A Pragmatist Approach to Meaning Making in Children's Discussions about Gravity and the Shape of the Earth

Autor/inn/en	Lidar, Malena; Almqvist, Jonas; Ostman, Leif
Titel	A Pragmatist Approach to Meaning Making in Children's Discussions about Gravity and the Shape of the Earth
Quelle	In: Science Education, 94 (2010) 4, S.689-709 (21 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0036-8326
DOI	10.1002/sce.20384
Schlagwörter	Sociocultural Patterns; Cognitive Psychology; Grade 5; Epistemology; Pragmatics; Scientific Concepts; Elementary School Science; Concept Formation; Astronomy; Physics; Grade 2; Elementary School Students; Foreign Countries; Cooperative Learning; Discussion (Teaching Technique); Grade 4; Maps; Sweden + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Soziokulturelle Theorie; Kognitive Psychologie; School year 05; 5. Schuljahr; Schuljahr 05; Erkenntnistheorie; Pragmalinguistik; Concept learning; Begriffsbildung; Astronomie; Physik; School year 02; 2. Schuljahr; Schuljahr 02; Ausland; Kooperatives Lernen; School year 04; 4. Schuljahr; Schuljahr 04; Map; Karte; Schweden
Abstract	During the past few decades, researchers from a cognitive science tradition and a sociocultural perspective on learning have discussed how to understand students' conceptions of the earth. In this article, some of the questions discussed in this debate are elaborated in relation to meaning making in educational settings. The aim is to illustrate how an approach built on pragmatism and Wittgenstein's works makes it possible to take the role of both situation and experiences into account "within" a sociocultural perspective on learning. In video-recordings of second and fourth-fifth graders working in pairs meaning making is studied using "practical epistemology analysis," i.e., what children talk about as relevant and what experiences they reactualize when answering questions. By analyzing the role of reactualization of experience, the role of reactualization and situation in making questions and problems intelligible, and the individuals' encounters with artifacts and the consequences of this in meaning making, we elucidate why it is important to consider meaning making in situ as an empirical question. It is concluded that the way questions are made intelligible will direct the meaning making and when using an artifact to answer questions, it is not the artifact in itself, but the specific use of the artifact that mediates action. (Contains 5 footnotes.) (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10