Current science education documents emphasise both teaching the content and methods of science, and, promoting an understanding of the nature of scientific practices. One way of presenting the epistemic nature of science in the science classroom is foregrounding the role of argument in science. Argumentation is considered as a form of ’epistemic discourse’ that can enhance students’ epistemological understanding. Yet, little is known of the epistemic discourse initiated by teachers, either in ordinary or argumentation-based instruction. Therefore, this study explored the epistemic features of two science teachers’ classroom talk, as they engaged in argumentation and non-argumentation lessons. The extent to which student discourse was influenced by teacher discourse during argument-based instruction, and students’ views of theories and evidence, were also explored. An exploratory case study design was utilised. Teachers were observed teaching a Year 9 (13 lessons) and Year 10 (12 lessons) class throughout a school year. Other data collected included teacher interviews and field notes. One group of students from each class was also observed and interviewed. The analysis of classroom talk was based on ’epistemic operations’. The results showed how during argumentation lessons teachers engaged in the epistemic practices of construction, justification and evaluation. In non-argumentation lessons, classroom talk focused mainly on construction. The teachers’ classroom talk depended on their views of the nature and function of argumentation, and their perceptions of students’ difficulties with argumentation. The student talk modelled the teacher talk in the processes of justification and evaluation. Students engaged in epistemic discourse when they were confident of their knowledge of the topic discussed; the structure of the lesson was such that prompted them explicitly to engage in justificatory or evaluative processes, and, they were provided opportunities to discuss ideas in pairs before moving to larger groups. Implications for pre-service and in-service training that aim to promote argumentation in science education are discussed.

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Based on social constructivist perspectives (Rojas-Drummond and Mercer, 2003), teachers’ questioning may have a direct impact on children’s learning and the development of children’s thinking. Most research into teachers’ questioning has been conducted in Western countries. However, in-depth qualitative research on teachers’ questioning practices in science classrooms in early primary education in Thailand is under-researched. Understanding teachers’ questioning practices will contribute to the improvement of teaching practices and teacher training programmes. This study aimed to explore Thai early primary teachers’ understanding of their questioning practices in terms of questioning purposes, question types and strategies, and to explain the factors that influence those classroom practices, in the context of science teaching in Thailand. A qualitative case study approach within the interpretivist paradigm was employed. Data were mainly gathered in the form of video recordings of classroom interaction, through videomediated interviews and relevant documents, such as lesson plans. This study is based on teacher reflections on questioning in which teachers identified some questions that they had asked. Through an inductive analysis of the data using template analysis, the current study found that teachers reported asking questions for a range of purposes in science teaching. Eleven such purposes were identified: gaining attention, checking if pupils can recall information, checking prior knowledge, checking understanding, enhancing knowledge, integrating with other topic areas, encouraging observation, hypothesizing, experimenting, building understanding, and encouraging pupils’ thinking. The finding shows that purposes relevant to hypothesizing, experimenting, and building understanding had a considerately higher proportion of open questions than closed ones. Another important finding was that eight categories of questioning strategies were employed by teachers in the classroom. The most commonly reported questioning strategy was repeating. It can be concluded that teachers’ understanding of questioning was closely in line with the concept of scaffolding assistance. This is because teachers reported that some purposes in asking questions assisted learning and were linked to the questioning strategies used. This research contributes to existing knowledge by providing a conceptual model of Thai teachers’ questioning practice in the science classroom. The proposed model is based on social constructivist theory, which is comprised of the three major elements of questioning purposes, ii question types, and strategies, and three layers of influencing factors: teacher cognition, cultural factors, and contextual factors.

