Relying on Students to Construct Science for Themselves: Japanese Way of Nurturing Independent Learners in Elementary School Classroom

This paper investigates the classroom practices supportive for nurturing independent science learners for future in Japanese elementary schools. For this purpose several lessons of grade 5 of a local school in Tokyo area were observed. The videotapes are then converted to protocols and analyzed. For this research only one lesson (4th lesson, 7th and 8th class hours) was selected. The analysis was focused on the two main elements of the lesson i.e. Questioning and Teacher Talk (TT) as teaching strategies. The freedom of thinking and expression offered to students, building of lesson around students’ prior knowledge and experience were found to the main source of classroom conduct. Most of the questions asked were of higher level and probing by type. Timing and direction of the question led the students towards lesson goals through adaptations in the course of action, depending on the previous knowledge and experience of students. Teacher talking is mainly focused on mediating student’s observation and connecting varying thought held by the students to establish common ground to build upon. Consequently, schools are producing independent learners having their own views about the learned and have confidence in using what they learn to contribute effectively in the society.