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Social interactions and the mediation of science learning in two small groups of first‐graders
Author(s) -
Shepardson Daniel P.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
journal of research in science teaching
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.067
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1098-2736
pISSN - 0022-4308
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1098-2736(199602)33:2<159::aid-tea3>3.0.co;2-t
Subject(s) - mediation , sociocultural evolution , social constructivism , psychology , mathematics education , science education , pedagogy , developmental psychology , sociology , social science , anthropology
This study investigated the nature of small‐group social interactions in the mediation of children's science learning. Two small groups of 4 first‐graders and their teacher were observed throughout a 15‐day unit on insect life cycles (butterfly and beetle metamorphosis). The study was qualitative in nature and guided by a sociocultural constructivist framework. Consistent with the theoretical framework, inductive analysis methodology guided the methods of inquiry. On the basis of the patterns that emerged from the data, two assertions are postulated to explain how the teacher's and children's social interactions mediated the children's science learning during small‐group activity. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.