Pedagogical content knowledge in teaching metalinguistic awareness

Grammar teaching and the meaning of grammar in L1 education often inspires different arguments and opinions in Finland and abroad, whereas concrete, data-based researches on grammar teaching methods are rare. This research aims to extend existing knowledge about grammar teaching. Representing subject matter didactics, my research focuses on two teaching methods in grammar teaching: languaging and visualisations. The aim of the research is also to create theoretical understanding of what constitutes meaningful grammar teaching. This research follows an educational design research (EDR) strategy and features a theory-oriented point of view. The article-based dissertation consists of five articles. The first three focus on teaching experiments in class teacher education and the collection of information on student teachers conceptual knowledge of word classes and sentence constituents through languaging and visualisations. The fourth article discusses languaging and functional grammar teaching methods in the framework of subject matter didactics, teaching methods and teaching objectives. Finally, the fifth article studies the relationship between grammar teaching and literacy exercises in eighth-graders exam answers. This research examines what languaging exercises reveal about what students know and how they apply word classes and sentence constituents, what visualisation exercises tell about what students know regarding word classes and sentence constituents and how the use of a languaging approach and visualisation methods can be explained theoretically. The data examples demonstrate what students' languaging can reveal about their conceptual knowledge. This information on students' conceptual under-standing is combined with theoretical knowledge of learning concepts. The development of teaching methods is based on findings as to how students mix linguistic concepts, how definitions of concepts are reduced, how conceptual categories are incomplete or partial and how this affects problem solving. Even strategies that fail to solve problems are taken into account here. In theoretical phases of EDR, conceptual change theory, constructive alignment, meaningful learning, pedagogical content knowledge and learning objectives have strengthened the knowledge of plausible teaching methods. Applying conceptual change theory to the learning of linguistic concepts points out the meaning of ontological categories and categorical shifts. This research presents possibilities for languaging approach when it is used for conceptual learning and when teachers need information for planning and assessment. Visualisation method can provide teachers with the knowledge of how students understand categorical hierarchies and the dependencies between categories. I argue that, with languaging approach and visualisation methods, a teacher is able to assess and evaluate their students' conceptual, procedural and metacognitive knowledge. According to this research, meaningful grammar teaching is based on a) the use of teaching methods that acknowledge conceptual change and its effects on learning, b) exercises which are constructed and aligned to different dimensions of knowledge and cognitive processes, gives student feedback and c) learning objectives, which describe concepts related to complete categories and hierarchies.Kieliopin ja kielitiedon opetukseen ja sen merkitykseen liittyviä kysymyksiä ja näkökantoja on kotimaisessa ja kansainvälisessä tutkimuksessa käsitelty runsaasti, mutta konkreettisia esityksiä kielitiedon opetusmenetelmistä ei juuri ole. Äidinkielen ainedidaktiikan alueeseen kuuluvan tutkimukseni tavoitteena on kehittää kielitiedon opetukseen uusia opetusmenetelmiä ja samalla tuottaa teoreettista ymmärrystä siitä, miten kielitietoa opetetaan mielekkäästi. Tutkimus koostuu viidestä artikkelista, joista ensimmäiset kolme kohdistuvat opetusmenetelmäkokeiluihin luokanopettajaopiskelijoiden sanaluokkiin ja lauseenjäseniin liittyvän käsitetiedon selvittämisessä. Neljännessä artikkelissa tarkastellaan kielitiedon opetusmenetelmiä ainedidaktisessa kehyksessä, opetusmenetelmäkehyksessä ja tavoitteen asettelun näkökulmasta. Viidennessä artikkelissa analysoidaan kielentämismenetelmän yhdistämistä tekstitaitotehtävään 8.