ERIC Number: EJ785032
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2007-Jul
Pages: 19
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0157-244X
EISSN: N/A
Representational Issues in Students Learning about Evaporation
Tytler, Russell; Prain, Vaughan; Peterson, Suzanne
Research in Science Education, v37 n3 p313-331 Jul 2007
This study draws on recent research on the central role of representation in learning. While there has been considerable research on students' understanding of evaporation, the representational issues entailed in this understanding have not been investigated in depth. The study explored students' engagement with evaporation phenomena through various representational modes. The study indicates how a focus on representation can provide fresh insights into the conceptual task involved in learning science through an investigation of students' responses to a structured classroom sequence and subsequent interviews over a year. A case study of one child's learning demonstrates the way conceptual advances are integrally connected with the development of representational modes. The findings suggest that teacher-mediated negotiation of representational issues as students construct different modal accounts can support enriched learning by enabling both (a) richer conceptual understanding by students, and (b) enhanced teacher insights into students' thinking.
Descriptors: Concept Formation, Scientific Concepts, Science Instruction, Case Studies, Thinking Skills, Teaching Methods
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A