Representing energy. II. Energy tracking representations

Scherr, Rachel E.; Close, Hunter G.; Close, Eleanor W.; Vokos, Stamatis

doi:10.1103/physrevstper.8.020115

Cited by 50 publications

(64 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…We view scientific representations as being culturally produced cognitive agents that speak with the voice of the scientific culture that produced them [2][3][4][5]. Our perspective contrasts with a Baconian approach to science, in which data speak for themselves.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 84%

“…In a companion paper [5], we present novel representations that embody the substance metaphor and support learners in conserving and tracking energy as it flows from object to object and changes form. Such representations enable detailed modeling of energy dynamics in complex physical processes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We find that while each of the aforementioned representations partially supports a substance metaphor for energy, they have limited utility for tracking the flow of energy among objects. In a companion paper [5], we present a novel representation that embodies the substance metaphor and supports learners in conserving and tracking energy as it flows from object to object and changes form. Such representations enable detailed modeling of energy dynamics in complex physical processes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Representing energy. I. Representing a substance ontology for energy

Scherr

McKagan

et al. 2012

Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res.

Self Cite

116

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The nature of energy is not typically an explicit topic of physics instruction. Nonetheless, verbal and graphical representations of energy articulate models in which energy is conceptualized as a quasimaterial substance, a stimulus, or a vertical location. We argue that a substance ontology for energy is particularly productive in developing understanding of energy transfers and transformations. We analyze classic representations of energy-bar charts, pie charts, and others-to determine the energy ontologies that are implicit in those representations, and thus their affordances for energy learning. We find that while existing representations partially support a substance ontology for energy and thus the learning goal of energy conservation, they have limited utility for tracking the flow of energy among objects.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 84%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Representing energy. I. Representing a substance ontology for energy

Scherr

McKagan

et al. 2012

Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res.

Self Cite

116

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…We structure our energy instruction around a substance metaphor for energy, which supports a model of energy as conserved, localized, transferring among objects, and transforming among forms [3,4]. These features constitute a powerful conceptual model of energy that may be used to explain and predict energy phenomena [17][18][19][20][21][22].…”

Section: Energy Theatermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Our goals for energy learning are specific to our population of learners and include conceptual understanding, sociopolitical relevance, creative flexibility, and representational competence. Our progress toward some of these goals is reported elsewhere [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]. This paper focuses on conceptual learning of physics content, which is a primary need of elementary and secondary teachers [11][12][13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Negotiating energy dynamics through embodied action in a materially structured environment

Scherr

et al. 2013

Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res.

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We provide evidence that a learning activity called Energy Theater engages learners with key conceptual issues in the learning of energy, including disambiguating matter flow and energy flow and theorizing mechanisms for energy transformation. A participationist theory of learning, in which learning is indicated by changes in speech and behavior, supports ethnographic analysis of learners' embodied interactions with each other and the material setting. We conduct detailed analysis to build plausible causal links between specific features of Energy Theater and the conceptual engagement that we observe. Disambiguation of matter and energy appears to be promoted especially by the material structure of the Energy Theater environment, in which energy is represented by participants, while objects are represented by areas demarcated by loops of rope. Theorizing mechanisms of energy transformation is promoted especially by Energy Theater's embodied action, which necessitates modeling the time ordering of energy transformations.

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Aligning Coordination Class Theory With a New Context: Applying a Theory of Individual Learning to Group Learning

Barth-Cohen

Wittmann

2017

Science Education

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This article presents an empirical analysis of conceptual difficulties encountered and ways students made progress in learning at both individual and group levels in a classroom environment in which the students used an embodied modeling activity to make sense of a specific scientific scenario. The theoretical framework, coordination class theory, has primarily been used to capture individual learning in interview settings, and here it is applied to analytically capture both individual and group learning in a complex classroom environment. Classrooms of ninth‐grade earth science students used the position of their bodies to model a specific scientific concept, the steady‐state energy of the earth. The students encountered difficulties aligning their understanding of the scientific concept with the models. Subsequently, they changed their models in specific ways that better aligned their understanding of the scientific concept with their newly modified model. The theory is utilized to describe learning by both individuals and the group in this classroom environment and shows how a single student's contribution can dramatically affect the model and subsequent learning. Implications suggest new ways in which the theory may be useful for designing learning environments.

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Representing energy. II. Energy tracking representations

Cited by 50 publications

References 29 publications

Representing energy. I. Representing a substance ontology for energy

Representing energy. I. Representing a substance ontology for energy

Negotiating energy dynamics through embodied action in a materially structured environment

Aligning Coordination Class Theory With a New Context: Applying a Theory of Individual Learning to Group Learning

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