“The point is, analogous terms are usually seen as more accessible, but sometimes they are not. Sometimes this worked, but sometimes it did not,” said Kwok. “For example, a participant might start off using a technical term, be met with confusion, and then resort to an analogous term. Participants used both technical and analogous language in their communication as they assessed each other’s understandings. In misdirection, shared meaning was never reached despite attempts to clarify. Rethinking includes an exchange between both participants in which it was necessary to introduce a new word or phrase to clarify and reach a new shared meaning. “In this way, we could study how participants primarily used language to reach shared meaning.”ĭuring this task, researchers found three categories for clarifying exchanges: confirmation, rethinking and misdirection.Ĭonfirmation involves participants asking a brief question in order to confirm an existing (and assumed to be shared) idea. In this task, participants were divided by a partition so they could not see what their partner was doing,” said Kwok. “We wanted participants to rely on oral communication and vocabulary. Students, preservice teachers and in-service teachers were asked to describe a randomly shaped object to another person who then had to draw that object based on the description they heard. Robert Capraro and Mary Margaret Capraro, Kwok and the research team worked within the AggieSTEM summer camps to test their research questions. “If we just say an object is ‘mirrored’ in geometry, mathematically what happens to the x-coordinates and y-coordinates of the object? Therefore, in order to build accurate conceptual knowledge, students need to be able to practice using and applying technical language, particularly because STEM communication relies on these precise meanings.” Research methods “Although analogous language can be used as a tool to introduce concepts in an easy to understand way, it is important to consider what precision and accuracy is lost,” said Kwok. When introducing a concept for the first time, teachers tend to rely on everyday words to describe or make analogies of the concept. The second complication is the technical language used when teaching STEM concepts. For example, the word ‘cell’ in biology carries a different meaning than ‘cell’ in computing,” said Kwok. “When we try to be very precise in our communication, an audience may interpret our message differently than originally intended, even when we are communicating within the same community, and in this case, the STEM disciplines. One is polysemy, or the existence of many possible meanings for a word or phrase. Kwok said communication within STEM contexts gets complicated for two primary reasons. Michelle Kwok, clinical assistant professor in the Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture, sought to find the key processes in reaching shared meaning in STEM contexts. However, reaching that shared meaning can be a difficult process.ĭr. Arguably, it is even more critical when it comes to STEM education. Reaching shared understanding is incredibly important, especially in education. Educational Administration & Human Resource Development.Shaping the Future Scholarship Brick Program.
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