Legitimation code theory to facilitate transition from high school to first-year biology

Mouton, Marnel; Archer, Edward

doi:10.1080/00219266.2017.1420681

Cited by 18 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Semantics has also been adapted to analyse Biology textbooks for their epistemological access (Kelly-Laubscher and Luckett 2016), difficulties when transitioning to university Biology from High School (Mouton and Archer 2019), difficulties in chemistry teaching (Blackie 2014), and investigating the types of knowledge found in student-made science concept maps (Kinchin et al 2019). In this journal, Semantics was recently used by Buxton et al (2019) to ascertain the degree of complexity and abstraction in assessment questions including the responses offered by secondary school bilingual learners.…”

Section: Sg and Sd In (Science) Education Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Buxton et al 2019; Kelly-Laubscher and Luckett 2016) and even larger units where written texts such as lesson plans or concept maps and observations of behaviours are mixed (e.g. Blackie 2014; Kinchin et al 2019;Maton 2019;Mouton and Archer 2019). We followed Rootman-le Grange and Blackie (2018) to code at the sentence Wiemer-Hastings and Xu 2005).…”

Section: Sd Codes-mixing Quantitative and Qualitative Criteriamentioning

confidence: 99%

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How Complex or Abstract Are Science Learning Outcomes? A Novel Coding Scheme Based on Semantic Density and Gravity

Lee

Wan

2020

Res Sci Educ

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There has been a longstanding interest in the kinds of scientific knowledge that primary science learners must know and be able to do, which comprise the intellectual demands in this subject. These prescriptions chiefly take guidance from national curriculum documents, especially in the form of their learning outcomes (LO) or learning standards. Using the concepts of semantic density (SD) and semantic gravity (SG), we formulate a novel coding scheme for primary science LO based on Semantics and Legitimation Code Theory. We demonstrate how SD and SG provide insights into the levels of complexity and abstraction respectively from a mix of qualitative and quantitative criteria that we devised. We empirically test the utility of this coding scheme by comparing present reformed primary science LO with their previous versions across three East-Asian regions. It was shown that their LO were not significantly different over versions in terms of SD/SG, had typically one to two learning points, favoured more contextdependent expressions, and were predominantly coded as SD-SG+. This research provides a complementary method of determining the intellectual demands of science curricula in terms of complexity and abstraction of LO that has implications for science teaching as well as the improvement of epistemological access for learners.

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Section: Sg and Sd In (Science) Education Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Sd Codes-mixing Quantitative and Qualitative Criteriamentioning

confidence: 99%

How Complex or Abstract Are Science Learning Outcomes? A Novel Coding Scheme Based on Semantic Density and Gravity

Lee

Wan

2020

Res Sci Educ

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“…Responding to the findings of Kelly-Laubscher and Luckett, Mouton and Archer used LCT to analyze a first year university lecture course and then redesign it such that the semantic gap between high school and the first year of university was narrowed. 13 In lectures before the redesign, the semantic density was often stronger (SD+), but semantic gravity was weaker (SG−), and students’ prior learning was not taken into account. After the redesign, the lectures contained semantic waves, where concepts were “unpacked” and “repacked” over time.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Vertical discourse and Bernstein’s knowledge structures are supported by a conceptual framework called “Legitimation Code Theory” (LCT), which is widely used within sociology, education, and linguistics. − LCT is a tool that measures the degree of abstraction and/or the degree of complexity in a particular meaning, and it is usually applied to written prose . The degree of abstraction is called semantic gravity (SG) and is defined as the degree to which meaning relates to context .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They found that the university-level textbook exhibited stronger semantic density (SD+) and a greater range of semantic gravity than the high school text, and that, on average, the high school textbook resided in the prosaic code quadrant (SG+/SD−) and the university textbook in the worldly code quadrant (SG+/SD+). Responding to the findings of Kelly-Laubscher and Luckett, Mouton and Archer used LCT to analyze a first year university lecture course and then redesign it such that the semantic gap between high school and the first year of university was narrowed . In lectures before the redesign, the semantic density was often stronger (SD+), but semantic gravity was weaker (SG−), and students’ prior learning was not taken into account.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Investigation into the Semantic Density and Semantic Gravity Wave Profile of Teachers When Discussing Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution (S_EAr)

Cranwell

Whiteside

2020

J. Chem. Educ.

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Language in chemistry is highly specialized, and for students, transitions in language complexity from high school to university can be extremely challenging. With an increasingly diverse cohort of students enrolled in UK chemistry degree programs, better understanding the linguistic challenges students face is becoming a greater pedagogical priority. Spoken language plays a central role when learning chemistry, and any misunderstandings can lead to misconceptions that can impede students’ success in this demanding subject. This small-scale study sought to compare the complexity of spoken-language explanations of the same chemical process within UK secondary (high school) and university contexts. The study involved seven organic chemistry educators/teachers, four based in a UK university and three in a UK high school, discussing electrophilic aromatic substitution (S E Ar) via a lecture or screencast. The participants’ spoken discourse was transcribed and coded according to the concepts of semantic gravity (the degree to which meaning relates to context) and semantic density (the degree to which meaning is condensed within symbols) drawn from Legitimation Code Theory, and then it was analyzed for semantic waves. When considering semantic gravity, there were some similarities and some differences. In all cases, semantic gravity was weaker, but participants based in a university environment generally tended to exhibit relatively weaker semantic gravity than their school-based counterparts. The school-based participants usually added further explanations to clarify what was meant during an explanation and exhibited semantic waves by unpacking and repacking a concept, whereas the university-based participants tended to show a flatter semantic profile. Findings showed that, across the levels of study investigated, semantic density was stronger: a similar complexity of chemistry-specific vocabulary used by all seven participants, regardless of the audience. Findings have pedagogical implications and suggest that a larger-scale study of semantic waves in oral chemistry discourse could usefully inform specific-purposes language teaching.

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The Cognitive Demands of Secondary Science Assessment Items: Refinements to a Classification Based on Semantic Gravity and Density

Seah,

Lee,

Ong

2024

A Diversity of Pathways Through Science Education

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Legitimation code theory to facilitate transition from high school to first-year biology

Cited by 18 publications

References 13 publications

How Complex or Abstract Are Science Learning Outcomes? A Novel Coding Scheme Based on Semantic Density and Gravity

How Complex or Abstract Are Science Learning Outcomes? A Novel Coding Scheme Based on Semantic Density and Gravity

Investigation into the Semantic Density and Semantic Gravity Wave Profile of Teachers When Discussing Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution (S_EAr)

The Cognitive Demands of Secondary Science Assessment Items: Refinements to a Classification Based on Semantic Gravity and Density

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Legitimation code theory to facilitate transition from high school to first-year biology

Cited by 18 publications

References 13 publications

How Complex or Abstract Are Science Learning Outcomes? A Novel Coding Scheme Based on Semantic Density and Gravity

How Complex or Abstract Are Science Learning Outcomes? A Novel Coding Scheme Based on Semantic Density and Gravity

Investigation into the Semantic Density and Semantic Gravity Wave Profile of Teachers When Discussing Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution (SEAr)

The Cognitive Demands of Secondary Science Assessment Items: Refinements to a Classification Based on Semantic Gravity and Density

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Investigation into the Semantic Density and Semantic Gravity Wave Profile of Teachers When Discussing Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution (S_EAr)