Making sense of making sense: A microgenetic multiple case study of five students’ developing conceptual compounds related to physics

Add to your list(s) Download to your calendar using vCal

• Richard Brock , PhD student, Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge
• Monday 12 June 2017, 16:30-18:00
• MAB Boulind Room 6 Mary Allan Building, Homerton College, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 8PQ.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact Ann Waterman.

Tea and coffee on arrival

My thesis arose from a comment made by a student who had achieved highly in examinations yet felt that science: ‘doesn’t make sense’. Therefore, I analysed different conceptualisations of learning to develop the concept of making sense as the formation or modification of a conceptual compound (a system of two or more concepts) in which concepts are related in a coherent causal system that may be transferred to novel situations. This definition is situated within a constructivist epistemology. The research question asked how students make sense of physics concepts related to dynamics and electricity. Five 16-17 year old students, conceptualised as a multiple case study, were selected from an English secondary school using purposeful sampling. The students were interviewed once a week for twenty-two weeks in sessions using a range of probes such as interviews about instances, concept maps and concept inventory questions. It is assumed that data collection occurred at a frequency that was high relative to the rate of conceptual change hence the work is seen as microgenetic. The analysis focused on the development of the students’: a) ontologies of concepts from concrete instances towards abstractions; b) conceptual compounds from temporary organisations to more stable structures; c) understanding of causality from focused on macroscopic objects to abstract concepts; d) judgments of coherence; e) ability to apply concepts to novel contexts; and f) the proposition of a model of conceptual change as an alteration in the frequency of application of a concept in a given context. The implications of these findings for science teaching are discussed.

This talk is part of the Mathematics Education Research Group (MERG) series.

This talk is included in these lists:

• MAB Boulind Room 6 Mary Allan Building, Homerton College, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 8PQ
• Mathematics Education Research Group (MERG)
• All Faculty of Education Seminars
• FERSA - All Events

Note that ex-directory lists are not shown.