Jesper Haglund

Exploring the Use of Conceptual Metaphors in Solving Problems on Entropy

A growing body of research has examined the experiential grounding of scientific thought and the role of experiential intuitive knowledge in science learning. Meanwhile, research in cognitive linguistics has identified many conceptual metaphors (CMs), metaphorical mappings between abstract concepts and experiential source domains, implicit in everyday and scientific language. However, the contributions of CMs to scientific understanding and reasoning are still not clear. This study explores the roles that CMs play in scientific problem-solving through a detailed analysis of two physical chemistry PhD students solving problems on entropy. We report evidence in support of three claims: a range of CMs are used in problem-solving enabling flexible, experiential construals of abstract scientific concepts; CMs are coordinated with one another and other resources supporting the alignment of qualitative and quantitative reasoning; use of CMs grounds abstract reasoning in a “narrative” discourse incorporating conceptions of paths, agents, and movement. We conclude that CMs should be added to the set of intuitive resources others have suggested contribute to expertise in science. This proposal is consistent with two assumptions: that cognition is embodied and that internal cognitive structures and processes interact with semiotic systems. The implications of the findings for learning and instruction are discussed.

Different Senses of Entropy—Implications for Education

A challenge in the teaching of entropy is that the word has several different senses, which may provide an obstacle for communication. This study identifies five distinct senses of the word entropy ...

Conceptual Metaphor and Embodied Cognition in Science Learning: Introduction to Special Issue.

Conceptual metaphor and embodied cognition in science learning : Introduction to special issue

Collaborative and self-generated analogies in science education

It has long been recognised that analogies may be a useful tool in science education. At the same time, it has been found that there are challenges to using analogies in teaching. For example, students might not identify a suitable analogy, might not recognise how the taught target domain is similar to the source domain to which it is compared, or may fail to realise where the analogy breaks down. The present study offers a review of two trends which reflect the ambition to come to terms with such challenges: self-generated analogies, making use of students’ own analogies in teaching, and analogy generation in collaborative settings, such as in small-group work. Empirical studies show predominately positive results with regard to students’ enjoyment and learning gains, and point to opportunities for formative assessment. The specificities of language in conjunction with analogy and the role of analogies in authentic science classroom discourse are suggested as areas of study that deserve more attention going forward.

Thermal cameras in school laboratory activities

Thermal cameras offer real-time visual access to otherwise invisible thermal phenomena, which are conceptually demanding for learners during traditional teaching. We present three studies of students’ conduction of laboratory activities that employ thermal cameras to teach challenging thermal concepts in grades 4, 7 and 10–12. Visualization of heat-related phenomena in combination with predict-observe-explain experiments offers students and teachers a pedagogically powerful means for unveiling abstract yet fundamental physics concepts.

Varying Use of Conceptual Metaphors across Levels of Expertise in Thermodynamics.

Many studies have previously focused on how people with different levels of expertise solve physics problems. In early work, focus was on characterising differences between experts and novices and a key finding was the central role that propositionally expressed principles and laws play in expert, but not novice, problem-solving. A more recent line of research has focused on characterising continuity between experts and novices at the level of non-propositional knowledge structures and processes such as image-schemas, imagistic simulation and analogical reasoning. This study contributes to an emerging literature addressing the coordination of both propositional and non-propositional knowledge structures and processes in the development of expertise. Specifically, in this paper, we compare problem-solving across two levels of expertise—undergraduate students of chemistry and Ph.D. students in physical chemistry—identifying differences in how conceptual metaphors (CMs) are used (or not) to coordinate propositional and non-propositional knowledge structures in the context of solving problems on entropy. It is hypothesised that the acquisition of expertise involves learning to coordinate the use of CMs to interpret propositional (linguistic and mathematical) knowledge and apply it to specific problem situations. Moreover, we suggest that with increasing expertise, the use of CMs involves a greater degree of subjective engagement with physical entities and processes. Implications for research on learning and instructional practice are discussed.

More than Meets the Eye – Infrared Cameras in Open-Ended University Thermodynamics Labs

Educational research has found that students have challenges understanding thermal science. Undergraduate physics students have difficulties differentiating basic thermal concepts, such as heat, temperature, and internal energy. Engineering students have been found to have difficulties grasping surface emissivity as a thermal material property. One potential source of students’ challenges with thermal science is the lack of opportunity to visualize energy transfer in intuitive ways with traditional measurement equipment. Thermodynamics laboratories have typically depended on point measures of temperature by use of thermometers (detecting heat conduction) or pyrometers (detecting heat radiation). In contrast, thermal imaging by means of an infrared (IR) camera provides a real-time, holistic image. Here we provide some background on IR cameras and their uses in education, and summarize five qualitative investigations that we have used in our courses.

Critical thinking in national tests across four subjects in Swedish compulsory school

ABSTRACT Critical thinking is brought to the fore as a central competence in today’s society and in school curricula, but what may be emphasised as a general skill may also differ across school subjects. Using a mixed methods approach we identify general formulations regarding critical thinking in the Swedish curriculum of school year nine and seven more subject-specific categories of critical thinking in the syllabi and national tests in history, physics, mathematics and Swedish. By analysing 76 individual students’ critical thinking as expressed in national tests we find that a student that thinks critically in one subjects does not necessarily do so in other subjects. We find that students’ grades in different subjects are closely linked to their abilities to answer questions designed to test critical thinking in the subjects. We also find that the same formulations of critical thinking in two subjects may mean very different things when translated into assessments. Our findings suggest that critical thinking among students comprise different, subject-specific skills. The complexity of our findings highlights a need for future research to help clarify to students and researchers what it means to think critically in school.

University physics students’ ideas of thermal radiation expressed in open laboratory activities using infrared cameras

Abstract Background: University physics students were engaged in open-ended thermodynamics laboratory activities with a focus on understanding a chosen phenomenon or the principle of laboratory apparatus, such as thermal radiation and a heat pump. Students had access to handheld infrared (IR) cameras for their investigations. Purpose: The purpose of the research was to explore students’ interactions with reformed thermodynamics laboratory activities. It was guided by the research question: How do university physics students make use of IR cameras in open-ended investigation of thermal radiation as a phenomenon? Sample: The study was conducted with a class of first-year university physics students in Sweden. The interaction with the activities of four of the students was selected for analysis. The four students are males. Design and methods: We used a qualitative, interpretive approach to the study of students’ interaction. The primary means of data collection was video recording of students’ work with the laboratory activities and their subsequent presentations. The analysis focused on how IR cameras helped students notice phenomena relating to thermal radiation, with comparison to previous research on students’ conceptions of thermal radiation. Results: When using the IR camera, students attended to the reflection of thermal radiation on shiny surfaces, such as polished metals, windows or a whiteboard and emissive properties of surfaces of different types. In this way, they went beyond using the technology as a temperature probe. Students were able to discuss merits and shortcomings of IR cameras in comparison with digital thermometers. Conclusions: With the help of IR cameras, university physics students attend to thermal phenomena that would otherwise easily go unnoticed.