• Research in Mathematical Education
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.63-92
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• 2020

Student engagement in high-level, cognitively demanding instruction is pivotal for student learning. However, many teachers are unable to maintain such instruction, especially in instances of non-responsive students. This case study of three middle school teachers explores prompts that aim to move classroom discussions past student silence. Prompt sequences were categorized into Progressing, Focusing, and Redirecting Actions, and then analyzed for maintenance of high levels of cognitive demand. Results indicate that specific prompt types are prone to either raise or diminish the cognitive demand of a discussion. While Focusing Actions afforded students opportunities to process information on a more meaningful level, Progressing Actions typically lowered cognitive demand in an effort to get through mathematics content or a specific method or procedure. Prompts that raise cognitive demand typically start out as procedural or concrete and progress to include students' thoughts or ideas about mathematical concepts. This study aims to discuss five specific implications on how teachers can use prompting techniques to effectively maintain cognitively challenging discourse through moments of student silence.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.121-137
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• 2005

The present study aims to examine how the roles of teacher and learners affect the repair patterns of both teacher's and learner's utterances in English as a second language (ESL) classroom discourse. The study analyzed beginning ESL classroom discourse and found that the structure of repair seems to be greatly influenced by the roles of participants in a second language classroom. The teacher's repair work was mainly characterized by self-repair. In contrast, learners' repair sequences were predominantly characterized by other-repair. More specifically, self-initiation by the learner of the trouble source was cooperatively completed by the teacher and the other learners. Other-initiated and other-completed repair was the most prevalent form in the current classroom data, which was carried out by the teacher in both modulated and unmodulated manners. When the trouble sources were mostly concerned with the learners' problems with linguistic competence and information presented in the textbook, other-repair took place in a modulated manner (i.e., recasting and prompting). On the other hand, when dealing with learners' errors with factual knowledge, other-repair was conducted in an unmodulated way (i.e., 'no' plus correction).

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.694-708
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• 2011

In this study, we developed tasks including cognitive scaffolding for students to explain scientific phenomena using valid evidences in science classroom and sought to investigate how tasks influence the development of small group scientific argumentation. Heterogeneous small groups in gender and achievement were organized in one classroom and the tasks were applied to the class. Students were asked to write down their own ideas, share individual ideas, and then choose the most plausible opinion in a group. One group was chosen for investigating the effect of tasks on the development of small group argumentation through the analysis of discourse transcripts of the group in 10 lessons, students' semi-structured interview, field note, and students' pre- and post argument tests. The discrepant argument examples were included in the tasks for students to refute an argument presenting evidences. Moreover, comparing opinion within the group and persuading others were included in the tasks to prompt small group argumentation. As a result, students' post-argument test grades were increased than pre-test grades, and they argued involving evidences and reasoning. The high level of arguments has appeared with high ratio of advanced utterances and lengthening of reasoning chain as lessons went on. Students had elaborate claims involving valid evidences and reasoning by reflective and critical thinking while discussing about the tasks. In addition, tasks which could have various warrants based on the data led to students' spontaneous participation. Therefore, this study has significance in understanding the context of developing small group argumentation, providing information about teaching and learning context prompting students to construct arguments in science inquiry lessons in middle school.