Comparing Different Approaches to the Implementation of a New Chemistry Curriculum

Abstract

In recent years, educational researchers have investigated teacher-student interactions in science classrooms, paying particular attention to interaction patterns and the purpose of such interactions. Although different patterns and purposes have been uncovered through these investigations, there is little research on how college instructors use in-class interactions to help students construct ideas. Instructors' decisions and actions are important when interacting with students and they can be expected to depend on their teaching experience, instructional strategies, and educational purposes when implementing in-class activities. Thus, we have carried out a qualitative study using in-class observations and semi-structured interviews as the main data collection tools to explore the differences in how diverse instructors interact with students during in-class activities in the new “Chemical Thinking” curriculum for General Chemistry at the University of Arizona. The participants of this study included six instructors with different backgrounds and teaching experiences. We identified major types of discourse moves instructors used when interacting with students. Main findings indicate that although participants shared similarities in the interaction patterns and discourse moves they followed in the classroom, they approached the implementation on in-class activities in different ways and their decisions and actions had an impact on the quality of the opportunities to learn that they created. The results of our study are relevant to chemistry educators interested in helping college instructors improve their practice when implementing collaborative group activities in the classroom.