EXPLORING MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS’

EMBODIED CONCEPTIONS OF THE MECHANISM OF

THERMAL CONDUCTION AND ITS IMPLICATION FOR

INSTRUCTION

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N itas h a Math ayasDr. Dav id E . B rownDr. Rob b L in d g re nUn ive rs i ty Of I l l in o is At Urb an a Ch am p aig n

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• Gesture Augmented Simulations for Supporting Explanations

• http://grasp.education.illinois.edu/

ABOUT THE PROJECT

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• Energy is a Core disciplinary idea of Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS Lead States, 2013)

• Research on students’ conceptions about heat have revealed that everyday experiences prevail over scientific explanations (across age groups) (Erickson, 1979; Kesidou & Duit, 1993; Schnittka & Bell, 2009)

• Heat is hot or warm

• Heat is a “mysterious entity with the essential property of hotness that can propagate through” (Wiser & Amin, 2001, p. 335)

• Temperature is a degree of hotness

WHY HEAT?

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• What are middle school students’ embodied ideas about heat transfer within a spoon?

• In what ways do their gestures interact with the construction of an explanation of thermal conduction?

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

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CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

EXPLANATORY MODELS

SIMULATIONS

GESTURES

EXPLANATORY MODELS

SIMULATIONS

GESTURES

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CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

An imagistic mental model in which the student visualizes the interactions of unobservable elements such as molecules to explain why observable phenomena happen (Ahn, Kalish, Medi, & Gelman, 1995; Brown, 1993; Cheng & Brown, 2015)

EXPLANATORY MODELS

SIMULATIONS

GESTURES

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CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Why does the handle end of a spoon get hot when only the bowl end of the spoon is dipped in hot water?

EXPLANATORY MODELS

SIMULATIONS

GESTURES

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CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Why does the handle end of a spoon get hot when only the bowl end of the spoon is dipped in hot water?

EXPLANATORY MODELS

SIMULATIONS

GESTURES

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CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Movement of the arms and hands closely synchronized with the flow of speech(McNiel, 1992)

Gestures are evidence that knowledge itself is embodied (Alibali & Nathan, 2012; Goldin-Meadow, 2011; Roth, 2001)

EXPLANATORY MODELS

SIMULATIONS

GESTURES

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CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Computer generated, dynamic model of the real world and its processes (Smetana & Bell, 2012)

Simulations are flexible, adaptable and simplistically represent complex and abstract phenomena (Hilton &

Honey, 2011; Smetana & Bell, 2012)

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METHOD

1. 24 middle school students interviewed

2. Semi-structured interview

3. Coding and analysis

Created canonical explanation

Created codes from this explanation

Identified student’s explanations

Coded for presence of explanatory elements

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METHOD

CODES1. 24 middle school students interviewed

2. Semi-structured interview

3. Coding and analysis

Created canonical explanation

Created codes from this explanation

Identified student’s explanations

Coded for presence of explanatory elements

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METHOD

1. Spoon is made of molecules

2. Molecules are dynamic elements

3. Molecules interact with one another

4. Hot means faster moving molecule

5. Cold means slower moving molecule

6. Faster moving molecule BUMPS into

slower moving molecule

7. Chain reaction of collisions

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FINDINGS

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FINDINGS

While coding the interviews, a consistent set of explanatory ideas emerged

1. Steam heats the handle of the spoon2. Metal is a good conductor3. Heat is an entity that goes through the spoon4. Heat moves like a wave through the molecules of the spoon5. Heat is caused by friction between molecules

Some students verbally stated these ideas, but in many cases, attending to gestures provided further insight into these conceptions

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FINDINGS

Heat is an entity that goes through the spoon

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Heat moves like a wave through the molecules of the spoon

FINDINGS

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FINDINGS

Other interactions with explanation:

When we noticed student’s using gestures while explaining, we asked them to use their hands while they explained

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Andrew’s final explanation

FINDINGS

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FINDINGS

• Andrew’s growth in understanding is made visible through his representational gestures

• Explicit requests to “show” gestures reveal nuances of understanding not mentioned before

• Drawing attention to conceptually-grounded gestures may make them more salient to the learner

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FINDINGS

Making collisions visible to Ulani

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IMPLICATIONS

• Representational gestures can reveal deeper conceptual ideas• Attending to gestures (as teacher and learner) can make abstract

interactions more salient to the learner.• Simulations taking gestural feedback may be a helpful resource for

developing mechanistic explanations in science.

Blake taps his fingers to show molecules colliding and a chain reaction happening

Using Leap Motion device to detect hand gestures in simulations

1. Ahn, W. K., Kalish, C. W., Medin, D. L., & Gelman, S. A. (1995). The role of covariation versus mechanism information in causal attribution. Cognition, 54, 299-352.

2. Alibali, M. W., & Nathan, M. J. (2012). Embodiment in mathematics teaching and learning: Evidence from learners' and teachers' gestures. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 21, 247-286.

3. Brown, D. E. (1993). Refocusing core intuitions: A concretizing role for analogy in conceptual change. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 30, 1273-1290.

4. Cheng, M. F., & Brown, D. E. (2015). The role of scientific modeling criteria in advancing students' explanatory ideas of magnetism. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 52, 1053-1081.

5. Erickson, G. L. (1979). Children’s conceptions of heat and temperature. Science Education, 63, 221–230.

6. Goldin‐Meadow, S. (2011). Learning through gesture. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Cognitive Science, 2, 595-607.

7. Hilton, M., & Honey, M. A. (Eds.). (2011). Learning science through computer games and simulations. National Academies Press.

8. Kesidou, S., & Duit, R. (1993). Students’ conceptions of the second law of thermodynamics- An interpretive study. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 30(1), 85–106.

9. McNeill, D. (1992). Hand and mind: What gestures reveal about thought. University of Chicago Press.

10. NGSS Lead States. 2013. Next Generation Science Standards: For States, By States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

11. Roth, W. M. (2001). Gestures: Their role in teaching and learning. Review of Educational Research, 71, 365-392.

12. Schnittka, C., & Bell, R. (2011). Engineering design and conceptual change in science: Addressing thermal energy and heat transfer in eighth grade. International Journal of Science Education, 33, 1861–1887.

13. Smetana, L. K., & Bell, R. L. (2012). Computer simulations to support science instruction and learning: A critical review of theliterature. International Journal of Science Education, 34, 1337-1370.

14. Wiser, M., & Amin, T. (2001). “Is heat hot?” Inducing conceptual change by integrating everyday and scientific perspectives on thermal phenomena. Learning and Instruction, 11, 331–355.

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REFERENCES

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CONTACT

mathaya2@Illinois.eduNitasha MathayasUniversity of Illinois at Urbana Champaign

http://grasp.education.illinois.edu/publications/