Conceptual Change in Elementary Kinematics and Ecology Through the Development of Representational Practices

• In Event: Representations of/for Learning

Abstract

Developing authentic representational practices and generating inscriptions is central to the development of scientific expertise (Latour, 1999; Lehrer & Schauble, 2000, 2006a). Research has shown that science learning is dependent upon the development of representational systems that symbolize important aspects both within and across scientific phenomena and domains (Latour, 1999; Lehrer, Schauble, Carpenter & Penner, 2000; Lehrer & Schauble, 2002). The representational system at the heart of this paper is agent-based modeling (Wilensky & Reisman, 2006; Sengupta & Wilensky, 2009). The focus of this paper is to investigate how the practice of agent-based modeling can integrate separate curricular domains, specifically, physics and ecology, in elementary grades.

Authors

• Amanda Catherine Dickes, Vanderbilt University

• Gokul Krishnan, Vanderbilt University

• Amy Voss Farris, Vanderbilt University, Peabody College, Department of Teaching and Learning

• Pratim Sengupta, Vanderbilt University