Unpacking experienced and novice science teachers’ understandings of teacher talk in whole class discussions

Abstract

While there is a vast literature arguing that teacher talk in whole class discussions is a determinant of quality science teaching, teachers’ understanding of enacting teacher talk is under-researched. Using teacher cognition as a theoretical lens, the purpose of this study was to explore how experienced and novice science teachers in South Africa understand teacher talk in whole class discussions. Multiple case-study design was adopted and data was collected from thirteen science teachers through interviews. Six of these teachers were considered novices and seven were considered experienced. A thematic analysis approach was used to make sense of the data. The teachers’ nature of understanding was further categorised into authoritative, constructivist and transitional. A notable finding is that the majority of novice teachers displayed a constructivist profile while a majority of experienced teacher displayed an authoritative profile. Novice teachers seemed to understand a larger variety of ways to enact talk in whole class discussions regardless of their nature of understanding as compared with experienced teachers. However, the experienced teachers understanding revealed a distinct factor that influences talk, i.e. the sociolinguistic factor. In contrast, the novice science teachers emphasised their content knowledge as a contributing factor to teacher talk. We conclude that since the quality of science teaching is dependent on teacher talk, continued professional development to strengthen teacher talk is not only to be targeted at novice teachers but also at experienced teachers.