Audio or Videotape an All-class Discussion
Tape a science discussion. (Place the recorder or camera so that it will pick up both your voice and the students’ voices.) After class, listen to sections of the tape. Can you catch yourself encouraging students to explain their reasoning? Can you catch yourself helping students to use the data they’ve collected to support their reasoning? How do your students respond when you ask them to elaborate? Does expecting students to explain their reasoning change the nature of the discussion?
Identify a question or dilemma that arose from your independent study and your experience in the classroom. Plan to talk about your experience in the study group. You may want to identify a short interchange from the tape (~30 seconds) to share during the study group meeting.
