Lewis - Science Talk

Cultivating a classroom where "science talk" and academic language is used is one of the primary goals of all science teachers. In these three articles there were many strategies to take away, and many factors to consider that promote "science talk".

At the head of science talk (in general) was the need to assess student's foundational knowledge about a given standard/concept. One strategy for doing so is leading interviews where students are asked probing and relevant questions to gauge their understanding of a particular topic. Before reading this article I'd never thought to interview students to check their understanding about an upcoming standard. As the article pointed out, this process is not evaluative but can provide important information regarding their prior knowledge.

In science, it is another goal to have students engage in meaningful discourse about the concepts explored in class. As we discussed in last weeks class, anchoring events serve as good access points for students to think critically and engage in intellectually stimulating discourse. Rich discussions can then be pushed by teacher and student questioning, where higher order thinking yields personal discovery. As A Discourse Primer for Science Teachers points out though, classrooms must first be established as safe-spaces for students in order to foster engagement from all, leading to the expression of ideas at a class-wide level.

Overall, these articles were enjoyable reads. Throughout my career thus far, questioning has been a constant place of reflection and refinement as I at times have struggled to ask higher ordered questions that require my students to do the "heavy-lifting". These three articles provided great insight into promoting "science talk" and introduced strategies that I plan to incorporate into my classroom.