The research question guiding this study was, How do features of models and the contexts in which they are taught and used influence upper elementary students’ sense-making and engagement in the practice of constructing and using models? An emphasis on engaging students in authentic and meaningful inquiry has led to a renewed focus on incorporating the scientific practices in science instruction. One practice central to the work of scientists is scientific modeling (Duschl, 2008; Manz, 2012). This study investigated how engaging in the practice of scientific modeling through the interpretation and construction of models influenced students’ sense-making about scientific concepts and epistemological ideas related to modeling. The study took place in one 4th grade class across an entire academic year of science instruction. The teacher enacted a project-based learning science curriculum, comprised of three units, the development of which was guided by the Next Generation Science Standards and Common Core State Standards. Each unit had a different central phenomenon (i.e., erosion, renewable energy sources, communication), but all units covered concepts related to energy and energy transfer. During each unit, students interpreted or constructed physical, paper-and-pencil, or animated computerized models. Case study and design-based research methods were used to conduct an instrumental case study of the modeling events in one classroom with 36 students. Data sources included: video and audio recordings, field notes, researcher memos, student artifacts, assessments, and interviews with focal students during each instructional unit. The case was comprised of multiple sub-cases at the levels of the class and individual students. Class sub-cases detailed the ways in which engagement in the practice of modeling influenced students’ discussions during whole-class instruction in each of the three units. Individual students’ sub-cases documented the conceptual and epistemological sense-making trajectories of focal students within and across units of instruction. Focal students were selected for each unit to reflect a range of prior knowledge – low, typical, high – using unit pre-assessment measures. The interpretation and construction of different types of models across a range of phenomena supported students and the teacher to introduce and take up ideas related to the scientific concepts in the units and epistemological aspects of modeling. Focal students demonstrated growth in their conceptual understandings related to the phenomena in each unit; however, students struggled to apply their understanding related to energy transfer in the more abstract contexts of renewable energy sources and communication. In addition, low levels of prior knowledge influenced specific students’ sense-making, suggesting that students may require a threshold of prior knowledge to engage productively in the practice of modeling. Students demonstrated a trajectory of epistemological sense-making that began by discussing the purpose of models, followed by ways to improve the communicative power of models, and then the use of data to inform model construction. Constructing models provided insight into students’ sense-making related to concepts and epistemological ideas related to modeling. The ability to include animation of student-constructed models also provided opportunities for students to show processes at work in the phenomena studied (e.g., erosion caused by moving water, electricity generation using wind and water, and the relationship between volume and distance). These findings suggest that engaging in the practice of modeling can support students’ scientific sense-making. Implications for curriculum design, instructional practice, teacher learning and professional development, and policy are considered.
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A Year-Long Study of Fourth Graders? Sense-Making with Modeling across Phenomena
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