Student Dialogue Research Articles

Grade six students’ and teachers’ attitudes towards socio-constructivism in science education

The aim of this study was to investigate the attitudes of Grade 6 students and their science teachers towards a socio-constructivist way of learning and teaching science, compared to the usual way of learning and teaching science; as well as the science teaching practices. The data was collected during a period of eight weeks in two rural primary schools in the Limpopo Province, South Africa. A five-week intervention was conducted during which the researchers taught science in a socio-constructivist way. Observations were conducted as well as interviews with the teachers and 10 students (5 in each school) using the CLES observation guide, CLES interview guide, CLES Actual questionnaire and CLES Preferred questionnaire. The interviewed students also participated in a focus group. The results showed that some elements of socio-constructivism were appreciated by the students and teachers and other elements not. The students’ attitudes were positive about scientific uncertainty and student negotiation and rather negative about critical voice and shared control. The attitudes of the teachers were more ambiguous.

How Chinese students participate in classroom dialogue with the advancement of new curriculum reform

ABSTRACT This study aimed to show how high school students in China participate in classroom dialogue since the advancement of the new curriculum reforms. A coding instrument was developed, which accounted for apparent forms of participation and its quality (i.e., accuracy and cognitive level). There were 289 students involved and a total of 108 lessons were systematically observed. The findings revealed that teachers’ initiating and then students’ contributing was the main form of participation in whole-class dialogues. Much of the dialogues were related to course content and reviews of previously learned knowledge, while was concerned with students’ personal thoughts to a lesser extent. Students were likely to analyse problems and provide explanations, while generalization, speculation and uptakes were identified less frequently in their contributions. A specific account of participatory behaviours in dialogue of high school students in China was provided. With achievements and insufficiencies spotted, the findings should help in making improvements to the reforms in the future.

The effect of a student–teacher–scientist partnership program on high school students' science achievement and attitudes about scientists

AbstractThis article describes the effects of a student–teacher–scientist partnership program on high school students' science outcomes. The design was a cluster‐randomized trial with an analytic sample of 36 teachers randomly assigned to teach a photosynthesis‐ and respiration‐focused module including student‐designed investigations supported by online mentoring from scientists. Forty‐nine teachers were randomly assigned to teach photosynthesis and respiration to students as they normally would. The core finding was that implementing the module in combination with the online mentoring resulted in significant effects on student achievement (effect size = 0.284) and attitudes toward scientists (effect size = 0.280). The study sample was highly representative, demographically, to the US population of high schools. Future research should replicate the current study design, with the current and other related interventions, while examining component‐specific costs and efficacy. Related studies should also examine the relationship between the quality of scientist–student dialogue and student outcomes.

Constructivism in the Science Classroom: Assessing Students’ Perception of Constructivism

Distinct to today's society is rapid change, exemplified in the swift demands that confront professionals and working life. As this ripple to and challenges the educational set up to mold competent individuals, changes occur as the education paradigm shifts. One such change is Constructivism which asserts learning to be an active process where learners actively build on their experiences and knowledge. Students' perceptions of the classroom learning environment are significant and should be of interest to teachers. The study employed a Constructivist Learning Environment Survey which was responded by163 first-year college students. It was intended to assess how students perceive their Science class as taught using the Constructivist approach. It utilized the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software to analyze data. Findings revealed that students perceived their Science class as "often" taught using Constructivism. Likewise, of the five Constructivist dimensions identified and utilized for this study, four dimensions were regarded as "often" perceived by the students in their science class, the highest often perceived dimension being Student Negotiation. Contrastingly, the only dimension perceived "seldom" by the students and scored the lowest is Shared Control. Thus, it resulted that there is no relationship between the teacher's teaching experience and the teacher's use of constructivist practices.

Higher Education during the Pandemic: The Predictive Factors of Learning Effectiveness in COVID-19 Online Learning

The global coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak forced a shift from face-to-face education to online learning in higher education settings around the world. From the outset, COVID-19 online learning (CoOL) has differed from conventional online learning due to the limited time that students, instructors, and institutions had to adapt to the online learning platform. Such a rapid transition of learning modes may have affected learning effectiveness, which is yet to be investigated. Thus, identifying the predictive factors of learning effectiveness is crucial for the improvement of CoOL. In this study, we assess the significance of university support, student–student dialogue, instructor–student dialogue, and course design for learning effectiveness, measured by perceived learning outcomes, student initiative, and satisfaction. A total of 409 university students completed our survey. Our findings indicated that student–student dialogue and course design were predictive factors of perceived learning outcomes whereas instructor–student dialogue was a determinant of student initiative. University support had no significant relationship with either perceived learning outcomes or student initiative. In terms of learning effectiveness, both perceived learning outcomes and student initiative determined student satisfaction. The results identified that student–student dialogue, course design, and instructor–student dialogue were the key predictive factors of CoOL learning effectiveness, which may determine the ultimate success of CoOL.

