Support student sensemaking through directed dialogue

By David Read2023-12-19T09:27:00

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Discover how to encourage effective classroom conversation to boost student understanding

The language we use to talk about chemistry can be complex, but students often use everyday language to communicate ideas. Teachers need to be aware of and sensitive to this challenge. A recent study explored how teachers support student sensemaking through classroom conversations. The study suggests that poor sensemaking was a result of rote or superficial learning, and recognises that tensions can exist when encouraging student contributions.

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