Negotiating science - building thematic patterns of the scientific concept sound in a Swedish multilingual lower secondary classroom

Abstract

In this article we examine a teacher’s and multilingual students’ use of multiple resources and their potential for students’ meaning-making of sound and sound transmission. Students were 14–15 years old, Swedish grade 8, speaking Swedish as a second language. We examine how different strategies and multiple resources interact in creating thematic patterns in a multilingual science classroom. Data comprise 64 hours of video- and audio recordings, digital photos, field-notes, textbooks, worksheets and student notebooks. As analytical tools we use thematic development strategies, control and social interaction strategies as well as strategies of bridging multiple resources. In co-constructing the content using various resources, thematic patterns were developed through a continuous shift between everyday and scientific language due to the teacher’s awareness of the unit’s abstract and technical content. Findings also reveal that a strategy of control performed by the teacher marked the importance of using ‘physics words’. Strategies of social interaction accentuated by earlier experiences as well as personal and humorous connotations expressed in everyday language supported meaning-making. In addition, a number of multiple resources, such as models, gestures, bodily action, drawings, reading and writing were used.