-luokkalaisten opetuksessa. Teoreettisesti orientoituneen opetuksenkehittämistutkimuksen aineistoesimerkit osoittavat, mitä opiskelijoiden kirjalliset kielentämis- ja visualisointivastaukset sanaluokkiin ja lauseenjäsentehtäviin voivat paljastaa opiskelijoiden käsitetiedosta. Aineistoanalyysien tuottama tieto opiskelijoiden käsitteiden hallinnan ongelmakohdista liitetään teoreettiseen tietoon käsitteiden oppimisesta. Opetusmenetelmien kehittämisen pohjaksi nousevat havainnot siitä, miten opiskelijat valjastavat arkikielen käsitteitä kielitieteellisiksi käsitteiksi, miten kielitieteellisten käsitteiden määritelmät pelkistyvät, miten käsitekategorioiden vaillinaisuus ja käsitteiden sekoittuminen vaikuttavat tehtävänratkaisuihin ja millaisia ovat tehtävien ratkaisustrategioiden heikkoudet. Opetuksenkehittämistutkimuksen syklien teoreettisessa vaiheessa käsitteellisen muutoksen teoria, opetuksen linjakkuus, mielekäs oppiminen, pedagoginen sisältötieto ja opetuksen tavoitetaksonomian tiedon ja tiedon prosessoinnin dimensiot ovat lisänneet ymmärrystä opetusmenetelmille asetettavista vaatimuksista. Käsitteellisen muutoksen teorian soveltaminen kielitieteellisten käsitteiden oppimiseen kiinnittää huomion ontologisiin kategorioihin, kategorioiden välisiin siirtymiin ja arki- ja metakielikäsitteiden eroihin. Tutkimus osoittaa kielentämismenetelmän mahdollisuudet käsitteellisen tiedon oppimiseen ja soveltamiseen sekä selvittää, kuinka menetelmä auttaa opettajaa opetuksen suunnittelussa ja arvioinnissa. Visualisointimenetelmän avulla opettaja saa selville, miten opiskelijat hahmottavat käsitteiden välisiä suhteita ja miten opetuksessa on huomioitava käsitekategorioiden sisäiset ja niiden väliset suhteet. Väitän, että kielentämis- ja visualisointimenetelmän avulla opettaja pystyy arvioimaan opiskelijoiden käsitetiedollista, menetelmätiedollista ja metakognitiivista tasoa. Tutkimukseni mukaan mielekäs kielitiedon opettaminen pohjautuu a) sellaisten opetusmenetelmien käyttöön, joissa ymmärretään käsitteellinen muutos ja sen vaikutus oppimiseen, b) sellaisiin oppimistehtäviin, joiden oppimistavoitteissa ymmärretään erilaiset tiedon lajit ja ajatteluprosessit ja joissa oppilas saa itselleen palautetta omasta osaamisestaan sekä haastaa oppilaan pohtimaan omaa osaamistaan, c) sellaisiin oppimistavoitteisiin, joissa opittavat kokonaisuudet esitetään laajoina kokonaisuuksina, suhteutettuna käsitehierarkioihin

O papel do desenho na construção de explicações científicas acerca de fenómenos da química: um estudo com alunos do 8.º ano

As atuais reformas na educação em ciência têm vindo a sublinhar a importância para a prática de construir explicações científicas. Quando envolvidos na construção de explicações científicas, os alunos são levados a raciocinar de forma mecanicista, ou seja, a raciocinar de forma sistemática sobre os fatores e relações subjacentes ao fenómeno a que dão origem e que permitem explicar como e porquê este ocorre. No entanto, na construção de explicações científicas acerca de fenómenos complexos, como os da química os alunos enfrentam desafios. Explicar fenómenos da química requer considerar entidades invisíveis como átomos e moléculas, que participam em complexos processos emergentes responsáveis pelo comportamento macroscópico do fenómeno. Um raciocínio complexo como este requer substancial apoio e prática. Considerando as características inerentes aos fenómenos da química que envolvem níveis escalares impossíveis de observar diretamente, as representações visuais e, em particular, as representações visuais criadas pelos alunos, e.g., a criação de desenhos, têm sido reconhecidas pelo teu potencial para apoiar os alunos a aprender em química. Com efeito, esta tese tem como objetivo conhecer de que forma a criação e uso de desenhos pode apoiar a construção de explicações científicas relacionadas com os fenómenos da química. Com esse objetivo foram desenvolvidos três estudos. O primeiro estudo teve como objetivo desenvolver um sistema de análise para caraterizar as explicações dos alunos e conhecer a natureza das explicações que alunos do 8.