The complexity of teacher professional knowledge is well established in a range of models of professional knowledge (Shulman, 1986; Engeström, 1987; Eraut, 2014) and a number of studies have examined models of science classroom talk (Mortimer and Scott, 2003; Viiri and Saari, 2006; Lehesvuori et al., 2013). However, research that tries to use models of classroom talk to develop classroom practice has identified challenges in the complexity of developing teacher knowledge in this area (Viiri and Saari, 2006; Lehesvuori et al., 2011; Chen et al., 2016) .This study uses a longitudinal case study approach to examine the development of early career teachers’ understanding of the nature and purposes of science classroom talk. Seven case study teachers were interviewed over a three-year period from their initial teacher training until the end of their second year of employment. Alternate semi-structured and unstructured interviews explored the teachers’ views of how and why they used talk in their classrooms. The interviews present a complexity of interaction between training experiences, individual identities and the multiple communities of practice in which the teachers work. These interactions create tensions and conflicts for the case study teachers as they develop their understanding of the nature and role of classroom talk. The experiences of the case study teachers suggest that for research on classroom talk to influence teachers’ practice there needs to be a recognition of the important influence of teachers’ own identity and ideas about learning. A model of science classroom talk is developed that integrates theoretical frameworks for science classroom talk with insights into how early career teachers think about classroom talk in their practice. The findings also provide insight into the complexity of teacher knowledge in an area of practice that is both fundamental to the role of a teacher and underdeveloped as an area of professional development.

Science education research and policy highlight the importance of children being able to ask questions and engage in discussions in order to develop their conceptual understanding (Ofsted, 2013; Kim and Tan, 2011; Scott and Mortimer, 2003). However, ‘teacher talk’ and tightly controlled questioning sequences often dominates classroom exchanges and does little to develop children’s understanding of concepts(Yip, 2004). To challenge this practice, there is a need to understand the variables that support or prevent teachers from reflecting upon and changing their practices. This research, therefore, focuses on qualitative case studies to explore how two primary school teachers engaged in a collaborative action research project designed to advance questioning skills. Using periodic video recordings of lessons and interviews I examine the variables that contributed to a modification in questioning skills over the duration of two academic terms. The teachers chose different teaching approaches to achieve this: puppets or Thinking Cubes. Analysis of the data revealed that changing practice is complex. The choices teachers make when delivering science lessons are dependent upon an amalgam of variables such as level of subject knowledge, subject specific pedagogy, and the curriculum aims, as well as personal attributes and contextual issues relating to the school. However, the choice of teaching approach is important and may enable a teacher to modify their practice within a shorter time frame than expected. Previous research identified that change often takes more than a year (Postholme, 2012; Loughran, 2002). However, the teacher who used a puppet was able to plan his questioning sequences and the structure of his lessons strategically so that children actively problem-solved and raised questions. The implications of the study suggest that to support teacher development, there is a need to understand the individual biography of each teacher so that support can be personalised as well as supporting them to use a teaching approach that develops problem-solving and discussion.

The teaching of primary science is a demanding enterprise and teachers are encouraged to use peer group discussion tasks in order to engage pupils and support the development of understanding. However, drawing on this strategy and exploiting the power of group talk in science is challenging. The principal aim of embarking on my research was to seek understandings of the routine ways in which primary teachers are able to facilitate productive group talk. This exploratory, qualitative case study incorporates a structured examination of classroom practice with regard to peer group discussion. The participants were three teachers from different English primary schools and their classes of 8-9 year olds. The fieldwork was conducted over the course of an academic year and interviews were carried out with teachers at the beginning and end of this phase. Observations of classroom practice were made at regular intervals through the year and audio recording of pupils’ group discussions were taken. Based on the premise that exploring teacher thinking provides a useful tool for understanding how teachers navigate tricky areas of practice, such as facilitating productive peer group talk in science, oral diaries were used to capture the post lesson reflections of teachers. Alongside these methods, group interviews revealed pupil perspectives on the learning through talk. Rich descriptions of classroom practice woven with participant perspectives reveal situated understandings of teachers and pupils using group talk in science and they illuminate the wide-ranging implicit challenges faced. This story of teachers’ shifting epistemological beliefs through the routine use of peer group discussion provides a contribution to knowledge by extending our understanding of some factors which may constrain and promote routine talk opportunities in science. The research findings have implications for professional development programmes which aim to promote dialogic pedagogy in primary science classrooms.

