SOCIAL INTERACTIONS AND THE MEDIATION OF SCIENCE LEARNING IN 2 SMALL-GROUPS OF FIRST-GRADERS

This study investigated the nature of small-group social interactions in the mediation of children's science learning. Two small groups of 4 first-graders and their teacher were observed throughout a 15-day uni t on insect life cycles (butterfly and beetle metamorphosis). The stud y was qualitative in nature and guided by a sociocultural constructivi st framework. Consistent with the theoretical framework, inductive ana lysis methodology guided the methods of inquiry. On the basis of the p atterns that emerged from the data, two assertions are postulated to e xplain how the teacher's and children's social interactions mediated t he children's science learning during small-group activity.