º ano constroem. O segundo estudo teve como objetivo examinar o progresso dos desenhos e explicações dos alunos após a implementação de uma estratégia didática com base na criação de desenhos para apoiar a construção de explicações científicas. O terceiro estudo teve como objetivo compreender como o raciocínio mecanicista dos alunos, necessário à construção de explicações, emerge e é concretizado quando envolvidos na criação conjunta de desenhos, bem como explorar o papel do desenho para estabelecer e moldar as interações sócio-cognitivas que ocorrem em torno da criação de desenhos. Os principais resultados destes estudos mostraram que inicialmente as explicações dos alunos tendem a ser superficiais e incompletas, i.e., descrevem o que acontece, mas não relatam ou relatam de forma incompleta e fragmentada os mecanismos pelos quais acontecem. Contudo, quando envolvidos numa estratégia com base na criação e uso de desenhos para apoiar a construção de explicações científicas, as explicações incompletas dos alunos evoluem para relatos mais coerentes e mecanismos mais completos. Adicionalmente, ao explorar o papel do desenho através de uma micro-análise multimodal, mostraram-se algumas das formas únicas como o desenho pode apoiar a construção de explicações científicas. O desenho funcionou i) como "porta-de-entrada" para os alunos raciocinarem de forma mecanicista sobre um fenómeno que tentam explicar e na concretização desta forma de pensar; e ii) como facilitador de processos colaborativos, ajudando a estabelecer um verdadeiro espaço de ação compartilhado, e permitindo o raciocínio coletivo em ação, facilitando a comunicação. Conclui-se com a posição de que criar um desenho é um processo que se estende para lá do ato de criar uma ferramenta para pensar e comunicar. É, assim, o ato de pensar e comunicar em si mesmo; e deve ser estudado e usado na sala de aula como tal.Current science education reform efforts have called for the practice of constructing scientific explanations. Through this practice, students engage in mechanistic reasoning, that is, in systematic reasoning about the underlying factors and relationships that give rise to a phenomenon to explain how and why it occurs. Constructing explanations for chemical phenomena presents particular challenges for students. Explaining a chemical phenomenon requires considering invisible entities, such as atoms and molecules, participating in complex emergent processes that are responsible for the macroscopic behaviour of the phenomenon. To achieve such complex reasoning, students must be provided with rather extensive support and practice. Considering the inherent features of chemistry, dealing with scales that are impossible to see, visual representations and, in particular, student-created visual representations, e.g., drawing, have been recognised as a way to support learning in chemistry. Thus, this dissertation aimed to understand the role that drawing plays to support students’ explanations. With this aim in mind, three studies were developed. The first study aimed to develop a system of analysis to characterise students’ explanations and to know the nature of the 8th-grade students’ explanations. The second study aimed to examine the progress of student’s drawings and explanations, subsequent to being involved in an instructional strategy that explicitly uses drawing as tool to support the construction of scientific explanations. The third study aimed to understand how students' mechanistic reasoning emerges and it is enacted when students are jointly engage in drawing creation, as well as to explore the role that drawing plays in establishing and shaping the socialcognitive interaction among students. The main results revealed that students' initial explanations tend to be superficial and incomplete accounts—accounts describing what happens without providing a mechanism for how and why it happens or providing an incomplete mechanism. However, students’ incomplete explanations evolved into more coherent and complete accounts when involved in creating and using drawings to support the construction of their explanations. Additionally, by exploring the role of drawing through a multimodal microanalysis, some of the distinct ways that drawing supports students’ mechanist reasoning and explanations were shown. These ways were, i) drawing provides a doorway to mechanistic reasoning and to enact this way of reasoning about the phenomenon under explanation; ii) drawing facilitates collaborative processes, specifically helping to establish a genuine shared-action space and enabling collective reasoning-in-action and by simplifying communication.This dissertation demonstrates the importance of encouraging the practice of explanation construction and mechanistic reasoning and the role of drawing to help students succeed in this practice. To conclude, it is argued that drawing is not an act ( of creating a tool) that helps to think or communicate, it is rather an act of thinking and communication in itself, and must be studied and used as such