 145 videotaped driving lessons, which were submitted as final examinations in the driving teacher training curriculum at Tallinn University Haapsalu College between 2017 and 2021. The natural quasiexperimental study compared transcripts of recordings (N = 145; 115 males) before (n = 38) and after (n = 107) the methodology change.The findings reveal a significant increase in the implementation of constructivist principles within the lessons after methodology change in 2018: lesson objectives and evaluation criteria were formulated more often, leading to an increase in open-ended inquiries and a higher prevalence of feedback and analysis. Additional pilot analysis of data from 11 driving teacher certificate renewers in a brief education program supported the efficacy of revised approach: the exam lesson recordings exhibited significantly more constructivist elements compared to the initial stage of the program. There were variations in the length of training both pre and post methodology change. While longer training displayed more constructivist elements, the impact of the methodology shift was notably more pronounced.In summary, the utilization of specific expectations, evaluation criteria and assessment tool in the driving teacher training program promotes a shift in which graduating teachers independently use more constructivist and learning-centered methodology. This approach has the potential to shape more responsible drivers.

EXAMINING THE WAYS ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS USE METADISCOURSE TO SCAFFOLD LEARNING AND SUPPORT STUDENT COMPREHENSION

Metadiscourse, or language that is used to reflect on or comment on the content of a message, plays a critical role in the development of student comprehension and learning in the English language classroom. This paper investigates the ways in which English language teachers use metadiscourse to scaffold learning and support student comprehension. The paper employs a qualitative analysis of lesson transcripts, interviews with teachers, and observations of classroom interactions to identify the types of metadiscourse that are used and the ways in which they are used to guide student learning. The results of the paper highlight the importance of metadiscourse in pedagogical discourse, and provide insights into the ways in which teachers can effectively use metadiscourse to support student learning in the English language classroom.

FACILITATING THE CONSTRUCTION OF KNOWLEDGE COLLECTIVELY THROUGH DIALOGIC DISCOURSE: TEACHERS’ PERSPECTIVES AND PRACTICES IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

Dialogic discourse is said to aid the social and cognitive aspects of language learning and acquisition and students’ success in second language learning is therefore largely dependent on the interactional opportunities available. Recognising the potential impact of dialogic discourse in enhancing second language acquisition amongst Malaysian students, the Malaysian Ministry of Education (MOE) provided a large-scale training on dialogic discourse to a group of lower secondary English language teachers. This study explores the perceptions of English as a second language (ESL) teachers on the role of dialogic discourse in affording students’ opportunities for the construction of knowledge and investigates their practices in affording students with the opportunities to construct knowledge collectively through the discourse structure. To understand the role of dialogic discourse in affording students to construct knowledge collectively, five ESL teachers’ dialogic discourse strategies were examined. A qualitative approach was employed, which comprised semi-structured interviews and classroom observations for the data collection. Two of the teachers’ lessons were also examined to illustrate how dialogic discourse created opportunities for the construction of knowledge collectively which supported ESL learning through close discourse analysis of the lesson transcripts. The findings have shown that ESL teachers’ use of dialogic discourse strategies facilitates the construction of knowledge collectively among the students.This study expands our current understanding of how ESL learning occurs through classroom discourse.

THE EFFECT OF TEACHERS’ VERBAL AND NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION ON STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION IN LEARNING ENGLISH AT SMAK FRATER DON BOSCO TARAKAN

The purpose of this study is to describe how teachers adapt both verbal and nonverbal communication, as well as the effects of these two types of communication on students' motivation to learn English. This study analyzed the instructors' verbal and nonverbal communication in the English classroom using the framework of teachers' talk developed by Sinclair and Brazil (1985) and Wang and Loewen (2015). Transcripts of lessons and video recordings of teachers' behavior were used to collect data. Procedures for data analysis involve organizing and prepping the data, coding, summarizing, and interpreting the data using the teachers' utterances and behaviors as the unit of analysis. Initial analysis results were looked at using data source triangulation and focused group discussion to validate the findings. The research revealed that questioning was the most common form of verbal communication among teachers, while hand gestures and facial expressions were the most common forms of non-verbal communication. Questions are the most inspirational instructors' verbal communication, and facial expressions are the most inspirational teachers' non-verbal communication.

