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Toward Ontological Alignment: Coordinating Student Ideas with the Representational System of a Computational Modeling Unit for Science Learning.

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Bibliographic Details
Title: Toward Ontological Alignment: Coordinating Student Ideas with the Representational System of a Computational Modeling Unit for Science Learning.
Authors: Wagh, Aditi1 (AUTHOR) awagh@mit.edu, Rosenbaum, Leah F.2 (AUTHOR), Fuhrmann, Tamar2 (AUTHOR), Eloy, Adelmo2 (AUTHOR), Blikstein, Paulo2 (AUTHOR), Wilkerson, Michelle3 (AUTHOR)
Source: Cognition & Instruction. Jan-Jun2025, Vol. 43 Issue 1/2, p1-32. 32p.
Subject Terms: *Science teachers, *Learning goals, *Middle schools, Conceptual models, Scientific models
Abstract: Computational modeling tools present unique opportunities and challenges for student learning. Each tool has a representational system that impacts the kinds of explorations students engage in. Inquiry aligned with a tool's representational system can support more productive engagement toward target learning goals. However, little research has examined how teachers can make visible the ways students' ideas about a phenomenon can be expressed and explored within a tool's representational system. In this paper, we elaborate on the construct of ontological alignment—that is, identifying and leveraging points of resonance between students' existing ideas and the representational system of a tool. Using interaction analysis, we identify alignment practices adopted by a science teacher and her students in a computational agent-based modeling unit. Specifically, we describe three practices: (1) Elevating student ideas relevant to the tool's representational system; (2) Exploring and testing links between students' conceptual and computational models; and (3) Drawing on evidence resonant with the tool's representational system to differentiate between theories. Finally, we discuss the pedagogical value of ontological alignment as a way to leverage students' ideas in alignment with a tool's representational system and suggest the presented practices as exemplary ways to support students' computational modeling for science learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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Database: Education Research Complete
Description
Abstract:Computational modeling tools present unique opportunities and challenges for student learning. Each tool has a representational system that impacts the kinds of explorations students engage in. Inquiry aligned with a tool's representational system can support more productive engagement toward target learning goals. However, little research has examined how teachers can make visible the ways students' ideas about a phenomenon can be expressed and explored within a tool's representational system. In this paper, we elaborate on the construct of ontological alignment—that is, identifying and leveraging points of resonance between students' existing ideas and the representational system of a tool. Using interaction analysis, we identify alignment practices adopted by a science teacher and her students in a computational agent-based modeling unit. Specifically, we describe three practices: (1) Elevating student ideas relevant to the tool's representational system; (2) Exploring and testing links between students' conceptual and computational models; and (3) Drawing on evidence resonant with the tool's representational system to differentiate between theories. Finally, we discuss the pedagogical value of ontological alignment as a way to leverage students' ideas in alignment with a tool's representational system and suggest the presented practices as exemplary ways to support students' computational modeling for science learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:07370008
DOI:10.1080/07370008.2024.2427400