Group Talk - Benefits for Science Teaching: Difference between revisions

'''What is meant by ‘group talk’ and ‘argument’?'''

When the group talk is over, pupils may have changed their minds at least once. They will be able to explain their current viewpoint and any previous opinions they held, as well as some of the views held by others.

'''Why do it? What are the benefits to the learner?'''

*'''Variety and learning styles '''Can be used as an alternative to written or practical work (for example, experiments), or just listening as the teacher explains and demonstrates. Group talk encourages the use of different learning styles and thus can be inclusive to pupils excluded from more traditional (and often written) activities.

'''Why is group talk relatively uncommon in science and maths lessons? What are the issues expressed by teachers?'''

*'''Internal factors '''The teacher may be reluctant to take a risk with group talk because they are afraid that discipline will be a problem. They do not feel comfortable with the apparent loss of control and, as their pupils are not used to being given this level of freedom to express their ideas, they may be reluctant or misbehave. If group talk has been tried in the past it may have been unsuccessful because of a lack of consideration of factors such as classroom layout and teacher behaviour.

'''When are pupils more likely to engage in group talk and argument?'''

The ideas presented in this unit complement those in the resources [[Questioning]] and other resources in the [[Category:Questioning]]

Now, revisit the STOP THINK questions you answered earlier.

Has your thinking changed? If so, in what way? If not, which ideas have been reinforced?

'''Why use group talk: a teacher’s perspective'''

Warn them that you are going to try something different with them next lesson. Plan for a plenary activity which will encourage group talk. For example, pose a question such as ‘How does the density of the particles in water change as ice melts?’ Give the pupils two minutes think time, then ask them to pair up and come up with a consensus model to explain what they think is happening. The pairs should then be instructed to convince another pair that they have the best model. Some of the models are then shared with the rest of the class.

Evaluate how successful the activity was. If you feel that you could have organised the plenary differently, then make a note of this for next time.

'''Try an activity'''

Make a list of the pupil behaviours that can be seen which promote group talk, for example, the way the pupils face each other and the way they question each other.

Read [[Group Talk in Science - Research Summary]]. Use a highlighter pen and mark those reasons for the promotion of effective group talk which are the most important for you in your lessons.

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