| Sumario: | Background: This study examined elementary pre‐service teachers' (PSTs') responsiveness to students when facilitating a simulated scientific argumentation discussion about the identity of a mystery powder based on its properties. Objectives: This study explored PSTs' responsiveness during a digital simulated classroom discussion as PSTs made moves to support argument construction and critique before and after participating in an intervention involving their engagement in three digital simulations that aimed to support them in learning how to facilitate scientific argumentation discussions. Methods: The study participants were 34 PSTs enrolled across three elementary science methods courses. Using existing frameworks from the literature and qualitative content analysis of pre‐and post‐discussion transcripts, we identified instances of PSTs prompting argument construction and critique and coded the level of responsiveness for each instance. We used the Wilcoxon matched‐pairs test to compare pre‐post data. Results and Conclusion: Findings show that PSTs used significantly more: (a) prompts to elicit evidence to construct ideas and to encourage argument critique in post versus pre‐discussions and (b) high‐level responsiveness prompts that encourage students to make sense of other students' ideas in post‐discussions when prompting argument construction or critique. This study highlights the value of using digital simulations in teacher preparation to enhance teachers' responsiveness to facilitate productive discussions. Executive Summary: What is currently known about this topic? ○Pre‐service teachers (PSTs) are unfamiliar with facilitating argumentation‐focused discussion in elementary science.○PSTs struggle to attend and respond to students' ideas while leading productive discussions.○PSTs require support and practice space to enact high‐leverage teaching practices like argumentation to be responsive to students' ideas.What does this paper add? ○Leveraging digital simulations in practice‐based teacher education can be used to improve PSTs' responsiveness to students' constructed ideas and argument critique.○PST improved their skills to facilitate simulated discussions, explicitly responding to students by prompting them to elicit evidence to construct ideas and engage them in argument critique to agree or disagree with each other, ask questions, or provide feedback to their peers.○PSTs' high level of responsiveness to students' ideas improved while practicing facilitating a productive talk within digital simulations.Implications for practice or policy ○Teacher educators can integrate digital simulations in science method courses to provide opportunities for PSTs to practice facilitating scientific argumentation, specifically how to be responsive to students' scientific sense‐making.○Additional support is needed to address the prompts or instructional strategies that did not see significant improvement.○This study opens avenues that focus not only on PSTs but also on improving in‐service teachers' responsiveness by integrating digital simulations into their professional development.
|
|---|