Students' Energy Understanding across Biology, Chemistry, and Physics Contexts

Autor/inn/en	Opitz, S. T.; Neumann, K.; Bernholt, S.; Harms, U.
Titel	Students' Energy Understanding across Biology, Chemistry, and Physics Contexts
Quelle	In: Research in Science Education, 49 (2019) 2, S.521-541 (21 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0157-244X
DOI	10.1007/s11165-017-9632-4
Schlagwörter	Energy; Scientific Concepts; Biology; Chemistry; Physics; Interdisciplinary Approach; Secondary School Students; Comprehension; Student Development; Grade 6; Grade 8; Grade 10; Concept Formation; Difficulty Level + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Energie; Biologie; Chemie; Physik; Fächerübergreifender Unterricht; Fächerverbindender Unterricht; Interdisziplinarität; Sekundarschüler; Verstehen; Verständnis; School year 06; 6. Schuljahr; Schuljahr 06; School year 08; 8. Schuljahr; Schuljahr 08; Concept learning; Begriffsbildung; Schwierigkeitsgrad
Abstract	Energy is considered both as a disciplinary core idea and as a concept cutting across science disciplines. Most previous approaches studied progressing energy understanding in specific disciplinary contexts, while disregarding the relation of understanding across them. Hence, this study provides a systematic analysis of cross-disciplinary energy learning. On the basis of a cross-sectional study with n = 742 students from grades 6, 8, and 10, we analyze students' progression in understanding energy across biology, chemistry, and physics contexts. The study is guided by three hypothetical scenarios that describe how the connection between energy understanding in the three disciplinary contexts changes across grade levels. These scenarios are compared using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The results suggest that, from grade 6 to grade 10, energy understanding in the three disciplinary contexts is highly interrelated, thus indicating a parallel progression of energy understanding in the three disciplinary contexts. In our study, students from grade 6 onwards appeared to have few problems to apply one energy understanding across the three disciplinary contexts. These findings were unexpected, as previous research concluded that students likely face difficulties in connecting energy learning across disciplinary boundaries. Potential reasons for these results and the characteristics of the observed cross-disciplinary energy understanding are discussed in the light of earlier findings and implications for future research, and the teaching of energy as a core idea and a crosscutting concept are addressed. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-348-4505; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://link.springer.com/
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01