This series of videos is different from the others. It is carefully annotated, so that you can identify when the teacher uses specific discourse strategies with students. Each episode has an accompanying text file that you can print out and use to follow along.

The teacher, Melissa, has categorized several important types of things to pay attention to. In the accompanying document for each video episode you will see the headings of “Important Ideas/Language I heard”, “Questions I pose to help students say more”, and “Other key discourse moves. ”

It is important before watching these videos that you read the Discourse Primer on this website, and that you familiarize yourself with the three discourse tools. Language from these is used frequently in the documents (re-voicing, pressing, marking, academic language, probing, etc.).

Pre-teaching interview

What are the big ideas? Who are our students?

Day 1 (PDF)

Eliciting Students’ Ideas about Interactions of Forces + Straight Line Motion

Interview after first day  

What did we hear students saying?

Day 2 (PDF)

Generating an Initial Theory: Why does the block slide differently on different surfaces?

Day 3 (PDF)

“Seeing” Rollerblading the Way Physicists “See” Motion

Day  4 (PDF)

Representing the Rollerblader’s Accelerated Motion on a Graph

Day 5  (PDF)

Using Spring Scales & Force Diagrams to Make Sense of Systems of Forces

Day 6  (PDF)

Reasoning with Newton’s Laws of Motion – Going Beyond “Knowing” the Laws

Day 7  (PDF)

Newton’s Law Jigsaw Groups Present Posters--

Day 8  (PDF)

Newton’s Law Jigsaw Groups Present Posters Continued

Day 9  (PDF)

Sudden Stops Hurt: Investigating Forces and Motion during a “Car” Collision

Tool Systems to Support Progress toward Expert-Like
Teaching by Early Career Science Educators

2008-2013 Discovery K-12 Grant
National Science Foundation No. DRL-0822016