The epistemological commitments of modes: opportunities and challenges for science learning

Abstract

Meaning making in science is supported by different modes, such as spoken and written language, images and gestures, all of which have different affordances. The epistemological commitments of modes are affordances that cannot be avoided. This article investigates how the epistemological commitments of modes affect possibilities for learning. Video data was collected from a learning activity where upper secondary students drew and explained an experiment representing the greenhouse effect. The analysis uses the variation theory of learning, which assumes that students learn when they notice new aspects of objects of learning by experiencing variation against an invariant background. Such variation can be created through the representations used. Findings show that, in the learning activity, variation was created in a range of modes. Some of the variation, particularly with regards to radiation, was due to the epistemological commitments of drawing. However, these aspects of radiation went unnoticed by the students, possibly because several aspects varied simultaneously. The teacher then helped the students to become aware of certain variation. Implications for the teaching and learning of science when taking the epistemological commitment of different modes into consideration include both challenges, such as when unintended variation is created, and opportunities, such as when spontaneously occurring variation can be taken up for discussion.

Undergraduate biology students' model‐based reasoning in the laboratory: Exploring the role of drawings, talk, and gestures

“…For instance, Park et al (2006) focused on earth-science group-work activities and showed that students used gestures to illustrate certain phenomena when they were unable to do so with words. Gestures have a temporal and nonpersistent character and have other epistemological commitments than the modes of talk and drawing (for instance) that make them more appropriate to use in certain cases (Fredlund et al, 2021). Mathayas et al (2019) have shown the importance of representational gestures-gestures constructed to represent phenomena or entities-in the development of mechanistic explanatory models.…”

Teaching About Electricity in Primary School Multimodality and Variation Theory as Analytical Lenses

“…These authors suggest three factors to enhance learning from physics representations: identify critical aspects, select representations, and create variation (Fredlund, Airey, & Linder, 2015b). Research involving upper secondary students' learning about the greenhouse effect revealed how affordances of certain modes may impact possibilities for learning (Fredlund et al, 2021). Our study furthers this work by analysing semiotic resource use in teaching electric circuits at the primary level.…”

“…It conveys spatial arrangements of circuit elements depicted by symbols (De Carvalho, 2019). SRs that explain things very well grant affordances, others that explain less well, or not at all, present constraints (Fredlund et al, 2021;Gibson, 1977). The way a mode has been used to mean and do (past) and the social conventions that inform its contextual use (present) shape its affordance (Jewitt, 2008;Van Leeuwen, 2005).…”

“…Solving the representational challenges in succession scaffolded students to progressively discern critical aspects and construct energy-based explanatory accounts of electric circuits. Like Fredlund et al (2021), VT was not part of the study design, so Kate was not conscious of creating variation. However, their conceptual focus and the way the representational challenges were enacted in the classroom facilitated students' discernment of critical aspects.…”

‘Can We See It?’: Contextualizing ‘Deforestation’ from an English-Medium Science Textbook for a Primary School Level

“…Moreover, current trends have shown that multimodality has been an increasing and growing interest, particularly in science classrooms and science textbooks, in recent years. For instance, Fernandez-Fontecha, O'Halloran, Wignell, and Tan (2020) investigated the features with respect to visual thinking that significantly helpful in scaffolding science classroom ;Fredlund, Remmen, and Knain (2021) revealed the potential of epistemological commitment of modes in learning and teaching process in regard to the topic of the greenhouse effect; Alyousef (2021) studied the multimodal cohesive devices employed by university undergraduate students taking a Science Dentistry Program; Hermawan and Rahyono (2019) scrutinized the ideational meanings and interpersonal meanings of science textbook deriving from the national curriculum, KTSP 2006 andKurikulum 2013;Guo (2004) analyzed a multi-semiotic concerning cells from a biology textbook; Menese,Escobar, and Veliz (2018) investigated the influence of multimodality on the way students in the fifth grade comprehend science reading texts; Nur'graha and Hermawan, (2020) conducted a study regarding the ideational meaning of a science textbook for a university-level; Doran (2019) inspected significance of images in physics. Despite lots of studies concerning multimodality in science classrooms and science textbooks above, the studies discussing the multimodal texts used in a primary school level were found to be limited; thereby, the present study aimed to fill the gap left by the previous studies.…”