Discourse Pattern Choices On Topics Perceived to Be Difficult in Biology at Selected Secondary Schools in Luapula Province of Zambia

This paper explores the choice of classroom discourse patterns used by teachers of biology when teaching perceived difficult topics in biology such as classification, mitosis and meiosis at senior secondary level. A collective case study design was used and data were obtained from students and teachers using observation schedules and interview guides. Purposive sampling was used to select the sample from the target population. Data collected were analysed using thematic analysis. The study found out that three discourse patterns were used during lessons on topics perceived to be difficult. These three discourse patterns include Pupil to pupil discourse pattern, teacher led discourse pattern and teacher explanation discourse pattern. The choice of the discourse patterns depended on a number of factors such as non-availability of teaching and learning materials, amount of work to be covered, long experiments, lack of teacher preparedness and inadequate time allocated to mitosis, meiosis and classification of living organisms. Some of the recommendations made were that Teachers should combine the three discourse patterns namely teacher explanation, teacher led and pupil to pupil discourse patterns when teaching biology because these patterns proved effective when used together. Teachers should avoid using one discourse pattern during lessons on topics perceived to be difficult. Workshops and seminars should be organised for teachers to enable them acquire skills of teacher explanation, teacher led and pupil to pupil discourse patterns for teaching biology.