Simon Naylor Keogh Maloney Downing

Puppets Promoting Engagement and Talk in Science
International Journal of Science Education, Volume 30, Issue 9 July 2008 , pages 1229 - 1248

Shirley Simon; Stuart Naylor; Brenda Keogh; Jane Maloney; Brigid Downing

Research into classroom interactions has shown that talk that promotes reasoning can help children in their learning of science. Such talk can only be generated when teachers are willing to take a dialogic approach that is stimulating and provides opportunities for children to articulate their ideas. This research set out to determine whether the use of large puppets would help teachers to change the nature of their whole class discourse to enhance children's talk and engagement in science. The study was carried out with sixteen teachers of children aged 7-11 years in schools in London and Manchester, UK. Through adopting a mixture of research methods, including classroom observation and teacher and child interviews, the research provides evidence that the use of puppets significantly increases the amount of teacher discourse oriented towards reasoning and argument, and decreases the amount of talk that focuses on recall. Through the puppets, teachers also use more narrative to set the science in stimulating contexts, and encourage children in their contributions to whole class discussion. Interview data also show the positive effects of puppets on children's motivation and engagement in science. The findings have led to further major funding for professional development in the use of puppets in the UK, and research into the reasons why the use of puppets is so effective.

IJSE special issue: Evidence-Based Professional Development for Science Teachers

International Journal of Science Education, Volume 30 Issue 5 2008

Evidence-Based Professional Development for Science Teachers: Collaboration and evaluation in two countries

Sometimes, it's important to highlight a whole issue in one. Please follow the links for more information.

Editorial
575
Authors: Shirley Simon; Christine Harrison
DOI: 10.1080/09500690701875787

Evidence-Based Professional Development of Science Teachers in Two Countries
577 – 591
Authors: Christine Harrison; Avi Hofstein; Bat-Sheva Eylon; Shirley Simon
DOI: 10.1080/09500690701854832

Evidence for Teachers' Change While Participating in a Continuous Professional Development Programme and Implementing the Inquiry Approach in the Chemistry Laboratory
593 – 617
Authors: Dorit Taitelbaum; Rachel Mamlok-Naaman; Miriam Carmeli; Avi Hofstein
DOI: 10.1080/09500690701854840

An Evidence-Based Continuous Professional Development Programme on Knowledge Integration in Physics: A study of teachers' collective discourse
619 – 641
Authors: Bat-Sheva Eylon; Hana Berger; Esther Bagno
DOI: 10.1080/09500690701854857

Learning about Teachers' Accomplishment in 'Learning Skills for Science' Practice: The use of portfolios in an evidence-based continuous professional development programme
643 – 667
Authors: Zahava Scherz; Liora Bialer; Bat-Sheva Eylon
DOI: 10.1080/09500690701854865

Professional Learning Portfolios for Argumentation in School Science
669 – 688
Authors: Shirley Simon; Susan Johnson
DOI: 10.1080/09500690701854873

Factors Influencing the Transformation of New Teaching Approaches from a Programme of Professional Development to the Classroom
689 – 709
Authors: Rod Watson; Alex Manning
DOI: 10.1080/09500690701854881

Evaluation of Professional Development: Deploying a process-focused model
711 – 725
Authors: Pam Hanley; Felix Maringe; Mary Ratcliffe
DOI: 10.1080/09500690701854899