Elements of a Community of Learners in a Middle School Science Classroom

The idea of a learning community has gained attention as a desirable environment that could provide opportunities for students to engage in solving problems in collaboration with peers. However, definitions of a community of learners are varied, vague, and not well-developed. The goal of the research described in this study is to examine the nature of a middle school science classroom during the development of a community of learners by focusing on the teacher–student interactions and the connections made by students with people outside the classroom. The first investigator served as both teacher and researcher in this study. The teacher used a project-based approach that allowed learners to find solutions to authentic problems or questions generated by the students. Students used a process of inquiry and collaboration to find these solutions. An analytical framework developed from the literature consisted of the following components: authentic tasks; interdependency in small group work; negotiation of understanding; public sharing; collaboration with experts; and responsibility for shared learning and teaching. The framework was used to analyze the multiple data sources, including videotapes, interviews, a teacher’s journal, and electronic correspondence. Eight major themes emerged from the analysis. These themes included: (1) tasks connected to real-world questions generated more collaborative interactions than topic-bound tasks; (2) collaborative interactions in groups increased when tasks were student-initiated; (3) providing instructional support for students contributed to group decision making; (4) group productivity increased when students gained ownership; (5) student dialogue centered on the procedural aspects of the activity when completing teacher-designed activities; (6) when public sharing centered on discussions of their own experiences, students were more cognitively engaged; (7) interactions with outside resource people increased students’ investment in the project; and (8) when students worked in teams answering their own questions, they took responsibility for learning and teaching. The findings of this study point to three important factors that influenced the learning community in this middle school classroom: (1) the importance of the driving question in contributing to the authentic nature of the investigations; (2) the importance of the teacher’s role in supporting students in collaborating with peers and Correspondence to: B. A. Crawford; e-mail: [email protected] 702 CRAWFORD ET AL. SCE (WILEJ) LEFT INTERACTIVE short standard long Top of RH Base of RH Top of test Base of text people outside the classroom; and (3) the extended time required for teams to develop collaborative relationships. The role of the teacher appears critical in transforming the roles of students and teacher in creating a community of learners. q 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Sci Ed 83:701–723, 1999.