Speakers
Dr
John Airey
(MND)Mr
Trevor Volkwyn
(Uppsala University)
Description
In this study we video-filmed physics students working with an open-ended laboratory
task designed to help them learn about the Earth’s magnetic field. Students worked in
pairs with a hand-held magnetometer to determine the direction of the Earth’s
magnetic field. As the magnetometer is moved, the x, y and z components of the
Earth’s magnetic field are displayed on a computer screen. The students were simply
instructed to find the direction of the Earth’s magnetic field and mark this direction
using a red paper arrow.
A full multimodal transcription of the student interaction was made. In our analysis
the central role of transduction (defined as the movement of semiotic material from
one mode or semiotic system to another) became clear. Three separate transductions
of meaning were identified. The first—transduction of the meaning potential in the
room to the computer screen by the magnetometer—allowed students to interact with
the invisible magnetic field. Then, as the students worked together, their coordination
of resources was transducted to the red paper arrow. This allowed the students to
display the results of their work in a persistent representation. The arrow then
functioned as a coordinating hub for the final discussion, which resulted in
transduction of meaning into student gestures. We suggest that this final transduction
offers the possibility for teachers to check student learning.
In conclusion, we suggest that teachers should look for student transductions in their
classrooms as confirmation that learning is taking place. In our analysis, when
teachers noticed such transductions this often led to fruitful teacher/student
discussions about the phenomenon at hand.
Primary authors
Dr
John Airey
(MND)
Mr
Trevor Volkwyn
(Uppsala University)
