• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.161-177
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• 2023

Scientific explanation is composed of various representations such as texts, diagrams, and graphs, and each representation contributes to expanding scientific meaning by connecting similar but slightly different meanings as a 'mode'. Based on this perspective of social semiotics, we aimed to identify the characteristics of meaning formation demonstrated in students' science writing (verbal mode) and science drawing (visual mode) and to discuss the pedagogical use of multimodal representations. To that end, 18 science drawings and 18 scientific writings constructed by science-gifted elementary students on air pressure were collected. The characteristics of the drawn and written explanations were then analyzed from the affordance perspective in social semiotics. In science drawing, students showed a tendency to use the affordance of the visual mode to infer concrete changes from the particle view, such as the movement of air particles, the number of air particles, and the collision of particles. In science writing, students used the affordance of the verbal mode mainly to infer the causal relationship between the concept of air pressure and other related factors at an abstract level. Based on those results, we discuss the educational implications and provide concrete examples of how to use the unique affordances of each form to complement one another.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.499-510
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• 2014

The purpose of this research is to understand interactive learning during docent-led tours in a science museum focusing on scaffolding. We developed a scaffolding framework by collating the work of other researchers in related fields. The results show that scaffolding included three dimensions: purpose, interaction, and domain. The purpose dimension, divided into six categories, is related to the intention of the scaffolder and what the scaffolding are for: strategic, social, procedural, conceptual, verbal, and metacognitive. The interaction dimension reflects students' interaction with the scaffolder in two ways: dynamic (situation specific) and static (planned in advance). The domain dimension is related to two contents: domain-general and domain-specific (such as science). The scaffolding framework was applied to dynamic interactions between docents and visitors. The data was collected from elementary school students' family visits with the guidance of two docents at the Seodaemun Museum of Natural History. The data collected consisted of surveys, interviews, video-recordings, and transcripts. The analysis shows that five guiding contexts and scaffolding phases were recognized; 1) strategic scaffolding in a poorly illustrated exhibit; 2) conceptual scaffolding in a thoroughly explanative exhibit; 3) verbal scaffolding in misleading interpretation; 4) procedural scaffolding in a manipulative exhibit; and 5) metacognitive scaffolding with inaccurate content. In addition, the results show that the docents used the dynamic and static scaffolding synthetically so that the docent-led tour was effective. In conclusion, this study presents the usefulness of understanding visitors' science learning through the scaffolding framework, as well as the how docents can scaffold actively.