The role of thinking routines as scaffolding strategy on third graders' thinking skills and content learning in science class

Abstract

Pensar es una habilidad de gran importancia en el campo de la educación. Investigaciones anteriores han incluido el pensamiento crítico como una habilidad que los estudiantes deben adquirir y desarrollar desde temprana edad. Diversos investigadores han dedicado sus estudios a presentar estrategias para potenciar el pensamiento en sus aulas; sin embargo, poco se ha discutido sobre el papel de las rutinas de pensamiento como una estrategia de andamiaje en las clases de lengua y contenido. El presente estudio de investigación-acción tuvo como objetivo explorar el rol de las rutinas de pensamiento como una estrategia de andamiaje en las habilidades de pensamiento de los alumnos en clases de ciencias enseñadas y aprendidas con el enfoque AICLE. Los participantes de esta investigación fueron 20 estudiantes de tercer grado de un colegio bilingüe de Bogotá, Colombia. Los datos fueron recolectados a través de cuatro instrumentos: prueba pre y post diagnóstica, cuestionarios de grupos focales, artefactos de los estudiantes, y un diario del docente. Para el desarrollo de este estudio se escogieron cinco rutinas de pensamiento: ¿Qué te hace decir eso?, Veo, pienso y me pregunto, Pensar, hablar en parejas y compartir, Los 3 porqués, y El juego de la explicación.

Thinking is an important skill in the field of education. Previous research has included critical thinking as an ability that learners need to acquire and develop from early ages. Various scholars have devoted their studies to present different strategies to enhance thinking in their classrooms; however, little has been discussed about the role of thinking routines as a scaffolding strategy in content and language lessons. The present action research study aimed to explore the role of thinking routines as a scaffolding strategy on learners’ thinking skills in science lessons taught and learned with the CLIL approach. The participants of this research were 20 third-grade students from a bilingual school in Bogotá. Colombia. Data was gatherer through four instruments: pre and post diagnostic test, focus group questionnaires, students’ artifacts and a teacher’s journal. Five thinking routines were chosen for the development of this study: What makes you say that?, I see, I think, I wonder, Think, pair, share, The 3 Whys and the explanation game. The instruments allowed the possibility to visualize the two main roles that were discovered throughout this study; the first one refers to the use of thinking routines as skills thinking builders; at first glance, this seems obvious, however, if not done constantly, the activities cannot foster such skills. While understanding the contents of the science lessons, students can share their thinking with others, thus building knowledge as a community. The second role refers to the achievement of better communication skills. The students had the opportunity to enlarge their vocabulary and find different ways to express their ideas to others. Some obstacles occurred throughout the study, and at the same time, they were opportunities to continue offering the support that learners require.