Discourse Patterns and Collaborative Scientific Reasoning in Peer and Teacher-Guided Discussions
Abstract
In this study we examined the discourse components, interaction patterns, and reasoning complexity of 4 groups of 12 Grade 8 students in 2 science classrooms as they constructed mental models of the nature of matter, both on their own and with teacher guidance. Interactions within peer and teacher-guided small group discussions were videotaped and audiotaped, transcribed, and analyzed in a variety of ways. The key act of participants in both peer and teacher-guided groups was working with weak or incomplete ideas until they improved. How this was accomplished differed somewhat depending on the presence or absence of a teacher in the discussion. Teachers acted as a catalyst in discussions, prompting students to expand and clarify their thinking without providing direct information. Teacher-guided discussions were a more efficient means of attaining higher levels of reasoning and higher quality explanations, but peer discussions tended to be more generative and exploratory. Students' discourse was more varied within peer groups, and some peer groups attained higher levels of reasoning on their own. Ideas for using the results of these analyses to develop teachers' and students' collaborative scientific reasoning skills are presented.
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Adopting a non-directive role stimulates the use of evidence to explain scientific phenomena and to question or request evidence and warrants from each other, thereby scaffolding students through increasing cognitive levels in a collaborative way.
“Adopting a non-directive role stimulates the use of evidence to explain the scientific phenomena and to question or request evidence and warrants from each other, thereby scaffolding students through increasing cognitive levels in a collaborative way”
From Young Children's Epistemic Operations and Emergent Argumentation in Inquiry‐Based Discussions: The Role of Teacher Questioning and Collaborative Interactions (2025) · cites this paper as Hogan et al. 1999
Previous research on small-group work has shown that the quality of students' interactions significantly shapes students' learning.
“Previous research on small-group work has shown that the quality of students' interactions significantly shapes students' learning (e.g., Hogan, Nastasi, & Pressley, 1999;Volet, Vauras, Salo, & Khosa, 2017).”
From Scaffolding Student Understanding in Small-Group Work: Students’ Uptake of Teacher Support in Subsequent Small-Group Interaction (2019) · cites this paper as Hogan, Nastasi, & Pressley, 1999
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THE ROLE OF TUTORING IN PROBLEM SOLVING <sup>*</sup>
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“Such teacher behaviors embody and communicate a perspective on science as the exploration and substantiation of ideas, making Socratic questioning a worthwhile dimension of instructional scaffolding (Hogan & Pressley, 1997; Wood, Bruner, & Ross, 1976 ) and cognitive apprenticeship (Collins, Brown, & Newman, 1989) in s…”
BackgroundCognitive Apprenticeship: Teaching the Crafts of Reading, Writing, and Mathematics
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Concept mapping: A useful tool for science education
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The ICAP framework: Linking cognitive engagement to active learning outcomes
Chi, M. T. H., & Wylie, R. (2014) · Educational Psychologist · doi:10.1080/00461520.2014.965823 · Cited by 2,911 · see citing works
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“…reasoning (Waggoner et al., 1995), coordinated talk (Barron, 2000), co-construction (Azmitia & Montgomery, 1993; Forman & Kraker, 1985; Hatano, 1993; Hogan et al., 1999; Schwartz, 1995), co-regulation (Volet et al., 2009) and shared regulation (Iiskala et al., 2011; Roschelle & Teasley, 1995;…”
Caño, L., & Sanz, J. (2025) · Journal of Research in Science Teaching · doi:10.1002/tea.70010 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
- Authors
- Hogan, K., Nastasi, B. K., & Pressley, M.
- ORCID
- Nastasi, Bonnie K.
- Venue
- Cognition and Instruction
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 1999-12
- Volume
- 17
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 379-432
- ISSN
- 0737-0008 (ISSN-L)
- 1532-690X
- OpenAlex
- W2036789697
- Cited by
- 460
- References
- 3
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 18 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 26 · 2018: 15 · 2017: 21 · 2016: 23 · 2015: 24 · 2014: 27 · 2013: 30 · 2012: 23
- FWCI
- 45.95
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Cognition and Instruction (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Education › Science Education and Pedagogy
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Innovative Teaching and Learning Methods
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Educational Strategies and Epistemologies
- Keywords
- peer discussion, small group discussion, nature of matter, mental models, reasoning complexity, student discourse, science education, eighth grade students
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