Pupils’ ways of making sense of structure and function when constructing a technological solution that is controlled with programming

• The aim of the present study is to explore what is discerned and in pupils’ focus in the process of constructing a technological solution that is controlled with programming and, more specifically, what characterize the process of making sense of structure and function of a programmed technological solution (PTS), by using the teaching material Micro:bit. Data has been collected by video-recordings, when pupils are working in pairs, solving a technological problem where to construct a burglar alarm. Follow-up interviews with the pupils were conducted after the activity. 8 pupils from 4th grade and 6 pupils from 8th grade participated in the study, all of them have been taught in programming with the Micro:bit material for about 3-5 lessons. A phenomenographic approach is used to investigate the pupils’ understanding, highlighting which parts of a PTS the pupils discern or not discern, and in what way they discern them, in the process of designing, constructing and programming a PTS. The preliminary reflections show that the pupils' main focus is on producing a code, without reflecting on what the code accomplishes in relation to the components and the whole of which they are a part; the components and their interaction with the code are put in the background. Pupils have difficulties in transforming their thoughts of a possible solution, in relation to the programming-blocks that are offered to use in the code, and the meaning of generating information to determine the function of the technological solution. The result of the study may provide an important basis for what should be addressed in teaching to obtain an understanding of structure and function of PTS, with respect to the process of constructing and programming a technological solution by using different teaching materials.

Ämnesord

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

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

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