Making sense of students' science: The construction of a model of tinkering

The science which students bring to the classroom has received a lot of research attention in recent years. These studies have focused on the investigation of children's conceptualisation of scientific phenomena. The present study brought a wider perspective by also seeking to describe the intuitive methods which students learn from their everyday experiences. The focus was on one method by which some students acquire their prior experiences, namely tinkering. Specifically, the nature of tinkering was explored within the context of one area of physical science, electricity. The findings therefore add a new dimension to our understanding of the science that students bring to the classroom. The results offer this clarification by proposing a model of tinkering.