Reflective discourse: developing shared understandings in a physics classroom

The study examines ways of speaking that foster the communication of physics principles through reflective discourse. By reflective discourse we mean classroom discussions during which three conditions frequently occur: students express their own thoughts, comments and questions rather than recite a textbook exposition; the teacher and individual students engage in an extended series of questioning exchanges that help students better articulate their beliefs and conceptions; and student/student exchanges involve one student trying to understand the thinking of another. Data consisted of two videotaped lessons about the nature of gravity and its effects. We developed a narrative analysis of the transcripts and identified characteristic features of reflective discourse. These included invoking metaphors for teaching and learning, following a student's lead in thinking and structuring the discussion to foster and monitor changes in the students’ conceptions.