ED391571 PS023172
Title: Issues in Problem Solving Discourse: A Preliminary Study of
the Socialization of Planning Skills during Science Lessons in a Kindergarten
Classroom.
Author(s): Stone, Lynda
Pages: 38
Publication Date: 1994
Notes: Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational
Research Association (75th, New Orleans, LA, April 4-8, 1994).
Available from: EDRS Price MF01/PC02 Plus Postage.
Language: English
Document Type: Reports--Research (143); Speeches/meeting papers (150)
Geographic Source: U.S.; California
Journal Announcement: RIEJUN1996
This case
study explored how social interaction during science lessons leads
to the development of planning skills in students. An analysis of
group discussions was conducted. Questions addressed were: (1) What
is the nature of planning discourse during science problem-solving
activities with young children?; and (2) How is collaborative planning
during science problem-solving encouraged by the teacher to help
a student structure problem-solving attempts? An urban elementary
school located in a transient, low-income, predominately Latino
neighborhood was selected. The class tended to be bilingual, but
the analysis focused on activities where English was used primarily.
The classroom population was 30 children, and one-third were fluent
English speakers. Participant observation notes and unstructured
interviews were conducted. Classroom documents and video and audio
tapes of 1-2 hour durations were analyzed. Discourse and conversation
analytic methods were used to complete both macro and micro analysis
of classroom discourse. Results suggest that the teacher's general
framing of learning as problem-solving opportunities for all participants
profoundly affected the nature of instructional talk, and contributed
to an emphasis on learning about planning during social interaction.
In this case study, the teacher was in the process of building a
classroom environment that engendered group problem solving by creating
opportunities in which students could actively participate in planning
activities. The social organization, shaped by a complex integration
of linguistic, visual, and kinesic texts, provided students with
a means to make sense of practical activity as forms of problem
solving that require planning. Active participation in social interaction
around planning had the consequence of shifting students' roles
from receivers of knowledge to producers of knowledge. (Contains
37 references.) (WP)
Descriptors: Bilingual Education; Child Development; Classroom Techniques;
Discussion (Teaching Technique); *Elementary School Science; Interpersonal
Relationship; Interviews; *Kindergarten; Participant Observation;
Planning; Primary Education; *Problem Solving; *Science Instruction;
*Socialization; Teaching Methods
