Discourse patterns and collaborative scientific reasoning in peer and teacher-guided discussions

In this study we examined the discourse components, interaction patterns, a nd reasoning complexity of 4 groups of 12 Grade 8 students in 2 science cla ssrooms as they constructed mental models of the nature of matter, both on their own and with teacher guidance. Interactions within peer and teacher-g uided small group discussions were videotaped and audiotaped, transcribed, and analyzed in a variety of ways. The key act of participants in both peer and teacher-guided groups was working with weak or incomplete ideas until they improved. How this was accomplished differed somewhat depending on the presence or absence of a teacher in the discussion. Teachers acted as a ca talyst in discussions, prompting students to expand and clarify their think ing without providing direct information. Teacher-guided discussions were a more efficient means of attaining higher levels of reasoning and higher qu ality explanations, but peer discussions tended to be more generative and e xploratory. Students' discourse was more varied within peer groups, and som e peer groups attained higher levels of reasoning on their own. Ideas for u sing the results of these analyses to develop teachers' and students' colla borative scientific reasoning skills are presented.