Conventional wisdom and several researchers (e.g., Kikas, 1998 Mishra, 1999 Duschl, Schweingruber, & Shouse, 2007) have suggested that commonly used variants of orbit diagrams, in which the orbit is drawn as an exaggerated elliptical shape in an effort to render perspective, will induce the common misconception that the colder seasons on the earth are the product of greater distance of the earth from the sun. Across the research literature on misconceptions associated with the seasons, the most frequently noted misunderstanding of why we have different average temperatures across seasons involves imagining that the earth following a highly eccentric elliptical orbit that causes us to be farther from the sun in the winter and closer to the sun in summer (Atwood & Atwood, 1996 Trumper, 2006). The goal of this paper is to consider these questions as they relate to a notoriously difficult idea in astronomy and earth science education: the cause of seasonal temperature variation. Therefore, a general question must be asked of all diagrams that are used in science instruction: Do the highlighted features promote the generation of intended interpretations and understandings of the scientific ideas that are being represented? Or might those well-intentioned diagrams lead students astray? Of course, for this to be possible, the assumption must be made that a representation exerts enough influence to keep students moving along that trajectory. Designed carefully, certain sequences of diagrams could be used in a strategic manner by helping to move students along a specific learning trajectory. With certain features highlighted, it is natural to expect that certain modes of thinking or certain ideas associated with highlighted features would be privileged. Like other kinds of inscriptions, or representations, diagrams highlight certain features of a depicted situation at the expense of obscuring others. These are issues that continue to receive significant attention in cognitive science (e.g., Stenning & Oberlander, 1995 Heiser & Tversky, 2006) and across other psychologically oriented disciplines (Glasgow, Narayanan, & Chandrasekaran, 1995). For example, in a classic paper, Larkin and Simon ( 1987) illustrated how diagrams of pulley systems fundamentally change the reasoning patterns one must follow to draw inferences compared to other symbolic representational formats.
Diagrams are valued, at least in part, because they are thought to alter or enhance cognitive capabilities. What is of present interest is the conceptual influence that is exerted by diagrams. There are a number of reasons as to why diagrams have been considered special for science, ranging from the sociological (Latour, 1987) to the more aesthetic (e.g., Tufte, 1983). Sci Ed 94:985–1007, 2010ĭiagrams play a central role in the knowing, communicating, teaching, and learning of science (Macdonald-Ross, 1979 Hegarty, Carpenter, & Just, 1990 Roth, Pozzer-Ardenghi, & Han, 2005). Additional analyses show instead that other features in the diagrams can instead be more influential as conceptualization cues, such as shading or overlapping shapes, but these cues' influence on student reasoning depend on which other cues accompany them. Elongation of orbit did not appear to have an effect, and there was no reinforcement effect for students who initially believed in an elongated orbit. From responses to a written assessment, students' ideas about what caused the seasons were identified and analyzed.
To test whether that is indeed the case, six variants of diagrams depicting differently shaped earth orbits around the sun were presented to 652 ninth-grade students in the United States. It has been suggested that the standard diagrams used to depict the earth's orbit may be in some way responsible for the initial appearance and overall maintenance of this incorrect conceptualization the elongated shape of the orbit is thought of as a conceptualization cue that invites a fairly predictable way of reasoning. The cause of the seasons is often associated with a very particular alternative conception: That the earth's orbit around the sun is highly elongated, and the differences in distance result in variations in temperature.
0 kommentar(er)
