TY - JOUR
T1 - Identifying aspects of complex and technological systems in the mental models of students who constructed computational models of electric circuits
AU - Saba, Janan
AU - Langbeheim, Elon
AU - Hel-Or, Hagit
AU - Levy, Sharona T.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 National Association for Research in Science Teaching.
PY - 2023/4/1
Y1 - 2023/4/1
N2 - Electricity, especially the flow of current, is a challenging topic for students of all ages. This study conceptualizes students' explanation of electric current as a cluster of knowledge elements. These clusters, in turn, represent students' mental models of electric circuits. Thus, this study aims to identify and characterize students' mental models of electric circuits and to determine, through these mental models, how the students' perception of electric circuits changed as they constructed and explored micro-level computational models. Using clustering methods, we identified five mental models, ranging between a naive technology perspective model and a more advanced complex systems perspective model. We employed a quasi-experimental, pretest-intervention-posttest-comparison-group design, comparing the mental model development of 33 students who constructed models of electric conductors using the Much.Matter.in.Motion (MMM) modeling platform, with that of 23 students who learned in a normative curriculum. Both groups completed identical pre- and posttest questionnaires, and three students from the experimental group were interviewed before and after the intervention. As expected, we found that students who learned by constructing computational models with the MMM platform exhibited greater shifts in the sophistication of their mental models compared with students who experienced the normative teaching approach.
AB - Electricity, especially the flow of current, is a challenging topic for students of all ages. This study conceptualizes students' explanation of electric current as a cluster of knowledge elements. These clusters, in turn, represent students' mental models of electric circuits. Thus, this study aims to identify and characterize students' mental models of electric circuits and to determine, through these mental models, how the students' perception of electric circuits changed as they constructed and explored micro-level computational models. Using clustering methods, we identified five mental models, ranging between a naive technology perspective model and a more advanced complex systems perspective model. We employed a quasi-experimental, pretest-intervention-posttest-comparison-group design, comparing the mental model development of 33 students who constructed models of electric conductors using the Much.Matter.in.Motion (MMM) modeling platform, with that of 23 students who learned in a normative curriculum. Both groups completed identical pre- and posttest questionnaires, and three students from the experimental group were interviewed before and after the intervention. As expected, we found that students who learned by constructing computational models with the MMM platform exhibited greater shifts in the sophistication of their mental models compared with students who experienced the normative teaching approach.
KW - Science Technology and Society (STS)
KW - pedagogical content knowledge
KW - problem solving
KW - science education
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85139070499&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/tea.21814
DO - 10.1002/tea.21814
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85139070499
SN - 0022-4308
VL - 60
SP - 681
EP - 723
JO - Journal of Research in Science Teaching
JF - Journal of Research in Science Teaching
IS - 4
ER -