In the last few decades, there has been growing attention to situated or distributed perspectives on learning and cognition. The purpose of this study was to examine science learning in classroom settings through the lens of distributed cognition. A particular focus of this study was on the public space of interaction that includes participants' interactions with each other and with artefacts in the environment. / Focusing on the event of student experiment design, two science lessons were videotaped in this study, in which a class of Grade-seven participants was asked to investigate the scientific theme of gravity by designing parachutes and pendulums. The video-stimulated post-lesson interviews with both teacher and student provided complementary data in order to understand their practice in these lessons. / The analysis of two science lessons reveals the different functions of language, gestures, and material objects and their relative significance in the process of student meaning making and knowledge construction. It shows that (1) the language of science is best understood as an artefact employed by the participants to achieve mutual understanding; (2) gestures and other forms of non-verbal acts build the connections between the conceptual and the physical worlds, and provided perceptual resources that foregrounded the salient aspects of their environment; and (3) material objects helped the students to understand each other by disambiguating references to objects, but (4) material objects constrained student sense-making. The analysis also demonstrated that (5) the learning activity was enacted through the participants' deployment of a range of artefacts, and (6) the manipulation of conceptual artefacts was interdependent of the manipulation of material objects. / Building on the theoretical framework of distributed cognition, this study was able to document the students' learning processes by investigating classroom interactions in great detail. The findings and techniques resulting from this study will help teachers and researchers to achieve a better understanding of science learning in classrooms and the role of artefacts in this learning and assist them to improve the learning environments.

The current study assessed children’s ideas on light and optics using a cross-sectional design. Given current literature and theory within cognitive psychology, history of science and science education, it was expected that (i) older children would be more likely than younger children to have a modern scientific understanding of light concepts; (ii) for many of the light concepts, there would be a parallel between the pattern of progression and change in children’s conceptions of light and scientists’ conceptions of light throughout history, and, finally; (iii) employing a historical lens would allow for a better understanding of not only the age-related patterns in children’s ideas of light but also children’s age specific alternative conceptions of light. A Light Core Concepts Questionnaire (LCCQ) was administered to participants (N=757) from across a wide age group (6 to 12 years). The participants were representative of ethnic groups attending a range of primary schools situated in a large New Zealand city. None of the participants had received classroom instruction in light and optics. The verbally delivered LCCQ was used to elicit children’s responses about prerequisite concepts necessary for a scientific understanding of the physics of light and employed two-choice, multi-choice and open-ended questions. Some questions were specifically designed to compare children’s conceptual understanding on light and optics with ideas adopted throughout the history of science. The results of the current research found that with increasing age (6 to 12 years old) children’s modern scientific understanding for many concepts on the physics of light increases. In comparison with other research, a higher proportion of children participating in the current study held correct views at younger ages. On easily observable phenomena, children as young as 7 years could identify common light sources and knew that some objects are reflectors of light. By age 12, the majority of children could correctly identify more abstract concepts such as what causes colours in rainbows. Results of the present research indicate there is a parallel between the age-related patterns of children’s ideas on light and the historical progression of scientific knowledge of the physics of light. With regard to light and vision, both early scientists and children held a similar range of alternative beliefs, that is, extramission, intromission or Eastern Islamic theories. Similar beliefs were shared about other concepts that were accepted as true theories in the history of science. For example, colour is the property of the object and when an object is placed in water it becomes distorted because water is less perfect than air. The results indicate that the pattern of alternative conceptions held by children as they relate to history provides further understanding of why there are differences in children’s beliefs about light and optics across age groups. For more difficult concepts, children and early scientists initially formulate similar theories based on their observations and what appears to be commonsense. As they reconceptualise their ideas, children and scientists formulate similar more abstract theories. In addition to discussing the value of the history of science as a lens to better understand children’s conceptions, the implications of these results are discussed as they relate to specific kinds of interventions or instructional approaches to elicit successful conceptual change in the classroom.

The research for this thesis was born of a desire to understand how a student's cultural background might influence the outcomes of science education. Of particular interest to me was the apparent paucity of academic achievement by many indigenous students as they study science through Western style schools and curricula, resulting in what I have termed 'educational alienation', which is evidenced by poor grades and slow rates of progression through the curriculum, and by some students displaying a high degree of antagonism toward the education system. 1 have sought to understand the causes of educational alienation by means of an interpretive inquiry based on a Grounded Theory methodology, using an Integrative Research Review as the primary means of data collection, supplemented by personal experience, data analysis and interview methods.The outcomes of the Grounded Research have caused me to re-think my understanding of culture and my tacit acceptance of conceptual change theory. Three distinct themes emerged as being significant to learning: Language Use, Traditional Beliefs and Life-world Knowledge. I have presented evidence suggesting that Language Use, Traditional Beliefs and Life-world Knowledge are largely subsumed within one's worldview, and that the term 'culture' lacks the specificity needed to explore the notion of educational alienation. I suggest that worldview is not only cultural, but is a dynamic belief system of the individual that is shaped by cultural forces and personal reflection, resulting in a reorganisation of knowledge throughout one's life. I propose that a constructivist view of learning and knowing presents us with a plausible explanation of worldview development and educational alienation, and I conclude with suggestions for further research and pedagogy that might develop the discourse and consequently improve the outcomes of science ++ / education for indigenous, non-Western students.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Georgia Southern University, 2007. / "A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Georgia Southern University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Education." In Curriculum Studies, under the direction of John A. Weaver. ETD. Electronic version approved: May 2007. Includes bibliographical references (p. 386-402) and appendices.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Melbourne, Dept. of Education Policy and Management, 2001. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 273-297).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2007. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-11, Section: A, page: 4528. Adviser: Linda C. Smith. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 191-205) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

Thesis (M.I.T.)--The Evergreen State College, 2009. / Title from title screen (viewed 7/15/2009). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 88-93).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, School of Education, 2008. / Title from home page (viewed on Jul 24, 2009). Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-11, Section: A, page: 4231. Advisers: David Flinders; Marilyn Irwin.

Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1988. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 59-67).

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1988. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 59-67). Also available in print.