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- Patron, Emelie, et al.
(author)
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Teachers' reasoning : Classroom visual representational practices in the context of introductory chemical bonding
- 2017
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In: Science Education. - : Wiley. - 0036-8326 .- 1098-237X. ; 101:6, s. 887-906
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- 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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| 2. |
- Patron, Emelie
(author)
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Teachers use and views of visual representations when teaching chemical bonding
- 2015
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Chemistry is typically experienced as difficult to make meaning of. One of the primary reasons is that many aspects of chemistry fall into the micro domain, which creates a distancing from the students experienced world. Visual representations are often used in order to visualize the imperceptible micro level, which makes visual representations important communication tools when experts, teachers or students endeavour to share chemical knowledge. However, the use of these representations still leave many students without the desired understanding, often because the students are not immediately able to experience the disciplinary affordance of a representation in the way that teachers assume they will. Therefore, it is critical that teachers reflect on which representations they use and how they present them when helping students to make meaning of chemistry. Otherwise, some of these visual representations could hamper the learning possibilities, rather than enhancing them.In the context of teaching chemical bonding, we report on an investigation into how upper secondary school teachers use visual representations to share chemistry knowledge and their reasons for doing so. The data collection consisted of observations of three chemistry teachers’ lessons of intermolecular bonding in conjunction with semi-structured interviews with the participating teachers. The interviews were conducted after the observed lessons and still-photos of the representations used in the lessons were employed in order to create a stimulated recall environment. The data is analysed using a constant comparative method. The preliminary results show that the teachers feel that visual representations are important teaching resources and they use them extensively. The teachers’ reflective knowledge about the impact that visual representations could have on students’ learning varies, which both could hamper and enhance possibilities of learning about chemical bonding.
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