DESIGN ARTIFACTS AS EXTERNALIZED MENTAL MODELS OF CHILDREN’S SCIENCE CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT

McGrail, Christine

Publication:
DESIGN ARTIFACTS AS EXTERNALIZED MENTAL MODELS OF CHILDREN’S SCIENCE CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT

dc.contributor.advisor	Martina Nieswandt
dc.contributor.advisor	Jeanne Brunner
dc.contributor.advisor	Michael Knodler
dc.contributor.advisor	Darrell Earnest
dc.contributor.advisor	Erik Cheries
dc.contributor.author	McGrail, Christine
dc.contributor.department	University of Massachusetts Amherst
dc.date	2024-03-28T16:27:58.000
dc.date.accessioned	2024-04-26T15:57:12Z
dc.date.available	2024-04-26T15:57:12Z
dc.date.submitted	September
dc.date.submitted	2022
dc.description.abstract	The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) calls for the integration of the practices of science and engineering across all science disciplines beginning in the early elementary grades. Science and engineering education research has determined that engineering design is a productive means for promoting understanding of science concepts. However, design artifacts created during engineering design problem-solving have not received sufficient attention for their potential to embody children’s science understanding. The aim of this study was to examine how conceptual development of the concepts of force and motion was instantiated in design artifacts by early elementary age children engaged in engineering design. Twenty-six children, ages 7-8, from 13 states across the United States engaged in the study from their homes. Design artifacts were considered externalized mental models with evidence of conceptual development evaluated according to the type and number of perceptual dimensions present. It was determined that the artifact could have eight possible perceptual dimensions and the addition of perceptual dimensions was considered evidence of conceptual development. Results indicate that children developed mental models ranging from 2-8-dimensions, with 23 participants (88%) adding dimensions to their mental models during the engineering activity. Video-stimulated prompted recall (VSR) interviews were used to corroborate conceptual development viewed through the design artifact, with all participants able to corroborate or partially corroborate their mental model changes. VSR was instrumental in engaging participants in the metacognitive process of reflection, a known mechanism of promoting conceptual development, which is underutilized with young children. VSR assisted some children in overcoming obstacles in problem-solving. Results are specific to the cotton ball launcher and further study is needed to improve generalizability to other engineering design tasks pertaining to force and motion.
dc.description.degree	Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
dc.description.department	Education
dc.identifier.doi	https://doi.org/10.7275/30919887
dc.identifier.orcid	https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4766-4889
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14394/19030
dc.relation.url	https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3743&context=dissertations_2&unstamped=1
dc.source.status	published
dc.subject	science education
dc.subject	engineering design
dc.subject	concept development
dc.subject	young children
dc.subject	mental models
dc.subject	force and motion
dc.subject	Engineering Education
dc.subject	Science and Mathematics Education
dc.title	DESIGN ARTIFACTS AS EXTERNALIZED MENTAL MODELS OF CHILDREN’S SCIENCE CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT
dc.type	openaccess
dc.type	article
dc.type	dissertation
digcom.contributor.author	isAuthorOfPublication\|email:mcgrailcm@gmail.com\|institution:University of Massachusetts Amherst\|McGrail, Christine
digcom.identifier	dissertations_2/2675
digcom.identifier.contextkey	30919887
digcom.identifier.submissionpath	dissertations_2/2675
dspace.entity.type	Publication