Students’ meaning making of nature of science through multimodal representations
<p>Studies in science education have argued for the importance of multimodality in students’ meaning making of scientific concepts. Although students’ expression of nature of science (NOS) can take various modes of representation, researchers in the field of NOS seldom explore how students mak...
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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2024
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| _version_ | 1811139265950646272 |
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| author | Cheung, KC |
| author2 | Erduran, S |
| author_facet | Erduran, S Cheung, KC |
| author_sort | Cheung, KC |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | <p>Studies in science education have argued for the importance of multimodality in students’ meaning making of scientific concepts. Although students’ expression of nature of science (NOS) can take various modes of representation, researchers in the field of NOS seldom explore how students make meaning of NOS through multimodal representations. More significantly, scant research investigated how multilingual students made meaning of NOS through different modes of representation when they navigated various linguistic boundaries in science classrooms. To address this gap, this study examined the role of visual, verbal and written modes of representation in facilitating multilingual students’ meaning making of NOS, particularly in learning environments with different linguistic configurations. The study draws on social semiotics and the family resemblance approach (FRA) to NOS as its theoretical underpinnings. The FRA to NOS has semiotic potential to be communicated through different modes of representation, while social semiotics provides a theoretical lens for researchers to study how multilingual students create signs to represent criterial aspects of NOS relevant to the instructional contexts.</p>
<p>The study adopted a multiple case study design, focusing on three learning environments of NOS instruction with multilingual students of different linguistic backgrounds. One learning environment consisted of 21 students who spoke and wrote English during group discussion of NOS; another learning environment comprised 5 students who wrote English, but most of the conversation was Cantonese in group discussion; the other learning environment was formed by 10 students who wrote traditional Chinese characters and spoke Cantonese in group discussion. In this instructional design, the researcher collaborated with each teacher to design and implement a four-lesson NOS instruction sequence in three Grade 7 science classes in Hong Kong. Data sources comprised students’ responses to multimodal instruments before and after NOS instruction, semi-structured interviews with students before and after NOS instruction, and video-recordings of students’ collaborative discussion. The multimodal instrument that characterises students’ NOS understanding offers a novel contribution to science education studies as previous instruments only measure students’ written understanding of NOS. Students’ responses to multimodal instruments revealed the characteristics of students’ multimodal representations of NOS; analysis of video recording of students’ collaborative discussion offered insights into students’ processes of multimodal meaning making of NOS; and semi-structured interviews with students highlighted the affordances and constraints of using different modes of representations to represent categories of NOS.</p>
<p>Cross-case comparisons showed that students in different learning environments made meaning of NOS in different ways. Students who spoke and wrote English in group discussion leveraged multiple semiotic resources to contextualize NOS understanding and made them explicit; students who mostly spoke Cantonese and wrote English in group discussion resolved linguistic challenges through multimodality; students who spoke Cantonese and wrote traditional Chinese in group discussion created an inclusive multimodal semiotic space for their linguistically minoritized peers. Their diverse linguistic backgrounds influenced how they perceived affordances and challenges of using different modes of representation of NOS. This study contributes to an understanding of the intersection between multimodality and NOS, which has been under-researched in science education literature. Importantly, it also sheds light on how multilingual students leveraged multiple semiotic resources to make meaning of NOS within the linguistic boundaries set in science classrooms. Drawing on findings and discussions, this thesis proposes implications for NOS pedagogical and curriculum design, teacher education, as well as directions for future studies.</p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-25T04:03:21Z |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oxford-uuid:4a457d0b-180e-460c-ba8c-fee6a93d8a41 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-25T04:03:21Z |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:4a457d0b-180e-460c-ba8c-fee6a93d8a412024-05-16T08:33:10ZStudents’ meaning making of nature of science through multimodal representationsThesishttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_db06uuid:4a457d0b-180e-460c-ba8c-fee6a93d8a41Science EducationEnglishHyrax Deposit2024Cheung, KCErduran, SOancea, A<p>Studies in science education have argued for the importance of multimodality in students’ meaning making of scientific concepts. Although students’ expression of nature of science (NOS) can take various modes of representation, researchers in the field of NOS seldom explore how students make meaning of NOS through multimodal representations. More significantly, scant research investigated how multilingual students made meaning of NOS through different modes of representation when they navigated various linguistic boundaries in science classrooms. To address this gap, this study examined the role of visual, verbal and written modes of representation in facilitating multilingual students’ meaning making of NOS, particularly in learning environments with different linguistic configurations. The study draws on social semiotics and the family resemblance approach (FRA) to NOS as its theoretical underpinnings. The FRA to NOS has semiotic potential to be communicated through different modes of representation, while social semiotics provides a theoretical lens for researchers to study how multilingual students create signs to represent criterial aspects of NOS relevant to the instructional contexts.</p> <p>The study adopted a multiple case study design, focusing on three learning environments of NOS instruction with multilingual students of different linguistic backgrounds. One learning environment consisted of 21 students who spoke and wrote English during group discussion of NOS; another learning environment comprised 5 students who wrote English, but most of the conversation was Cantonese in group discussion; the other learning environment was formed by 10 students who wrote traditional Chinese characters and spoke Cantonese in group discussion. In this instructional design, the researcher collaborated with each teacher to design and implement a four-lesson NOS instruction sequence in three Grade 7 science classes in Hong Kong. Data sources comprised students’ responses to multimodal instruments before and after NOS instruction, semi-structured interviews with students before and after NOS instruction, and video-recordings of students’ collaborative discussion. The multimodal instrument that characterises students’ NOS understanding offers a novel contribution to science education studies as previous instruments only measure students’ written understanding of NOS. Students’ responses to multimodal instruments revealed the characteristics of students’ multimodal representations of NOS; analysis of video recording of students’ collaborative discussion offered insights into students’ processes of multimodal meaning making of NOS; and semi-structured interviews with students highlighted the affordances and constraints of using different modes of representations to represent categories of NOS.</p> <p>Cross-case comparisons showed that students in different learning environments made meaning of NOS in different ways. Students who spoke and wrote English in group discussion leveraged multiple semiotic resources to contextualize NOS understanding and made them explicit; students who mostly spoke Cantonese and wrote English in group discussion resolved linguistic challenges through multimodality; students who spoke Cantonese and wrote traditional Chinese in group discussion created an inclusive multimodal semiotic space for their linguistically minoritized peers. Their diverse linguistic backgrounds influenced how they perceived affordances and challenges of using different modes of representation of NOS. This study contributes to an understanding of the intersection between multimodality and NOS, which has been under-researched in science education literature. Importantly, it also sheds light on how multilingual students leveraged multiple semiotic resources to make meaning of NOS within the linguistic boundaries set in science classrooms. Drawing on findings and discussions, this thesis proposes implications for NOS pedagogical and curriculum design, teacher education, as well as directions for future studies.</p> |
| spellingShingle | Science Education Cheung, KC Students’ meaning making of nature of science through multimodal representations |
| title | Students’ meaning making of nature of science through multimodal representations |
| title_full | Students’ meaning making of nature of science through multimodal representations |
| title_fullStr | Students’ meaning making of nature of science through multimodal representations |
| title_full_unstemmed | Students’ meaning making of nature of science through multimodal representations |
| title_short | Students’ meaning making of nature of science through multimodal representations |
| title_sort | students meaning making of nature of science through multimodal representations |
| topic | Science Education |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT cheungkc studentsmeaningmakingofnatureofsciencethroughmultimodalrepresentations |