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What makes lessons different? a comparison of a student's behaviour in two science lessons

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Abstract

A fascinating aspect of teaching is that no two days are ever the same. Such variety makes teaching an exciting and interesting profession, but can also generate problems. Apparently small changes in the way two lessons, supposedly similar, are conducted can result in very different lessons. How this occurred for one Year Seven student during two science lessons using discrepant events is explored in this paper. Her responses to each of the lessons were similar in some respects, but quite different in others. Differences between the lessons are examined, and possible reasons for the differences in the student's responses are explored.

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Specializations: primary teacher education, teaching strategies in science, cognitive change.

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Appleton, K. What makes lessons different? a comparison of a student's behaviour in two science lessons. Research in Science Education 23, 1–9 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02357038

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