Communication Concepts for science process or skill
Initial perceptual naive misconceptions (any age)
Misconceptions
Beginning (preschool - 7 years)
Concepts
- Communication helps us learn from other people.
- Pictures can be used to represent objects and events.
- Communication helps us explain evidence and reasoning to each other.
- Communication requires a message being sent and received.
- Information can be communicated in many different ways each of which have advantages and disadvantages.
- Objects can be described and compared by properties.
- Before and after pictures can be used to represent change.
Intermediate (7 years - 11 years)
Concepts
- Clear communication gives other people information about your discoveries and ideas.
- Explanations are better when specific evidence is provided.
- Communication allows other people to agree or disagree with a person's findings.
- People have always tried to communicate with one another.
- People have invented devices to communicate (paper, ink, radio, telephone, telecommunications, computer disks) Errors can occur when communicating.
- Repeating messages is a way to avoid miscommunication.
- Directions can be written so other people can try procedures.
- Sketches can be used to explain procedures, events, or ideas to the creator and other people.
- Numerical data can be used to describe and compare objects and events to the creator and other people.
- Tables and charts can be used to represent objects and events.
- Graphs can be used to identify relationships.
Literate (11+)
Concepts
- Accurate data keeping and openness are essential to assure an investigator's credibility.
- Messages can be carried by many different media (light, electricity, sound, objects, glass fibers).
- The ability to code messages has allowed faster communication.
- Graphs can be used to recognize, represent and predict future relationships to the creator and other people.
- Other kinds of tables, matrices, diagrams, webs, symbols, maps can be used to interpret and communicate information.
- Regular and polar coordinates can be used to locate objects.
Dr. Robert Sweetland's notes
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