Thinking Across Representations: Designing to Support Investigations That Leverage Physical and Computational Modes of Inquiry

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

Philosophers of science and scientists have identified forms of modeling that blend or fuse physical and virtual modalities as a distinctive feature of some emerging scientific fields, such as computational physics, biochemistry, and biomedical engineering. In response, in K-16 contexts, science education researchers have been designing learning environments to help students leverage and integrate a range of disciplinary tools in service of inquiry, including computational models, “in vivo” and “in vitro” physical models, and experiments. In this session, we aim to understand students’ resources for developing flexible inquiry practices that combine multiple tools and modalities, and we consider designs that support the development of these practices in elementary, secondary, and undergraduate contexts in relation to professional science practices.

Sub Unit

• Division C - Learning and Instruction / Division C - Section 1d: Science

Chair

• Ashlyn Pierson, The Ohio State University

Papers

• Linking Physical and Computational Models of Waves in the Elementary Setting - Amy Voss Farris, The Pennsylvania State University

• Seeds of Hybrid Modeling in Design-Oriented STEM - Ashlyn Pierson, The Ohio State University; Corey Brady, Vanderbilt University; Doug Clark, University of Calgary

• Bifocal Modeling: Summative Results of Studies Combining Real-World Data and Computational Models - Paulo Blikstein, Teachers College, Columbia University; Tamar Fuhrmann, Columbia University

• Rescuing "Bad Data": How Students Use Simulations to Reason Adaptively With Poor-Quality Experimental Data - Julia Svoboda Gouvea, Tufts University; Katherine Anne Parker, Tufts University

Discussant

• Nancy Nersessian, Georgia Institute of Technology