Talking Their Way into Science

by Gallas, Karen

• ISBN13: 9780807734353
• ISBN10: 0807734357
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1995-04-01
• Publisher: Teachers College Pr

Summary

Karen Gallas provides us with a window into children's thinking about the world, enabling us to see how students build complex theories, identify important questions, and begin to enter the world of science, all within the naturalistic setting of the classroom. As the title suggests, this book treats classroom science as a particular type of discourse, with its own set of language and thinking practices. Gallas describes the content, structure, and practice of her child-centered approach, explains how the teacher's role in Science Talks develops and changes over time, and discusses how the use of Science Talks could transform science instruction as a whole. The full transcripts of two such talks included in the appendix, in addition to many smaller quoted interchanges throughout the text, will fascinate readers.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	vii
Introduction	1	(1)
Identifying the Question	2	(1)
The Problem of Science	2	(1)
The Setting	3	(1)
Notes About the Structure of This Book	4	(3)
1. What Is Science?	7	(10)
Why Talk?	9	(3)
What Is the Discourse of Science?	12	(5)
2. Science Talks: An Overview	17	(15)
Introducing the Talks	19	(3)
Who Owns the Talks?	22	(3)
About the Questions	25	(1)
Viewing Children's Knowledge	26	(3)
Learning to Talk Together	29	(3)
3. Anatomy of a Science Talk	32	(9)
How Did Rice Plants Begin?	32	(1)
Content of the Talk	33	(5)
Looking More Closely at Talk Behaviors	38	(3)
4. Theory Building as an Irrational Activity	41	(7)
The Role of Theory in Science	42	(1)
The Relationship Between Theory and Community	43	(1)
The Infrastructure of Theories	44	(4)
5. When the Question Is Too Hard	48	(7)
What Makes Electricity?	48	(4)
Finding Patterns	52	(1)
Working with Prior Knowledge	52	(3)
6. Misconceptions as a Search for Origins	55	(7)
Soliciting Knowledge as Opposed to Theory	55	(1)
Identifying the Seminal Question	56	(1)
Searching for Origins and Seminal Theories	57	(4)
Re-examining Our Starting Points	61	(1)
7. Science Talk for Synthesis	62	(7)
Is Voice Matter?	62	(5)
Harnessing the Imagination for Science	67	(2)
8. Building Curriculum from Children's Questions	69	(13)
Developing an Informal Curriculum	70	(6)
Extending the Metaphors	76	(3)
What Do Children Know About Human Biology?	79	(2)
Talk as a Starting Point for Study	81	(1)
9. Teacher as Model, Teacher as Coach	82	(15)
October: Establishing Talk Protocols	84	(5)
November: Breaking Into Smaller Groups	89	(2)
December: How Long Should We Wait?	91	(1)
January: Rearranging Power Relationships	92	(2)
February: Rephrasing the Questions	94	(3)
10. You Could Make a Song About Science	97	(7)
Constructing a Discourse	99	(1)
Uncovering Children's Theories	100	(1)
Uncovering Children's Questions	100	(1)
Recovering Creativity, Imagination, and Wonder	101	(1)
Reclaiming the Child's Mind	102	(2)
Appendix A: Science Talk Questions	104	(2)
Appendix B: Two Science Talks	106	(7)
How Did the Moon Begin?--Grades 1 and 2	106	(3)
How Do Babies Grow Inside the Mother?--Grade 2	109	(4)
References	113	(2)
Index	115	(2)
About the Author	117