Here, a teacher and coach invite 6th graders to represent their thinking about sound and how a singer shatters a glass. Watch a student, Keonie, describe their model and respond to questions, and see how the teacher records and links ways of representing sound.
Honoring students’ intuitive ways of representing ideas can expand what counts as science and who participates. By making different representations available to the class, sense-making becomes a more collective and inclusive process.
Check out a research article that describes how representation is an integral part of modeling: Schwarz, C. V., Reiser, B. J., Davis, E. A., Kenyon, L., Acher, A., Fortus, D., Shwartz, Y., Hug, B., & Krajcik, J. (2009). Developing a learning progression for scientific modeling: Making scientific modeling accessible and meaningful for learners. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 46(6), 632-654.
How science investigations can expand beyond standard classroom activities
Tips for co-creating “gotta have” checklists with students
Several examples of sixth-grade students interacting with each other’s reasoning as they work to make sense of how sound travels.
This site is primarily funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) through Award #1907471 and #1315995