ABSTRACT

Background

Constructing knowledge through collaborative practical work is a complex process and involves the use of multiple modalities by group members. In practical work sessions, students often manipulate visual objects or textual materials but do not develop their scientific ideas.

Purpose

This study illustrates (a) the challenges that science students face when they create thematic patterns in a laboratory class and (b) characterises the processes of how students make meaning of practical work activities.

Sample

Drawing from a video database, we chose to investigate an 80-min chemistry lesson with eight Year 10 students who were unpacking the complex ideas behind practical work. This lesson episode was transcribed multimodally, with snapshots of the pictures of students’ actions and gestures.

Methods

This study adopts a case-study approach. A multimodal discourse analysis approach was taken to examine the classroom discourse of the students when they were determining the strength of acids and alkalis through electroconductivity.

Results

We identified various challenges when students integrated gestures, pictures and verbal discourse during the practical work section. These challenges include those when students realise textual and visual modes and those when students associate components of apparatus into a system of functional set-up. Moreover, students cannot construct thematic patterns because they reorient their focus from the domain of ideas to the domain of objects and observables. The study recorded a number of strategies that students use to overcome these challenges that impede their meaning-making.

Conclusion

The findings of this study contribute to the literature by identifying the challenges and strategies faced by students when they were connecting the scientific ideas with the practical work. When science education researchers advocate an inquiry-oriented approach, they should provide ample scaffolds for these multimodal challenges.

中文翻译：

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在协作实际工作中创造意义：10 年级化学课堂中多模式挑战的案例研究

摘要

背景

通过协作实际工作构建知识是一个复杂的过程，涉及小组成员使用多种模式。在实际工作课程中，学生经常操纵视觉对象或文本材料，但没有发展他们的科学思想。

目的

这项研究说明了 (a) 理科学生在实验室课堂上创建主题模式时所面临的挑战，以及 (b) 描述了学生如何理解实际工作活动的过程。

样本

根据视频数据库，我们选择与 8 名 10 年级学生一起研究一节 80 分钟的化学课，他们正在解开实际工作背后的复杂想法。这节课是多模态转录的，带有学生动作和手势图片的快照。

方法

本研究采用个案研究的方法。采用多模态话语分析法考察学生在通过电导率测定酸碱强度时的课堂话语。

结果

当学生在实际工作部分整合手势、图片和口头话语时，我们发现了各种挑战。这些挑战包括当学生意识到文本和视觉模式时的挑战，以及当学生将设备组件与功能设置系统相关联时的挑战。此外，学生无法构建主题模式，因为他们将注意力从思想领域重新定位到对象和可观察对象领域。该研究记录了学生用来克服这些阻碍他们理解意义的挑战的许多策略。

结论

这项研究的结果通过确定学生在将科学思想与实际工作联系起来时所面临的挑战和策略，为文献做出了贡献。当科学教育研究人员提倡以探究为导向的方法时，他们应该为这些多模式挑战提供充足的支架。