Science teachers use a large number of visual representations and models in science classes to guide students to understand complex phenomena and to learn to conduct scientific inquiry. Fluent formation and use of visual representation involves metavisualization, which is a process related to metacognition and visualization. However, what kinds of…

Research has indicated the importance of representational competence for learning science. Issues related to the nature of students' representational competence, such as how they demonstrate representational competence across different domains of science, require investigation. In the present study, four aspects of representational competence…

In this study, we investigated how students used a drawing tool to visualize their ideas of chemical reaction processes. We interviewed 30 students using thinking-aloud and retrospective methods and provided them with a drawing tool. We identified four types of connections the students made as they used the tool: drawing on existing knowledge,…

The purpose of this study is to investigate how three teachers guided their students to learn science using interactive dynamic visualizations incorporated in an inquiry digital unit. The results show that the teachers' guidance varied in frequency, occasion, and content type. Each teacher demonstrated a different instructional approach in…

Efforts to make effective use of technology offer a promising direction for science education research. In this study, we investigated how a teacher and students used an inquiry-based, visualization-focused chemistry unit. The chemistry unit was designed for American students and takes advantage of dynamic, interactive computer visualizations.…

Dynamic visualisations capture aspects of scientific phenomena that are difficult to communicate in static materials and benefit from well-designed scaffolds to succeed in classrooms. We review research to clarify the impacts of dynamic visualisations and to identify instructional scaffolds that mediate their success. We use meta-analysis to…