The study of students' discussion process in a teacher-developed problem-solving learning design: Transcript-based lesson analysis of a social studies lesson

PurposeThis study aims to clarify the process of students' discussion in a problem-solving lesson developed autonomously by a teacher. It is expected to contribute to the accumulating and theorizing of teachers' professional development in school-based curriculum studies.Design/methodology/approachA transcript-based lesson analysis (TBLA) was conducted using quantitative and qualitative methods. The data were from a third-year junior high school social studies lesson in which whole-class discussions took place. The frequency of the appearance of keywords in the utterances was represented in the form of cumulative relative frequency graphs, and a diagram of the students' discussion process was drawn based on them.FindingsThe diagram confirmed the frequent occurrence, disappearance and transmission of keywords in the process of the lesson. The interpretation of the lesson transcript revealed that the students listened carefully to others' utterances, shared important keywords and examined the ideas critically. They were supported in identifying the connections between their interests by the teacher. The students' interactions and teacher's interventions were facilitated by the integrated curriculum design of teaching and learning.Originality/valueThis study verifies that students' collaborative and critical learning takes place in a lesson developed by a teacher based on the practiced curriculum. The findings of this study suggest that lesson study (LS) focusing on the words in utterances provide clues for evaluating the practiced curriculum and reveal the teacher's professional development.

Representation Is Not Enough: Teacher Identity and Discretion in an Asynchronous, Scripted Online Learning Environment

Background/Context: Schools are increasingly using scripted curricula that limit teacher autonomy. These limitations are exacerbated when scripted curricula are enacted in fully standardized, asynchronous online course environments with no mechanisms for student–teacher communication. Purpose: This study extends understanding of how teacher discretion, identity, and the relationship between those two components shape students’ educational experiences online. Research Design: Within a sequential mixed method design, we identified spaces for teacher discretion using critical discourse analysis. By coding lesson transcripts, we developed a typology of common strategies: friendly, directive, personalized, and procedural. We used the resulting typology to run statistical models examining associations among teacher identity, discretionary acts, and student achievement. Lastly, we turned back to the qualitative data to confirm findings, test hypotheses, and provide nuance. Findings: Teachers presenting as Black were significantly more likely to use a procedural approach and significantly less likely to use friendly strategies. Students scored higher on their end-of-lesson quiz when their teacher used personalized strategies, such as sharing relevant personal experiences, and scored lower when teachers used friendly or directive strategies. Conclusions: Findings have implications for understanding and enacting equitable educational practices in asynchronous, scripted online environments. The isolation of discretionary acts feasible within the virtual learning environment studied contributes nuance to knowledge of the mechanisms through which teacher discretion might result in more favorable learning outcomes for students belonging to minoritized groups.

From defining as assertion to defining as explaining meaning: teachers' learning through theory-informed lesson study

PurposeThe aim is the introduction of lesson study (LS) in geometry in Malawi secondary schools supported by a teaching framework that includes a focus on language responsive teaching.Design/methodology/approachThe study reports an LS on geometry for professional development (PD) of secondary teachers. Data analysed includes lesson plans, transcripts of lessons, reflective discussions. The analytical approach is qualitative content analysis.FindingsTeachers' lexicalisation of an exterior angle of a triangle evolved as a function of a teaching framework that guided their participation in planning, teaching and reflecting through LS cycle, and that was derived from networking between theories.Research limitations/implicationsThis is both a small-scale study, and a limited content focus in the lesson, a function of LS being a new practice, and teachers simultaneously learning ideas about geometry teaching, those embedded in the framework and doing LS.Practical implicationsThe paper includes a description of how LS might contribute to teachers' learning of language responsive teaching, and so is useful for others working on LS and language practices.Originality/valueThis paper fulfils an identified need to learn more about how networking theories to inform and support LS can create learning opportunities for teachers, particularly about language responsive teaching, an interest and concern worldwide.

Learner-centred education and English medium instruction: policies in practice in a lower-secondary mathematics class in rural Rwanda

ABSTRACT This paper shows how one mathematics teacher, in a government secondary school in rural Rwanda, re-contextualises learner centred education (LCE) and English medium instruction (EMI) policies in classroom practice. Data are drawn from an ethnographic, critical case study and include lesson transcripts and teacher and student perspectives. The study indicates the importance of including non-verbal language in investigations of classroom interaction, and problematises the tendency to equate LCE with student talk in groups. In these lessons, whole-class interactions are managed by the teacher and student verbal participation is limited. Nevertheless, students co-construct and participate in activities and communicate mathematical meanings. The teacher observes and responds to students and enables students to access the English and mathematics they need for examinations. EMI limits student verbal participation and access to the textbook. The study indicates the importance of learning from and responding to classroom realties rather than pedagogical and linguistic ideologies.

