Building Learning Communities 2013

Children learn by exploring their world through everyday activities and developing intuitive understandings. Testing representations using data collection helps us learn about temperature preconceptions. Concepts involving temperature and heat are among the phenomena children experience most frequently, yet they are all but ignored in early elementary education because of their abstract and invisible nature. Sensing Science uses existing surface temperature sensors and infrared devices in conjunction with a computer, enabling K-2 students to interact with their assumptions, record and replay their actions and reflect on their archived data. Using sensors, models, drawings, and other representations make it possible for children to explore their world, investigating the widest possible range of scenarios throughout the classroom, on the playground and elsewhere. We closely observed students' actions and actively elicited spontaneous ideas in order to test and revise assumptions about common preconceptions regarding temperature and heat. Based these preconceptions we designed visualizations and explorations. As part of a National Science Foundation grant, initial design tests took place in Littleton Public Schools (MA) during the first year. The materials were tested with two classrooms in each grade K-2 during the first year.