Life Sciences teachers’ use of talk moves to provide opportunities for meaning-making

Abstract

Research has established the significance of learners making meaning of science concepts, especially during classroom interactions. These interactions are driven in part by teacher talk moves as pedagogical tools. However, talk moves and their usefulness in meaning-making have not been established in the South African context for the topic of population ecology in Life Sciences. Drawing from the socio-cultural theory as the main theoretical framework, the purpose of this study was to investigate how Grade 11 Life Sciences teachers use talk moves to provide learners with meaning-making opportunities when teaching the topic of population ecology, and the factors that influence this process. A conceptual framework with various constructs characterising teacher talk moves and teacher cognition was established to underpin the study. Using a qualitative multiple case-study design, three teachers were sampled as participants. Audio recordings of lessons and Stimulated Recall Interviews were used as data sources. The teaching transcripts were analysed using Analysing Talk Moves, Teacher Discursive Moves, and Analysing Student Talk frameworks. The Stimulated Recall Interviews were analysed using both narrative analysis and analysis of narratives. Findings show that teachers use a variety of talk moves to initiate interactions and specific rejoinders, such as challenging and clarifying moves, to provide learners with meaning-making opportunities. However, there were several instances where meaning-making opportunities were missed. Factors that influenced the teachers’ use of talk moves include their cognition, time, and school context. These findings are discussed in light of the existing literature. This study offers insight into how population ecology can be made accessible for learners and highlights the need for professional teacher training in the use of talk moves.