Making sense of students' science: The construction of a model of tinkering

Parsons, Sharon

doi:10.1007/bf02356452

Cited by 5 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…These new observations however, did not easily mesh with my reading of Roth's notion of collective. Recent studies (Jane & Jobling, 1995;Parsons, 1995;Roth, 1995aRoth, , 1995bRoth, , 1995cTobin & Skinner, 1995) involving the integration of science and technology focused upon understanding the learner through a constructivist perspective. Through the literature research I came to realise that most interpretive research on open-ended design projects ignored the social factors, the implicit working agreements which influence the collective nature of knowledge building.…”

Section: Elizamentioning

confidence: 98%

The strength of ideas in construction projects: A teacher's window of perception

Hampson¹

2000

Research in Science Education

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The benefits for a teacher in researching their own classroom have been well documented, but few reports have focused on how teachers make sense of what they see and hear during open-ended technology construction projects. This interpretive study has such a focus. It traces aspects of my learning trajectory as a teacher researcher in my Year Six classrooms, and aspects of improved classroom outcomes. In narrative voice I describe how my initial thinking about the building of acceptable scientific knowledge is modified through exploring the research literature and the strength of my students' ideas. My interpretation of videotape data of the collaboration process within group learning identifies the social dynamics which can influence the evolving nature of student's ideas in designing engineering structures. I describe how this research experience has influenced my planning and interaction with my students in the process of helping them to construct viable scientific knowledge. Windows of ExperienceAs far as I can remember I have always had a fascination for how and why the things around me worked. Looking back through the various windows of my life I attribute this stirred interest, awakened enthusiasm and aroused curiosity to significant people and activity I have experienced along the way. As I think about my own teaching practice, it is these experiences and people which have helped to shape the foundation of my professional development and fostered much of what I now value and practice.In my early childhood years I spent many a holiday at my Grandparents' place in Charters Towers. Much of my time was spent building billy carts using my grandfather's endless supply of timber, nails, pipe, screws, plumbing fittings and brackets. Wheels and axles were scrounged from any old pedal car, mower and bike. On visits to my uncle I would often spend time making cotton reel tractors, kites, miniature boats and wooden cars. He was always making interesting gadgets or telling me stories about his own childhood days and things he made.In my late primary school years most of my weekends were spent watching or helping my dad, who is a mechanic, fix gearboxes, dismantle a motor or do a tune-up. His involvement with speedway meant that major repairs were made with the assistance of welders and oxy-acetylene equipment, and I would often don the facemask to help weld, grind or spray-paint.As a young adult, while serving my apprenticeship as an Electrical Fitter Mechanic, I became heavily involved with industrial maintenance and installation. I was privileged to have tradesmen who were very experienced and well recognised in this field not only teach me their craig, but also entrust upon me a diverse range of experiences. During my apprenticeship at the TAFE College I was inspired by one of the teachers who shared many of his stories about his own investigations, special projects and contraptions he had built.It was this background that perhaps set the stage to make science an active part of my teaching career. Over the y...

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Section: Elizamentioning

confidence: 98%

The strength of ideas in construction projects: A teacher's window of perception

Hampson¹

2000

Research in Science Education

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“…In a study examining tinkering behaviours in the elementary Science classroom, Parsons uses both qualitative and quantitative approaches to investigate the intuitive methods students use and apply in learning physical science concepts [16,17]. Parsons develops a model of tinkering behaviours providing a number of characteristics pertaining to different types of tinkering that can be observed.…”

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, cross-disciplinary data suggest that 'exploratory learning styles' or 'tinkering behaviours' are expressed more predominantly in males than females across a variety of populations [2,12,16]. In Computer Science (CS) literature this gendered tendency has been surmised of CS students [8,10,21], but never studied directly as it has in other fields.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Are Females Disinclined to Tinker in Computer Science?

Krieger

Allen

Rawn

2015

Proceedings of the 46th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education

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Our study explores the use of tinkering strategies across genders in undergraduate students of Computer Science. We present a definition and a framework for tinkering as it applies to this context, and use these to investigate how students across genders tinker with hardware and software. Our goal is to examine genderbased differences in tinkering behaviour and to discuss the meaning and implications of these differences on teaching and learning in Computer Science. We gathered data via interviews and a questionnaire and used both qualitative and quantitative methods for analysis. Our work is preliminary and suggests further areas of research in this domain.

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“…In education tinkering is often encouraged because of its expected educational benefits (Rowe, 1978). Parsons (1995) postulated there are many factors that contribute to a student's tinkering ability. The three most common factors are experimental, social, and personal.…”

Section: Tinkering Self-efficacymentioning

confidence: 99%

Student Perceptions of Instructional Methods Towards Alternative Energy Education

Sallee¹,

Edgar²,

Johnson³

2013

JAE

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The effectiveness of different methods of instruction has been discussed since the early years of formal education systems. Lecture has been deemed the most common method of presenting information to students (Kindsvatter, Wilen, & Ishler, 1992; Waldron & Moore, 1991) and the demonstration method has been symbolized as the most effective tool developed for teaching (Seevers, Graham, Gamon, & Conklin, 1997). Engaging students is paramount to allowing instructors to expand student knowledge levels. The purpose of this study was to determine if the Arkansas Secondary Biodiesel Education Program (ASBEP) over alternative fuels had an effect towards student interest. A significant difference was found between student interest in method of presentation, t(7) = 8.29, p < .05. Furthermore, a strong positive correlation (r = .73) was found between posttest scores and student tinkering self-efficacy. Tinkering self-efficacy was also found to be positively and significantly correlated with method of instruction. Through understanding perceptions held by student being taught through different methods, instructors can capitalize and further knowledge acquisition by students.

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Making sense of students' science: The construction of a model of tinkering

Cited by 5 publications

References 14 publications

The strength of ideas in construction projects: A teacher's window of perception

The strength of ideas in construction projects: A teacher's window of perception

Are Females Disinclined to Tinker in Computer Science?

Student Perceptions of Instructional Methods Towards Alternative Energy Education

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