Disciplinary content and text structures communicated in the classroom – pathways in science lessons

Abstract

Making meaning about disciplinary knowledge involves both disciplinary content and relevant semiotic resources (e.g., text structures) for communicating the content, as two sides of a coin. The purpose of this study is to contribute to research in science education with a model for visualising how the two sides of the coin are elaborated in classroom interaction, aiming to support students’ disciplinary knowledge development. The model was developed based on data from a series of lessons in a primary science classroom where the teacher and her students negotiated and made meaning about action and reaction forces. We show how the model can be used to deepen the understanding of how the meaning making through classroom interaction forms a pathway, visualising different levels of disciplinary literacy and hence the model's usefulness for both research and for designing teaching practices.