Abstract

This study used an intervention to explore the potential benefits of dialogic pedagogies on 14- to 16-year-olds’ learning – more specifically the social construction and application of specific genetics concepts. A multi-method, quasi-experimental process-approach was used with two classes and their teacher. Presented within the normal curriculum and planned to the same learning objectives, the intervention was designed to promote group-work, dialogic- interactions and targeted genetics-talk whereas comparison lessons were taught according to normal lesson plans. Classroom-talk was audio-recorded, with systematic observations (also) recording interactions and interpersonal context. Building on previous research and a ‘new’ genetics-talk coding scheme, fine-grained socio-cultural discourse analyses identified the interactions, interpersonal and lesson contexts that promoted genetics-talk. Findings indicate that particularly ‘productive’ episodes were generated by authentic and open-ended problems, during within-group problem-solving and interactive class feedback. Importantly, the synthesis developed for this study, the integration of previous classroom research methods with a new scheme devised for identifying forms of science-talk (in this case genetics-talk) extend the reach of classroom-based research into the domain of not only interaction and context but also situated science-talk – from identification of key-word usage to the development of understandings of the socially situated evolution of scientific concept constructions.