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- Löfgren, Lena, et al.
(författare)
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A longitudinal study showing how students use a molecule concept when explaining everyday situations
- 2009
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Ingår i: International Journal of Science Education. - : Taylor & Francis. - 0950-0693 .- 1464-5289. ; 31:12, s. 1631-1655
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this paper we present results from a 10-year (1997-2006) longitudinal study in which we, by interviews once or twice every year, followed how students, throughout the compulsory school, developed their understanding of three situations in which transformations of matter occur. We believe that students have to meet scientific ideas early in order to gradually, in social cooperation with classmates, friends, teachers, and other grown-ups, elaborate the meaning of a concept. We followed 23 students all born in 1990. In 1997 we introduced the idea of the particulate nature of matter. We have conducted interviews allowing students to explain the transformation of matter in fading leaves left lying on the ground, burning candles, and a glass of water with a lid on. In the interview at 16 years of age, less than one-fifth of the students use molecular ideas in scientifically acceptable ways. The overall conclusion is that most students do not connect the knowledge they gain in school about the particulate nature of matter to these everyday situations. On the other hand, the students seem capable of using a simple particle model and the model can help them understand the invisible gas state. The question of how to use this capability in order to develop students' scientific ideas is still not solved and more research is argued for.
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- Löfgren, Lena, et al.
(författare)
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Following how students from age 7 to 16 use their experiences when developing their ideas about transformations of matter
- 2008
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this paper we present results from a 10 year longitudinal study with the aim to investigate how students use experiences when they develop their ideas about decomposition, burning, evaporation, and condensation. The theoretical framework of this study builds upon social constructivist perspectives. In our study (1997-2006) we have followed 23 students all born in 1990. We have conducted interviews allowing the students to explain the transformation of matter in fading leaves left lying on the ground, burning candles, and a glass of water with a lid on. Most students make progress in describing and explaining the situations in the first years of the study. Then there is a vast spread in the students’ capability to use their experiences and science taught in school in productive ways to improve their understanding of transformations of matter. We discuss the implications for science education research, compulsory school science curricula, and school science education out of these findings.
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- Löfgren, Lena, et al.
(författare)
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Following young students' understanding of three phenomena in which transformations of matter occur
- 2008
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Ingår i: International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education. - : Springer. - 1571-0068 .- 1573-1774. ; 6:3, s. 481-504
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In order to develop successful teaching approaches to transformations of matter, we need to know more about how young students develop an understanding of these processes. In this longitudinal study, we followed 25 students from 7 to 13 years of age in their reasoning about transformations of matter. The questions addressed included how the students_ understanding of transformations of matter changed and how we can make sense of individual learning pathways. In interviews performed once or twice every year the students described and explained three situations: fading leaves left on the ground, a burning candle, and a glass of water covered with a glass plate on which some mist had formed. When analysing the interviews, we found a common pathway of how the students_ ideas changed over the years in each one of the situations. When analysing individual student_s interviews with Ausubel_s assimilation theory we could discern subordinate, superordinate and combinatorial learning. How these findings can contribute to an improvement of teaching about transformations of matter is discussed.
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