Teacher framing, classroom collaboration scripts, and help-seeking and help-giving behaviors

Abstract

This case study investigated students’ collaborative help-seeking and their teachers’ help-giving behaviors in inquiry-based learning. Data from two pairs of middle school students, using two different scaffolding scripts, and from their biology teacher, were collected and analyzed. The following research questions were pursued: How does each collaboration script influence students’ help-seeking and teachers’ help-giving activity? Data included videotapes of each pair’s interactions, the discussions between the pairs and the teacher, whole-class discussions, learning assessments and a teacher interview. Findings indicated that the pair in the Implicit Scaffolding script sought help less frequently than the Explicit Scaffolding pair while the nature of the help sought was different. Findings also showed that the different scaffolding scripts impacted student motivation and framed the teacher expectations differently, regardless of the type of help sought by the students. These findings highlight the connection between collaboration scripts, teacher cognition and scaffolding, and bear implications about students and teachers.