| dc.description.abstract | Learning about the periodic table of elements can be a challenge for second grade students. The amount of theoretical information, combined with abstract scientific concepts, makes it difficult for students’ meaning-making. Research done on the concept of scaffolding is usually concerned with subjects within language, culture, and occasionally scientific subjects. This study aims to evaluate existing research, gather data on the domain, and see what scaffolding elements can be added to a tool to support students’ meaning-making when learning about the periodic table of elements. Interviews with teachers presented an objective, namely that students could make connections between small, abstract atoms, and how they exist and shape everything in the everyday world. Through observations and interviews with students, it was expressed that learning about the periodic table could be boring, that there was too much theory, and that the majority of said theory was not memorable. Analysis of the test results showed that by having multiple representations, students could relate to the periodic table of elements, the elements themselves, and their properties, in different ways. By working in groups, and aiming to unlock achievements, they were driven towards a goal by prompting each other to meet their aim. Throughout the interactions, they would combine the everyday concepts from the multiple representations with scientific concepts from the tool. The results indicate that while having different forms of scaffolding combined into one tool, one can see the positive scaffolding effects of said elements. The positive effects being able to relate representations of tiny, abstract atoms, to their effect on the real world based on the atom’s properties. However, the combined scaffolding elements also bring their negative side effects (distraction, frustration and confusion) if the tool is not presented correctly, and the components of the tool are not explicit. Interviews with teachers presented an objective, namely that students could make connections between small, abstract atoms, and how they exist and shape everything in the everyday world. Through observations and interviews with students, it was expressed that learning about the periodic table could be boring, that there was too much theory, and that the majority of said theory was not memorable. Analysis of the test results showed that by having multiple representations, students could relate to the periodic table of elements, the elements themselves, and their properties, in different ways. By working in groups, and aiming to unlock achievements, they were driven towards a goal by prompting each other to meet their aim. Throughout the interactions, they would combine the everyday concepts from the multiple representations with scientific concepts from the tool. The results indicate that while having different forms of scaffolding combined into one tool, one can see the positive scaffolding effects of said elements. The positive effects being able to relate representations of tiny, abstract atoms, to their effect on the real world based on the atom’s properties. However, the combined scaffolding elements also bring their negative side effects (distraction, frustration and confusion) if the tool is not presented correctly, and the components of the tool are not explicit. | eng |