Abstract:

Students’ engagement in science classes is an important prerequisite for them to understand scientific concepts, construct scientific experience, and carry out scientific practice. Based on the situated learning theory and the characteristics of the science discipline, this study generates an analytical framework for primary school students’ engagement in science classes and uses a mixed method to analyze 9 primary school science class videos. The results showed that the types of student behavior engagement are diverse, and the phenomenon of collective silence deserves attention; the frequency of listening and passive response was high, and the behavior of questioning was rarely shown; the frequency of understanding responses is the highest but the duration is short; creative responses and summarizing reflective responses are obviously insufficient and appear later in the classroom; there are differences in the engagement of primary school students in science classes in different stages. Further analysis found that problems and interactive situations, teachers’ questioning and answering strategies, and students’ perceived cognitive responsibility are important factors affecting primary school students’ engagement in science classes. Based on the above findings, teaching strategies to promote students’ engagement in science classrooms were proposed.

Key words: student classroom engagement, science classroom, teacher-student interaction, situated learning theory