The epistemological commitments of modes: opportunities and challenges for science learning

Abstract

Meaning making in science is supported by different modes, such as spoken and written language, images and gestures, all of which have different affordances. The epistemological commitments of modes are affordances that cannot be avoided. This article investigates how the epistemological commitments of modes affect possibilities for learning. Video data was collected from a learning activity where upper secondary students drew and explained an experiment representing the greenhouse effect. The analysis uses the variation theory of learning, which assumes that students learn when they notice new aspects of objects of learning by experiencing variation against an invariant background. Such variation can be created through the representations used. Findings show that, in the learning activity, variation was created in a range of modes. Some of the variation, particularly with regards to radiation, was due to the epistemological commitments of drawing. However, these aspects of radiation went unnoticed by the students, possibly because several aspects varied simultaneously. The teacher then helped the students to become aware of certain variation. Implications for the teaching and learning of science when taking the epistemological commitment of different modes into consideration include both challenges, such as when unintended variation is created, and opportunities, such as when spontaneously occurring variation can be taken up for discussion.