Indigenous student housing: permanence, representativeness and the participatory project process

This article presents the project process adopted for the design of indigenous student housing at the Federal University of Santa Catarina, Brazil, and discusses its impact both on the formative process of architecture and urbanism students, regarding the experiences of indigenous students at the University. Aside from the relevance of that architecture as support for the permanence of students in public higher education, its importance as a symbol of shelter and respect for indigenous peoples at the university stands out. For this purpose, a participatory project was built that began with dialogues stages with indigenous students at the university and interactions with one of the ethnicities involved in its traditional territory (its village), for the definition of project guidelines and the needs’ program. Subsequently, for the proposal’s presentation and discussion, experiences were gathered in the proposed area for the project’s implementation and the physical models and drawings were presented, which were used to facilitate dialogue and participation of Indigenous students in the project process. The article presents the path followed, the spatial results of this process, the perceptions of the future users of the space, and reflections on the importance of outreach actions in the training of professionals in the area of architecture and urbanism, valuing the social role of the profession, and building a more sensitive projective repertoire, prepared to consider the human diversity that contemporaneity constitutes.

The role of an educational vignette to teach dental students on issues of substance use and mental health disorders in patients at the University of British Columbia: an exploratory qualitative study

BackgroundInverted classroom approaches and the use of vignettes have been suggested in health care education. The objective of this study was to use an educational vignette to discuss issues of stigma around substance use and mental disorders within undergraduate Doctor of Medicine in Dentistry (DMD) and Bachelor of Dental Science in Dental Hygiene (BDSc-DH) students at the University of British Columbia, Canada. Our research question was “how can an educational vignette, depicting a fictitious patient with a history of substance use and mental health disorders accessing dental care, promote an open dialogue about stigma?”MethodsAn educational vignette was developed based on individuals’ lived-experiences with a variety of substance use and/or mental health disorders. This vignette was used to generate in-class discussion involving all the DMD and BDSc-DH undergraduate students enrolled between 2015/16 and 2018/19 who attended a mandatory 2.5 h didactic session using an inverted classroom approach. Students were also encouraged to provide a post-class voluntary written reflection, between 200 and 300 words, around stigma. The authors took written field notes on students’ response to the vignette and used excerpts from students’ de-identified reflections to illustrate the impact of such an educational tool.ResultsA total of 323 DMD and BDSc-DH students attended the didactic sessions between 2015/16 and 2018/19, and 148 reflections were submitted over the same time period. The inverted classroom approached showed to be engaging and collaborative. The vignette promoted open dialogue and was determined to be a conducive tool to generate in-class discussion and reflection. Major themes from the textual data included ‘exploring power relations’ and ‘patient-centered care approach to counteract stigma’. The vignette also enabled the discussion of positive experiences characterized by empathy, reassurance and communication, although it might not have prompted all students to participate in class or in writing the reflections.ConclusionThe inverted classroom approach and the vignette seemed to be an effective way to facilitate dialogue and reflection for most students. This study highlighted the need to explore innovative ways in which to continuously prepare current and future oral health care providers to professionally address the needs of patients with a history of substance use and/or mental health disorders.

Синхронізація навчання студентів-медиків засобами інформаційно-комунікаційних технологій

The article describes and summarizes the experience of using Internet information in the work of an educational institution, its role in improving the information provision of students. The peculiarities of individualization and differentiation of learning in the conditions of the application of multimedia resources and constructing a student dialogue with a computer are analyzed. The main tendencies and perspectives of use of the Internet information on classes of different cycles are highlighted.The current article reveals the potential of synchronization of medical students’ learning by using information and communication technologies both during classroom classes and in the conditions of distance and blended learning.Monitoring of ICT competence of teachers as subjects of information educational space of educational institution is promising, as it allows to more effectively influence the content, forms, methods and means of methodological training of different categories of pedagogical and medical workers, which optimizes the use of educational resources to improve education and self-realization of teachers and medical students

Синхронізація навчання студентів-медиків засобами інформаційно-комунікаційних технологій

The article describes and summarizes the experience of using Internet information in the work of an educational institution, its role in improving the information provision of students. The peculiarities of individualization and differentiation of learning in the conditions of the application of multimedia resources and constructing a student dialogue with a computer are analyzed. The main tendencies and perspectives of use of the Internet information on classes of different cycles are highlighted. The current article reveals the potential of synchronization of medical students' learning by using information and communication technologies both during classroom classes and in the conditions of distance and blended learning. Monitoring of ICT competence of teachers as subjects of information educational space of educational institution is promising, as it allows to more effectively influence the content, forms, methods and means of methodological training of different categories of pedagogical and medical workers, which optimizes the use of educational resources to improve education and self-realization of teachers and medical students.

