The Role of Authentic Audience in Constructionist Modeling Activities: Supporting Next Generation Science Standards Practices in the Classroom

• In Event: 58.024 - Constructionism, Modeling, and Games: Synergies Through the Lens of Next Generation Science Standards and the Common Core

Abstract

Objectives. Constructionism proposes that learning is particularly effective when “the learner is consciously engaged in constructing a public entity” (Papert & Harel, 1991, p. 1). Yet, this argument has not been directly tested by comparing the conceptual growth of students designing models for an authentic audience to the conceptual growth of students designing models without an audience. Testing this claim is critical to identifying supports for practices prioritized by the Next Generation Science Standards, such as modeling (NRC, 2012). Therefore, I compared two groups of 6th grade classrooms as they created computational models of tides: classrooms designing models for an audience of younger students and classrooms designing models as an assignment for their teacher.
I asked how considering an audience of younger children:
1. affects students’ learning about mechanisms that cause tides,
2. influences students’ design choices,
3. shapes students’ priorities, and
4. supports domain-specific reasoning during discourse.
Theoretical Framework. Existing research suggests that constructionist activities, such as building computational models for an audience, support conceptual growth because designing for an audience (a) positions students as authors of content, increasing the utility and importance of their task (Kafai, Ching, & Marshall, 1997; Lehrer, 1993), and (b) facilitates shifts in students’ perspectives, supporting them in building coherent knowledge frameworks as they negotiate their understandings with their audience (Greeno & van de Sande, 2007, 2012; Thagard & Verbeurgt, 1998).
Methods and Data. I analyzed students’ assessments, models, artifacts, and discourse to explore how designing for an audience shaped students’ participation and learning. I used a mixed-method approach to analyze data (Chi, 1997). Grounded coding (Charmaz, 2006) allowed me to systematically identify and compare themes, and quantifying data allowed me to interpret patterns within the data (Chi, 1997).
Results. Students in the audience condition demonstrated greater knowledge about the mechanisms that cause tides than students in the no-audience condition (Table 1). My analysis suggests designing for an audience of younger children facilitated goals such as showing mechanisms responsible for tides (Table 2), and that these goals supported domain-specific reasoning (Table 3). Because they prioritized communicating the mechanisms that caused tides to their audience, students in the audience condition were more likely to take on users’ perspectives. This shift in perspective helped them build coherent understandings of tides as they negotiated between conceptions. Students in the no-audience condition were less likely to negotiate between their own and users’ perspectives. Instead, they often recited answers that the teacher valued without engaging in domain-specific reasoning. Additionally, students in the audience condition were motivated by the perceived utility of their task. They were more likely to describe their models as useful to others, work on models outside of class, consider issues beyond the assignment, and design and share solutions to class problems. These forms of engagement led to increases in model quality and participation, contributing to relatively higher conceptual growth in the audience condition.
Scholarly significance. These findings confirm the constructionist claim that incorporating an authentic audience into modeling projects promotes engagement and conceptual growth.

Author

• Ashlyn Karan, Vanderbilt University