The absolved language: children's words in science classes

Abstract

This paper aims to explain the discursive interactions produced by children in a science class, without the intervention of the teacher, in a groupwork situation. To this end, an episode of a class was analyzed in which four children answer questions in a questionnaire about the fermentation process. The chosen methodology assumes that subjects learn in the interaction with each other, a process that is mediated by language. Data were analyzed using categories proposed by Mercer and Littleton about collaborative learning, in a study carried out in science classes in a third-year elementary class in a public school. In the analyzed corpus, the exploratory conversation is manifested, above all, in the interactions between the teacher and the children in the classes to open a new topic.

Keywords:
Elementary school; Science teaching; Team work; Group activities; Collaborative learning