Semiotic Approaches in Science Didactics

Description

The sciences are, in essence, highly semiotized. Our ways of thinking and communicating about science are based on permanent transformations from one system of signs to another, such as scriptural, graphic, symbolic, oral and gestural signs. The semiotic focus studied in this book makes it possible to grasp part of the complexity of teaching and learning phenomena by focusing on the variety of possible interpretations of the signs that circulate within the science classroom. Semiotic Approaches in Science Didactics brings together contributions from didactic research involving various disciplines such as mathematics, chemistry, physics and geography, which mobilize different types of semiotic support. It offers the key to understanding and even reducing some of the misunderstandings that can arise between a speaker and a receiver in scientific teaching situations. Cover Title Page Copyright Page Contents Introduction Part 1. A Study of the Dynamics of the Development of Scientific Knowledge: Semiotic Opportunities Introduction to Part 1 Chapter 1. A Walk in Semiotics and Mathematics 1.1. A glance at semiotics 1.1.1. Ferdinand de Saussure 1.1.2. Charles Sanders Peirce 1.2. At the heart of mathematics, the symbolic 1.2.1. The epistemological life of the mathematical signs + and = 1.2.2. The evolution of signs, a driver for the invention of mathematics 1.3. The life of a basic sign in contexts 1.3.1. The = sign in a teaching context 1.3.2. The = sign in society 1.4. Semiotics and questions of teaching 1.4.1. Duval’s approach on semiotics and mathematics 1.4.2. Semiotics and geometry 1.4.3. Semiotics and numbers 1.4.4. And language in all this? 1.5. Conclusion 1.6. Appendix: the mystery writing in Figure 1.1 1.7. References Chapter 2. Semiotic Systems Specific to Chemistry and Their Learning 2.1. Introduction 2.2. The specific signs of chemistry 2.2.1. Diversity of chemical signs presented to students 2.2.2. A consideration of chemical signs using the “chemistry triplet” 2.2.3. Beyond the chemistry triplet 2.3. Didactical analysis framework: domains of knowledge in chemistry 2.3.1. The empirical register 2.3.2. The register of models 2.3.3. The communication of knowledge 2.4. Semiotic supports 2.4.1. Triadic semiotic relationship 2.4.2. Relation between the sign and the represented object 2.4.3. The meaning of a semiotic representation through the prism of its belonging to a semiotic system 2.4.4. Semiotic systems and cognitive activities 2.5. The challenges of learning some chemical signs 2.5.1. Chemical formulae and names 2.5.2. Spatial representations of molecules 2.5.3. Summary 2.6. Students’ understanding of names and formulae 2.6.1. A single sign for two objects: students’ difficulties 2.6.2. Interpretation by students of a molecular formula depending on the context 2.6.3. Summary 2.7. Students’ understanding of stereochemical formulae 2.7.1. Exploration of the cognitive function behind processing 2.7.2. Exploration of the cognitive function used in conversion between systems 2.7.3. Summary 2.8. Conclusion 2.9. References Part 2. The Semiotic Approach: Toward the Invention of New Forms of Didactic Intervention Introduction to Part 2 Chapter 3. Scientific Knowledge at the Mercy of the “BD” Comic Strip 3.1. Introduction 3.2. Science in comic strips: semiotic analysis of some strips by apprentice-authors 3.2.1. A device for scientific mediation: “BD-sciences” workshops 3.2.2. Science in the apprentice-authors’ strips: where? how? why? 3.3. Science in science comics for the “wider public”: some narrative-visual invariants 3.3.1. The text: a favorable space for scholarly pronouncements 3.3.2. The supernatural for micro-macro-scales 3.3.3. The unavoidability of personification 3.3.4. Metaphorical universes 3.3.5. Humor: a link between popularization and comics 3.4. Science comics at the mercy of the reader 3.4.1. Graphic and verbal signals to decode 3.4.2. Scientific fiction at work 3.4.3. Scientific knowledge is not always integrated 3.4.4. … but reading requires help 3.5. Conclusion 3.6. References Chapter 4. The Map at the Heart of Disciplinary Learning 4.1. Introduction 4.2. Cartography in the classroom: a complex learning challenge 4.2.1. The languages of maps 4.2.2. The map, the favored tool for educational geography 4.3. Toward a renewal of mapping practices? 4.3.1. Methodology for analyzing textbooks 4.3.2. [Should we use] the cartography of riddles to consider maps? 4.4. The sensitive map, a lever for renewing mapping 4.5. Conclusion 4.6. References Part 3. The Multimodal Semiotic Approach: A Look at Didactic Interactions and Cognitive Processes Introduction to Part 3 Chapter 5. Semiotic Modes and Models in Physics 5.1. An initial epistemological anchoring: modeling 5.1.1. An epistemological approach to physics 5.1.2. The constituent elements of modeling activities 5.1.3. Example: modeling the functioning of a flashlight 5.2. The second anchoring: semiotic representations 5.2.1. Definition of semiotic representations 5.2.2. Semiotic representations in physics 5.2.3. Example: from drawings to diagrams in electrokinetics 5.3. The contribution of gestures 5.3.1. Gestures as semiotic modes 5.3.2. Gestures for teaching electrokinetics 5.4. Articulation of modeling and semiotic representations within the epistemo-semiotic framework 5.4.1. Complementary activities 5.4.2. Implications for teaching and learning 5.5. Solving the problem of the principle of inertia at upper secondary school 5.5.1. Context of the study and research questions 5.5.2. A priori analysis of the situation 5.5.3. Analysis of students’ written productions 5.5.4. Analysis of interactions within a group of students 5.5.5. Summary of results 5.6. Conclusion 5.7. References Chapter 6. The Didactic Effects of Semiotic Microphenomena in Mathematics 6.1. Some foundations 6.1.1. Our vision of learning 6.1.2. Theoretical tools for semiotic analysis 6.1.3. Semiotic dissonance 6.2. Dissonance and interactions in a mainstream class 6.2.1. Presentation of the context, the data studied 6.2.2. Studying communication and regulation of the task 6.2.3. Noting semiotic dissonances on language 6.3. Dissonances and symbols in a class at a medical-education institute 6.3.1. Presentation of the context, the data studied 6.3.2. Semiotic dissonances and numbers 6.3.3. Semiotic dissonances and arithmetical writing 6.4. The table, a support for hidden complexity 6.4.1. A table for breaking numbers down into tens 6.4.2. A table for breaking down the numbers into hundreds 6.4.3. The table, an analytical aide for the researcher? 6.4.4. In sum: the table, a sign in itself 6.5. Conclusion 6.6. References Chapter 7. Body, Matter and Signs in the Constitution of Meaning in Mathematics 7.1. Introduction 7.2. Body, matter and thought 7.2.1. From Antiquity to the Middle Ages 7.2.2. Rationalism and empiricism in the 17th and 18th centuries 7.2.3. The body and the senses in contemporary research 7.3. The body and the historical emergence of algebraic symbolism 7.4. Sight, touch, orality and symbol 7.5. Conclusion 7.6. References Conclusion List of Authors Index EULA