Elementary Students’ Reasoning in Drawn Explanations Based on a Scientific Theory
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22047542 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Valeria M Cabello (0000-0001-6190-9187, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, corresponding author), Patrícia Moreira (0000-0002-0004-851X, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile), Patricia M Moreira (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile), Paulina Griñó Morales (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 11 |
| Issue | 10 |
| Pages | 581 |
| Publication date | 2021-09-26 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Education Sciences (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2227-7102 • E-ISSN: 2227-7102 |
| Publisher | MDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT) |
| DOI | 10.3390/educsci11100581 |
| OpenAlex | W3203600040 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 6 |
| References cited | 50 |
Constructing explanations of scientific phenomena is a high-leverage practice that promotes student understanding. In the context of this study, we acknowledge that children are used to receiving explanations from teachers. However, they are rarely encouraged to construct explanations about the causes and consequences of phenomena. We modified a strategy to elicit and analyze primary students’ reasoning based on scientific theory as a methodological advance in learning and cognition. The participants were fourth-graders of middle socioeconomic status in Chile’s geographical zone with high seismic risk. They drew explanations about the causes and consequences of earthquakes during a learning unit of eighteen hours oriented toward explanation-construction based on the Tectonic Plates Theory. A constant comparative method was applied to analyze drawings and characterize students’ reasoning used in pictorial representations, following the first coding step of the qualitative Grounded Theory approach. The results show the students expressed progressive levels of reasoning. However, several participants expressed explanations based on the phenomena causes even at an early stage of formal learning. More sophisticated reasoning regarding the scientific theory underpinning earthquakes was found at the end of the learning unit. We discuss approaching elementary students’ scientific reasoning in explanations based on theory, connected with context-based science education
Cognition · Cognitive psychology · Cognitive science · Developmental psychology · Epistemology · Grounded theory · Mathematics education · Psychology of reasoning · Qualitative research · Science education · Social science · Sociology · Spatial intelligence · Verbal reasoning · Computer Science · Educational methodologies and cognitive development · Knowledge Societies in the 21st Century · Psychology · Science Education and Pedagogy · Artificial Intelligence
Inscriptions in Science Teaching
Mental models of the earth’s internal structure among primary, middle and secondary school students in Chile
Exploring Students’ Mathematical Reasoning Behavior in Junior High Schools
Drawing as a Space for Social-Cognitive Interaction
Student-generated diagrams showing salt dissolution
Enhancing students’ reasoning skills by asking students to provide evidence-based explanations in science classrooms
The Oxford Handbook of Causal Reasoning
Supporting Students' Construction of Scientific Explanations by Fading Scaffolds in Instructional Materials
Working toward a stronger conceptualization of scientific explanation for science education
Scientific arguments as learning artifacts
Making sense of argumentation and explanation
Modeling as Scientific Reasoning—The Role of Abductive Reasoning for Modeling Competence
Individual Differences in Children’s Scientific Reasoning
The implications of the non-linguistic modes of meaning for language learners in science
Exploring primary students causal reasoning about ecosystems
Sequential patterns of students’ drawing in constructing scientific explanations
The development of scientific thinking skills in elementary and middle school
The Architecture and Dynamics of Intersubjectivity in Science Classrooms
The construction of subject matter knowledge in primary science teaching
Scientific Representation, Interpretation, and Surrogative Reasoning
| Citations per year | 1.5 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2022 - 2026 (5) |
| Highly cited | No |