Ambiguity as a motor for communication – Differences between hearing and deaf students’ ways of reasoning about energy

• Ambiguity in group discussions as a resource for communication is studied. How students, aged 13–15 years, elaborateon the concept energy through dialogue is described. Group interviews were conducted with 15 hearing and 20 deafstudents. Three probes were used to initiate discussions on different meanings of energy. The results show that thedialogues are less elaborated for deaf learners compared with hearing learners. It is argued that dialogues between hearingstudents have a greater chance of becoming ‘joint productive activity’, since the ambiguity of the word energy in Swedishlays the ground for shared meaning-making. To deaf learners, the ambiguity between the Swedish word and the signs usedproduces uncertainty and puts an end to further dialogue.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Utbildningsvetenskap -- Didaktik (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Educational Sciences -- Didactics (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Science

Deaf

Mediation

Sign language

Communication

Subject didactics

Ämnesdidaktik

naturvetenskapsämnenas didaktik

Science Education

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)