Using a disciplinary discourse lens to explore how representations afford meaning making in a typical wave physics course
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Date
2013
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Springer Verlag
Abstract
We carried out a case study in a wave physics course at a Swedish
university in order to investigate the relations between the representations used in the
lessons and the experience of meaning making in interview–discussions. The grounding of
these interview–discussions also included obtaining a rich description of the lesson
environment in terms of the communicative approaches used and the students’ preferences
for modes of representations that best enable meaning making. The background for this
grounding was the first two lessons of a 5-week course on wave physics (70 students).
The data collection for both the grounding and the principal research questions consisted
of video recordings from the first two lessons: a student questionnaire of student
preferences for representations (given before and after the course) and video-recorded
interview–discussions with students (seven pairs and one on their own). The results
characterize the use of communicative approaches, what modes of representation were
used in the lectures, and the trend in what representations students’ preferred for meaning
making, all in order to illustrate how students engage with these representations with
respect to their experienced meaning making. Interesting aspects that emerged from the
study are discussed in terms of how representations do not, in themselves, necessarily
enable a range of meaning making; that meaning making from representations is critically
related to how the representations get situated in the learning environment; and how
constellations of modes of disciplinary discourse may be necessary but not always
sufficient. Finally, pedagogical comments and further research possibilities are presented.
Description
Keywords
Communicative approaches, Disciplinary discourse, Meaning making, Physics education, Representations
Citation
Enghag, M. et al. (2013). Using a disciplinary discourse lens to explore how representations afford meaning making in a typical wave physics course. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 11(3): 625 - 650