The purpose of this study is to understand the processes of teacher learning and collaboration when teachers are initiated into a professional development programme focusing on questioning to promote higher-order scientific discourse. The study will inform the design of school-based professional development on teacher questioning. Two Primary Four and two Primary Five science teachers from a Singapore primary school participated in a school-based professional development, comprising learning experiences designed for individual teachers and for teachers working together. The teachers were first introduced to Chin's (2007) questioning framework of four questioning approaches (Socratic questioning, verbal jigsaw, semantic tapestry, framing) at workshop sessions. They also conducted a total of sixteen lessons covering the topics of Heat, Light, Plant Reproduction and Plant Processes and participated in post lesson reflections. Data were collected by audio-recording workshop discussions, video-recording enacted lessons and audio-recording post lesson discussions. To analyse teachers' evidence of learning, the interconnected model of professional growth by Clarke and Hollingsworth (2002) was used. The model also facilitated the presentation and comparison of teachers' change sequences and growth networks in the personal domain of knowledge and belief, domain of practice and domain of consequence of salient outcomes arising from external domain of stimuli. All teachers changed but in different ways. Overall, the study has contributed empirical evidence on how teachers enacted and reflected on questioning in an authentic school setting, providing insights into the complexity of teacher learning and practices individually and with other teachers across various learning experiences. It has also provided insights into the potential of the model of Clarke and Hollingsworth (2002) as an analytical tool, not just for individual teachers but for teachers learning together. The features of school-based professional development that facilitated learning have informed the design of inquiry professional development. Findings from this study will inform me as a science curriculum specialist in designing curriculum, resources and professional development to better support questioning to nurture effective inquirers and critical thinkers in the 2ls1 century

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This thesis explores the teachers’ perspectives on the teaching of Socio-Scientific Issues (SSIs) and the factors that influence their teaching. SSIs are those contemporary issues that are deep rooted in sciences, have an impact on society, involve moral and ethical reasoning and are controversial in nature. The study has been conducted in the context of Indian science classrooms, with fourteen upper primary and secondary stage science teachers from five schools. Three of the five selected schools are Green Schools, which have an explicit focus on the teaching of environmental SSIs. The data was collected using semi-structured interviews and classroom observation sessions, with a focus on following two questions. (1) What are the methods and strategies used by the teachers for teaching SSIs? (2) What are the factors that influence the teaching of SSIs? The results showed that the majority of teachers supported the teaching of SSIs and for some this links to specific SSIs in their lives and local communities in their Indian context, particularly pollution and environmental threats. However, a significant level of variation was witnessed in their actual classroom practices for teaching SSIs. The various profiles of teachers, classified based on their beliefs and classroom practices, have been discussed. Among the methods used by the teachers for teaching SSIs, the two most common method for teaching SSIs were discussions and lecture method. Four different forms of discussions and two different forms of lecture method have been delineated based on the strategies used by the teachers for teaching SSIs. Results indicated that teachers’ beliefs, school leadership and assessment system are the most influential factors for SSIs teaching. Implications and the major findings of this research have been discussed which contribute towards the acute lack of empirical studies over the teaching of SSIs in Indian schools.

School trips in environment centres, in museums and at live animal shows can cover the same curriculum objectives, relating to habitats and adaptations, at age-appropriate levels. However, each of these three settings has traditions and goals which influence the subtexts conveyed by educators, and therefore the messages pupils gather from learning experiences. This research investigated children’s experiences in these three different informal learning settings in London, UK. The aim was to identify and understand the learning that took place. The main evidence was collected with 180 year 4 pupil participants from local state primary schools. Their learning is visualised in a conceptual framework ‘SPEAK’ that represents learning in the domains of Skills, Place, Emotion, Attitudes and Knowledge (SPEAK). Analysis was based on an existing socioecological literacy framework. There is evidence that the environment exploration was the source of considerable motivation for children. Live animal shows led to children describing species, and subsequently recalling aspects of individual animals’ personalities. Natural history specimen collections developed skills of observation, identification, discovery and reading. A representation of the SPEAK domains is proposed as a tool for reflection for educators, to review the learning intentions of informal teaching experiences. A case study at the Royal Veterinary College shows how it has been used to understand learning, using iPads. A salience theory of informal learning is proposed through considering memorable and transformative aspects of informal learning, from a learning psychology perspective. Aspects of this theory are suggested as areas for future research.