Representational Classroom Practices that Contribute to Students’ Conceptual and Representational Understanding of Chemical Bonding

Understanding bonding is fundamental to success in chemistry. A number of alternative conceptions related to chemical bonding have been reported in the literature. Research suggests that many alternative conceptions held by chemistry students result from previous teaching; if teachers are explicit in the use of representations and explain their content-specific forms and functions, this might be avoided. The development of an understanding of and ability to use multiple representations is crucial to students’ understanding of chemical bonding. This paper draws on data from a larger study involving two Year 11 chemistry classes (n = 27, n = 22). It explores the contribution of explicit instruction about multiple representations to students’ understanding and representation of chemical bonding. The instructional strategies were documented using audio-recordings and the teacher-researcher’s reflection journal. Pre-test–post-test comparisons showed an improvement in conceptual understanding and representational competence. Analysis of the students’ texts provided further evidence of the students’ ability to use multiple representations to explain macroscopic phenomena on the molecular level. The findings suggest that explicit instruction about representational form and function contributes to the enhancement of representational competence and conceptual understanding of bonding in chemistry. However, the scaffolding strategies employed by the teacher play an important role in the learning process. This research has implications for professional development enhancing teachers’ approaches to these aspects of instruction around chemical bonding.     

Editorial

Ohne Zusammenfassung

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Editorial

     

Parent-child interaction as a dynamic contributor to learning and cognitive development in typical and atypical development / Influencia dinámica entre la interacción padre/madre-hijo y el aprendizaje y el desarrollo cognitivo en el desarrollo típico y atípico

Abstract

Converging evidence suggests that parent-infant interaction is one of the most crucial formative influences on child development. In neurodevelopmental disorders, however, different timings and trajectories of development may add a layer of difficulty to the existing challenges of dyadic interaction. The current study therefore set out to compare the specific aspects of dyadic interaction (i.e., responsiveness, directiveness, attentiveness, positive affect, liveliness, mutuality and engagement) between parent-infant dyads with Down syndrome, Williams syndrome and typical development. Video clips of parent-infant play interaction were rated using a validated tool, namely, the Social Interaction Measure for Parents and Infants. Significant effects emerged with respect to infant group on the quality of dyadic interaction, with the multiple comparison tests revealing differences between atypically and typically developing infant-parent dyads. The findings are discussed in relation to the effects of dyadic interaction on the linguistic and socio-cognitive development of atypical children.     

Comprehension and content: planning literacy in low socioeconomic and culturally diverse schools

This article defines comprehension as a pragmatic social and intellectual practice. It reviews literature on current approaches to reading instruction for linguistically and culturally diverse and low socioeconomic students, noting the current policy emphasis on the teaching of comprehension as autonomous skills and strategies. The Four Resources model (Freebody and Luke 1990) is used to frame comprehension instruction with an emphasis on student cultural and community knowledge, and substantive intellectual and sociocultural content in elementary and middle school curricula. Illustrations are drawn from research underway on the teaching of literacy in low socioeconomic schools.     

Academic self-concept and causal attributions for success and failure amongst elementary school children

A great deal of research shows that the way in which children attribute causes to their successes and failures in school has implications for the development of their academic self-concept (ASC). The most common attributions are ability, effort, task difficulty, and luck. The present study asked 68 elementary school children aged seven to eight years how they explained their successes and failures in school subjects. The aim of the study was to examine whether there were gender differences in the children’s responses which might indicate differences in ASCs or in their explanations for the causes of success or failure. Data were collected via quantitative questionnaires. Results showed no gender differences in ASC but, within the group, boys were more likely to attribute their success to high ability; on the other hand girls were more likely to attribute their failures to low ability or the difficulty level of task. This suggests that boys are more likely than girls to provide positive, self-enhancing reasons for their success while girls are more likely than boys to provide negative, self-deprecating reasons for their failures.     

Smart is who makes lots of errors? The relevance of adaptive reactions to errors and a positive error climate for academic achievement

Learning form errors seems to be crucial for talent development, but there is evidence that students learn little from their errors during school instruction. This work addressed the interplay of different adaptive reactions to errors (affective-motivational adaptive and action-related adaptive reactions), a positive error climate in the learning context and cognitive abilities with regard to their effect on academic achievement. A longitudinal data set with 2092 students attending 74 classes was analyzed with a two-level path modeling approach (students in classrooms). The results confirmed the assumption that affective-motivational adaptive reactions to errors encourage action-related adaptive reactions to errors which, in turn, foster academic achievement. Furthermore, analyzes indicated that the relationship between a positive error climate in the classroom and academic achievements is mediated by students’ individual reactions to errors. In contrast to expectations, students with higher cognitive abilities did not show more adaptive reactions to errors.