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Communication Concepts for science process or skill

Initial perceptual naive misconceptions (any age)

Misconceptions (Explanations, Naive understanding, Misconceptions, or Perceptual responses)

Beginning (preschool - 7 years)

Concepts

  1. Communication helps us learn from other people.
  2. Pictures can be used to represent objects and events.
  3. Communication helps us explain evidence and reasoning to each other.
  4. Communication requires a message being sent and received.
  5. Information can be communicated in many different ways each of which have advantages and disadvantages.
  6. Objects can be described and compared by properties.
  7. Before and after pictures can be used to represent change.

Intermediate (7 years - 11 years)

Concepts

  1. Clear communication gives other people information about your discoveries and ideas.
  2. Explanations are better when specific evidence is provided.
  3. Communication allows other people to agree or disagree with a person's findings.
  4. People have always tried to communicate with one another.
  5. People have invented devices to communicate (paper, ink, radio, telephone, telecommunications, computer disks) Errors can occur when communicating.
  6. Repeating messages is a way to avoid miscommunication.
  7. Directions can be written so other people can try procedures.
  8. Sketches can be used to explain procedures, events, or ideas to the creator and other people.
  9. Numerical data can be used to describe and compare objects and events to the creator and other people.
  10. Tables and charts can be used to represent objects and events.
  11. Graphs can be used to identify relationships.

     

Literate (11+)

Concepts

  1. Accurate data keeping and openness are essential to assure an investigator's credibility.
  2. Messages can be carried by many different media (light, electricity, sound, objects, glass fibers).
  3. The ability to code messages has allowed faster communication.
  4. Graphs can be used to recognize, represent and predict future relationships to the creator and other people.
  5. Other kinds of tables, matrices, diagrams, webs, symbols, maps can be used to interpret and communicate information.
  6. Regular and polar coordinates can be used to locate objects.

 

Dr. Robert Sweetland's notes
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