Teacher Knowledge and Questioning in Classroom Talk about Text

ABSTRACT Open discussion of text promotes students’ reading achievement, yet classroom discussion is rare. The present study investigates whether teachers’ knowledge for literacy teaching relates to their enactment of class discussion in the context of a high-quality literacy curriculum. Two sixth grade teachers (one who demonstrated high levels of knowledge for teaching literacy, and one who demonstrated low knowledge) were audio recorded teaching the same reading lesson. Lesson transcripts were analyzed with a focus on the questions teachers asked. Questions were coded as high – or low-level, and as authentic or display questions. Function of questions and quality of instruction were also explored. The teacher whose knowledge was higher asked more high-level questions, while the teacher with lower knowledge asked more low-level questions. Although both teachers asked more display than authentic questions, a higher proportion of questions asked by the teacher with high knowledge were authentic. The higher-knowledge teacher’s enactment of the lesson also included more student voice, more topical coherence, and a richer understanding of the material. These findings emphasize the importance of teacher knowledge. This work also underscores the importance of developing more robust constructs for knowledge for literacy teaching, and quality of literacy instruction.

Think Like a Linguist: Leveraging Multilingual Students’ Expertise about Language

AbstractIn this article, we focus on a series of lessons, called Think Like a Linguist, that we designed and implemented with multilingual adolescents. These lessons were developed as an introduction to a semester‐long study on academic vocabulary and word analysis using Latin roots. Our intention in Think Like a Linguist lessons was to present concepts about language patterns and relationships by leveraging students’ diverse language backgrounds. Transcripts of lessons from one middle school class and two high school classes were inductively coded and thematically analyzed. Three main findings about students’ participation and learning are presented. First, students engaged in hypothesis‐checking and flexible thinking about language. Second, students collectively leveraged all the languages they knew for analysis. Third, lessons created the conditions for students to reflect on relations between language and power. In addition to these findings, we present major concepts introduced, examples of instructional tasks, and resources for instruction.

The micro-politics of classroom talk: tracking students’ shifting positions on race, place and privilege

ABSTRACT For the socially conscious teacher working in diverse classrooms, conversation can surface and productively engage the politics of difference. Poststructuralist discourse analysis and/or positioning theory have provided insights into the students’ subject positions and discourses in such conversations. However, studies are often limited by the use of brief extracts from lesson transcripts, making it difficult to detect how students are positioning one another and how subject positions shift over time. This article seeks to make a contribution by using extended extracts of moment-by-moment classroom talk to track the subject positions that students take up and map the discourses they draw on over time in an extended conversation. This qualitative case study examines classroom talk in a racially desegregated classroom in an elite school in South Africa. The issues that emerge provide insights into the ways in which students navigate discursive positions on race, place and privilege. Findings suggest that when the interactional order of the classroom is such that students’ diverse knowledges and experiences are invited in, students collectively gain access to a multiplicity of discourses which can be used as resources to rethink their own subject positions and begin to imagine alternative positions from which to view their worlds.

Realising student voice through dialogic engagement with a microblogging tool

ABSTRACT The realisation of voice is a particularly challenging aspect of dialogue. The aim of this study is to explore how a microblogging tool creates conditions for the realisation of student voice. Drawing on data collected as part of a larger international study, analysis of student focus group interviews (aged 11–12 years) in two schools in England (n = 36) suggest that the use of a microblogging tool can develop student agency, helping to realise student voice by removing the struggle to capture and maintain the floor and enabling students to become attuned to the ideas of others. However, some students were concerned about the tool's democratic use. Guided by this finding, a detailed micro-analysis of interactions of video data, lesson transcripts and microblog meta-data explores how students' microblogging contributions were heeded by three teachers in one school. We consider the pedagogical implications of these findings, exploring the juxtaposition between a school culture that celebrates individual achievement and the culture of a dialogic classroom. For such classrooms, this research indicates that student commitment to dialogic interaction is encouraged where the ideas of all students are, as far as possible, acknowledged by the teacher and used in developing collective ideas.

Classification of educational videos by using a semi-supervised learning method on transcripts and keywords

E-learning is a rapidly growing field, which is giving rise to a massive amount of digital learning objects. Sorting these objects properly so that they are correctly indexed in searches and recommendation systems is a challenge. In this paper, we present a semi-supervised method of clustering and classifying learning objects in video format to extract their most relevant topics, specifically from lesson transcripts. These videos come from the educational video platform of the Universitat Politència de València. The proposed method also uses open content from Wikipedia to help build the labelled dataset.