Constructing Scientific Explanations for Chemical Phenomena through Drawings among 8th-grade Students (original) (raw)
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Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2022
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Despite mixed results in research on student learning from drawing in science, there is growing interest in the potential for this visual mode, in tandem with other modes, to enact and enable student reasoning in this subject. Building on current research in this field, and using a microethnographic approach informed by socio-semiotic perspectives, we aimed to identify how and why student drawing can contribute to student reasoning and learning. In our study, secondary school students were challenged to explore and collaboratively create explanatory representations of phenomena including through drawing. Data were generated using multiple wall-and ceiling-mounted cameras capable of continuously tracking groups of students negotiating these representational challenges. Our analysis proceeded through active and iterative viewing of the extensive video record, and the identification of themes to establish possible relationships between drawing and reasoning. Through this process, we (a) identify multiple necessary conditions and varied opportunities for student drawing to enact and enable reasoning, and (b) extend current understandings of how the particular affordances of this mode interact with these conditions to contribute to student learning in science.
International Journal of Innovation in Science and Mathematics Education, 2013
Students in tertiary-level introductory chemistry courses often don't progress beyond poorly structured mental models of chemical concepts since these novice chemistry learners have little time to construct meaning or acquire representational competence during a 13-week content-rich semester. Additionally, many of these students are unmotivated, enrolled only because chemistry is a program requirement. To encourage engagement, students were required to create 2-3 minute video blogs (vlogs) in which they explained the structure and properties of a molecule/substance that was personally relevant supported by a representation of the structure as a visual aid. The learning design drew on constructivist theories and aimed to enhance student engagement through developing a personal connection to chemistry. The aim was also to strengthen understanding of chemical structures through external representations and explanations. Twenty-one students consented to analysis of their vlog content. A relationship was identified between the type of representations students adopted and the depth of their explanation. Students who had created and interacted with their handmade physical models, using hand gestures to highlight features of their structural representation, produced higher-level explanations of structure-property relationships. Lower-level explanations were associated with students who used static graphical images sourced online. Factors related to chemical vocabulary and misconception diagnosis were also explored during analysis.
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Visual representations are essential for communication and meaning-making in chemistry, and thus the representational practices play a vital role in the teaching and learning of chemistry. One powerful contemporary model of classroom learning, the variation theory of learning, posits that the way an object of learning gets handled is another vital feature for the establishment of successful teaching practices. An important part of what lies behind the constitution of teaching practices is visual representational reasoning that is a function of disciplinary relevant aspects and educationally critical features of the aspects embedded in the intended object of learning. Little is known about teachers reasoning about such visual representational practices. This work addresses this shortfall in the area of chemical bonding. The data consist of semistructured interviews with 12 chemistry teachers in the Swedish upper secondary school system. The methodology uses a thematic analytic approach to capture and characterize the teachers' reasoning about their classroom visual representational practices. The results suggest that the teachers' reasoning tended to be limited. However, the teachers' pay attention to the meaning-making potential of the approaches for showing representations. The analysis presents these visualization approaches and the discussion makes theoretical links to the variation theory of learning.
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The aim of the study was to explore university students' interpretations of chemical content in the form of physical constructions of atomic nuclei. Playdough was chosen as the means for expression, since it provided the students with the task of choosing the number, form, size, shape, and distance of particles. Data was collected in the form of photographs, written explanations as well as ad hoc notes. Data from 64 students was analyzed using the three levels of analysis as presented by Hedegaard and framed within the theories of models. Results show that students' choices gave rise to 34 variations of the atomic nuclei. The analysis provided two different categories: models with close resemblance to the teaching model and models with less resemblance to the teaching model. Results show the limitations of verbal and written communication and add to the discussion concerning students' interpretations of the multitude of atomic models used in teaching. The method was indeed a beneficial tool both for students, who could explore the composition of atomic nuclei and isotopes, and for teachers, who could connect their teaching to students' interpretations of scientific content since the method brings a new level of detail to discussions.