Deciding For or Deciding With: Student Involvement in Repertoire Selection

When music educators discuss repertoire, they often discuss what pieces to perform and when in the year to perform them. In this article, I ask, “ Who should choose the music for ensemble study, and how should it be chosen?” I share a rationale for why music educators might include students in ensemble repertoire selection and several ways they might open the repertoire so their students can contribute to the process. Based on my interest in how teacher–student dialogue can occur in this process, I draw from conversations I had with six orchestra teachers and twenty-seven of their students. The approaches presented here come from my interviews with these six teachers, from others with whom I have since collaborated, and from my own experience as an educator. Music educators may find these approaches useful for discussion, study, and implementation of more inclusive practice.

STEAM – KİMYANIN TƏDRİSİNDƏ YENİ TƏLİM TEXNOLOGİYASI KİMİ

STEAM Education is an approach to learning that uses Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics as access points for guiding student inquiry, dialogue, and critical thinking. Use of STEAM lessons in teaching process, increased critical thinking, improved student achievement and help to development of personality formation. This article discusses the advantage of the STEAM methods and shown that an example of a STEAM-based chemistry lesson model. Key words: STEAM education,critical thinking, science, technology, engineering, teaching of chemistry, chemical experiment

Developing the relational in teacher feedback literacy: exploring feedback talk

The higher education literature on feedback has generally explored spoken feedback delivered on a summative written assignment. In contrast, this study explores spoken feedback as part of the teacher – student dialogue in classroom interaction (i.e. feedback talk). Drawing on a discourse analysis approach we identified linguistic and rhetorical indicators of feedback talk and found a number of common patterns in six seminar events. Interviews with two teachers revealed a perception that feedback was an inherent part of the teaching and learning process and agreement on the significance of feedback talk in supporting relationships. We argue that a recognition and understanding of feedback talk can support the relational dimension of feedback literacy in the micro-moments of learning and teaching. We frame our discussion of feedback talk and teacher feedback literacy within the wider context of learning and teaching and call for a more holistic perspective on feedback.

Constructing Ethical Learning Spaces Through Interdisciplinary Dialogue

ABSTRACT First piloted in 2017, MacEwan University’s Interdisciplinary Dialogue is a collaborative teaching and learning project that addresses topics relating to social justice across disciplines. In 2019, in collaboration with kihêw waciston Indigenous Centre, the Dialogue expanded its intercultural learning through a partnership with University nuhelot’įne thaiyots’į nistameyimâkanak Blue Quills and explored truth and reconciliation through a focus on Indigenous research. Building on Willie Ermine’s concept of ‘ethical spaces’, this article highlights how ethical learning spaces were created through Indigenous-led educational forums followed by an online student Interdisciplinary Dialogue. The Dialogue positioned students to explore histories of colonial relationships and their attendant harmful research practices; and to centre Indigenous knowledges and methodologies as foundational to Indigenous research. Students questioned oppressions in western pedagogy, and they envisioned a pedagogy of mutual respect for Indigenous and non-Indigenous ways of knowing. This article focuses on the online discussions conducted by students in the 2019 Dialogue. It shows how students understood that they were participants in disrupting colonial discourse in academia, reframing education for reconciliation, and expanding the construction of ‘ethical spaces’ across the University and beyond.

Students’ Forms of Dialogue When Engaged with Contemporary Biological Research: Insights from University and High School Students’ Group Discussions

Classroom dialogues have special educational value because they allow students to engage critically but constructively with each other’s ideas, solve scientific problems jointly and develop their scientific understanding. The present study focuses on how groups of twelfth-grade high school and university students communicate and co-operate through dialogue to solve a biological problem they have not encountered before. The specific research questions are as follows: (a) What are the dialogic structures that help students construct scientific explanations? (b) How does prior scientific knowledge support student dialogue in constructing explanations? A coding scheme was developed inductively for the analysis of participants’ utterances. We use illustrative exemplars from participants’ dialogues to discuss those aspects which might support explanatory reasoning. We focus on reasoned attention for contending opinions and striving for consensus that characterise cases of constructive dialogue. We also discuss observed objections and disagreements as triggering factors for constructive alternative explanations. Finally, we discuss the evidence showing that while prior knowledge supports student reasoning it can also hinder the ability of students to think in a creative way.

A microanalysis of expert-student dialogue videos: Supporting preparation and learning for clinical competence assessment.

The aim of this qualitative study was to analyse students' perceptions and impact of using a novel video genre designed to support their learning and preparation for a clinical competence assessment. The videos demonstrate expert-student dialogue (ESD) of authentic, one-on-one discourse between the teacher and student, relating to the case presentation and self-evaluation of the assessment. Students who were about to perform a competence assessment were invited to participate in the study. Students were asked to watch a relevant ESD video they had not previously had access to, which showed the examiner-examinee dialogue relating to a peer's tooth preparation for the competence assessment. Immediately after watching the video, a video simulated recall approach was performed to analyse students' perceptions. Thematic analysis was performed to induce relevant themes. Five themes were identified: analysis and judgement, observational learning from expert dialogue, observational learning from student dialogue, self-efficacy and empathy. Positive responses from interviews suggested high cognitive engagement with this video genre with an affective component that was also valued as an informative learning resource. Students reported the video could stimulate them to think, make it easier to remember knowledge, avoid errors observed, and gain insights into assessment process and examiner's expectations. Empathy was also reported towards the examinee in the video. The ESD videos facilitated students' active and analytical thinking as well as improved their assessment preparedness. This video genre has shown how observing ESD can support students' learning and preparation for a clinical competence assessment.

Faculty Reflections of Pedagogical Transformation in Active Learning Classrooms

Increasingly, Active Learning Classrooms (ALCs) are being designed and built by higher education institutions to support instructors in adopting and implementing active learning pedagogies. In this study, we explore how instructors perceive changes in their teaching after teaching in ALCs. Our study focuses on the perceptions of faculty members who have completed a year-long professional development around teaching in ALCs. We conduct place-based interviews with nine such faculty members to examine their perceptions of their changing pedagogies of specific ALCs. Using thematic analysis, we categorized faculty’s perceptions of the affordances of ALCs for their teaching and student learning into three major themes: (1) ALCs afford visibility and instructor presence, (2) ALCs afford better feedback and apprenticeship, and (3) ALCs afford intimate conversations and student dialogue. Finally, we draw on data from the interviews to explicate each theme in turn before discussing commonalities and tensions among the themes. These three themes present an entry point for professional development designers, instructors, and other institutional stakeholders to understand how instructors orient active learning pedagogues to learning spaces.

Review of Ward (2019): Prosodic Patterns in English Conversation

Abstract Nigel G. Ward’s Prosodic Patterns in English Conversation is reviewed with examples of his findings for prosody based primarily on a corpus of student dialogues and with implications for L2 pronunciation researchers and teachers.

Automated classification of collaboration skills in typed-chat collaborative problem-solving

This experiment trained classifiers to monitor the dialogue of students working together in a Java programming class. The classifiers recognized four activities within the problem-solving conversat...

Entre letramentos e a construção de identidades: o texto literário amapaense nas aulas de língua portuguesa

Neste trabalho buscou-se, como objetivo geral, analisar como os professores inserem os textos da literatura amapaense nas aulas de língua portuguesa e, de modo específico, entender o que os professores pensam acerca do ensino da leitura literária, compreendendo como tais textos são explorados nas escolas, além disso, discutir como a literatura amapaense pode favorecer à (re)construção e a negociação das identidades dos alunos. Para tanto, foram mobilizados conhecimentos da literatura, como o letramento literário e a formação de leitores literários, discutido, respectivamente, a partir de Cosson (2016) e Rouxel (2013); bem como também nos valemos da Linguística Aplicada quanto ao letramento crítico e multiletramentos – segundo Cassany (2005), Matos e Valério (2010) e Cope e Kalantzis (2009) – e a (re)construção das identidades por meio da língua, de acordo com Maristella-de-Andrade e Figueiredo (2013), Rajagopalan (2009) e Norton (2013). Esta pesquisa é, portanto, qualitativo-interpretativista, sendo realizada em cinco escolas (A, B, C, D e E) por meio de entrevistas com cinco professores e da aplicação de questionários semiabertos aos responsáveis pelas bibliotecas e salas de leitura, todos pertencentes às escolas pesquisadas. Assim, diante dos dados que dispomos, avaliamos que ainda falta compreender e, consequentemente, trabalhar a leitura (incluindo a literária) e a produção escrita como práticas sociais que permeiam as atividades humanas, devendo oportunizar aos alunos práticas de ensino que os possibilitem pensar seus espaços locais por meio da leitura crítica, também de textos da literatura amapaense, e de modo a (re)construírem suas identidades.

Freudenthal fantasy on the bus, an American adaptation

In the 1960’s two mathematicians, Hans Freudenthal in the Netherlands and Tamás Varga in Hungary, had argued that people learn mathematics by being actively involved and investigating realistic mathematical problems. Their method lives on in today’s teaching and learning through the various components of cooperative and active learning, by taking ownership in learning, and learning through student dialogue. The goal is to create a welcoming classroom atmosphere in which play takes the front seat. One such scenario is visiting various (animal) stations at the zoo by bus (illustrated by pictures). Passengers are getting on and off the bus at each station (illustrated by arrows), which is modeled on the open number line. This adapted and modified action research was carried out with 5-yearl-old children in public schools of Staten Island, NY in 2019.
 Subject Classification: 97D40, 97F20, 97F30