Leveraging Uncertainty as a Means of Facilitating Sensemaking Within a Digital Wildfire Curriculum.
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| Title: | Leveraging Uncertainty as a Means of Facilitating Sensemaking Within a Digital Wildfire Curriculum. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Conrath, Brandin1 (AUTHOR) conrathb@vcu.edu, Farris, Amy Voss2 (AUTHOR) amy@psu.edu, McDonald, Scott2 (AUTHOR) sum16@psu.edu |
| Source: | Journal of Science Education & Technology. Jun2025, Vol. 34 Issue 3, p550-564. 15p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Seventh grade (Education), *Science teachers, Meteorological charts, Climatology, Wildfire risk |
| Abstract: | The changing landscape of geoscience learning has initiated growing interest in engaging science learners with climate data. One approach to teaching climate is the application of broadly accessible digital science curricula, which often include data tools such as visualizations, data representations, and simulations embedded within digital science curricula. We are specifically interested in how students and teachers grapple with scientific uncertainty in digital curricula. Our paper therefore examines how a 7th grade science class and their teacher leverage moments of uncertainty in their work within a digital geohazard curriculum to learn about wildfire risk and impact. We analyzed episodes of learners' interactions, and those included scientific uncertainty related to key ideas about wildfires. We also attend to how the teacher orchestrates across class members' ideas and the representations they were using. Our findings suggest that the digital curriculum elicited important sensemaking about wildfires and climate, including the interpretation of trends (Episode 1), working with simulations as a means of scientific investigation (Episode 2), and making meaning across disparate climate maps (Episode 3). Importantly, our analysis highlights the imperative work of the teacher in creating and leveraging productive sensemaking around the climate representations and simulations, yet outside of the predetermined curriculum. Our findings illustrate that maximizing students' learning about climate in digital science curricula demands attention beyond teachers' ad hoc adaptation, and rather, the intentional design of tools that support sensemaking about uncertainty as a dialogic process that is negotiated in response to students' ideas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Journal of Science Education & Technology is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
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| Header | DbId: ehh DbLabel: Education Research Complete An: 185281144 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Leveraging Uncertainty as a Means of Facilitating Sensemaking Within a Digital Wildfire Curriculum. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Conrath%2C+Brandin%22">Conrath, Brandin</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> conrathb@vcu.edu</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Farris%2C+Amy+Voss%22">Farris, Amy Voss</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> amy@psu.edu</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22McDonald%2C+Scott%22">McDonald, Scott</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> sum16@psu.edu</i> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Science+Education+%26+Technology%22">Journal of Science Education & Technology</searchLink>. Jun2025, Vol. 34 Issue 3, p550-564. 15p. – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Seventh+grade+%28Education%29%22">Seventh grade (Education)</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Science+teachers%22">Science teachers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Meteorological+charts%22">Meteorological charts</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Climatology%22">Climatology</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Wildfire+risk%22">Wildfire risk</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: The changing landscape of geoscience learning has initiated growing interest in engaging science learners with climate data. One approach to teaching climate is the application of broadly accessible digital science curricula, which often include data tools such as visualizations, data representations, and simulations embedded within digital science curricula. We are specifically interested in how students and teachers grapple with scientific uncertainty in digital curricula. Our paper therefore examines how a 7th grade science class and their teacher leverage moments of uncertainty in their work within a digital geohazard curriculum to learn about wildfire risk and impact. We analyzed episodes of learners' interactions, and those included scientific uncertainty related to key ideas about wildfires. We also attend to how the teacher orchestrates across class members' ideas and the representations they were using. Our findings suggest that the digital curriculum elicited important sensemaking about wildfires and climate, including the interpretation of trends (Episode 1), working with simulations as a means of scientific investigation (Episode 2), and making meaning across disparate climate maps (Episode 3). Importantly, our analysis highlights the imperative work of the teacher in creating and leveraging productive sensemaking around the climate representations and simulations, yet outside of the predetermined curriculum. Our findings illustrate that maximizing students' learning about climate in digital science curricula demands attention beyond teachers' ad hoc adaptation, and rather, the intentional design of tools that support sensemaking about uncertainty as a dialogic process that is negotiated in response to students' ideas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Science Education & Technology is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1007/s10956-024-10168-y Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 15 StartPage: 550 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Seventh grade (Education) Type: general – SubjectFull: Science teachers Type: general – SubjectFull: Meteorological charts Type: general – SubjectFull: Climatology Type: general – SubjectFull: Wildfire risk Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Leveraging Uncertainty as a Means of Facilitating Sensemaking Within a Digital Wildfire Curriculum. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Conrath, Brandin – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Farris, Amy Voss – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: McDonald, Scott IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 06 Text: Jun2025 Type: published Y: 2025 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 10590145 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 34 – Type: issue Value: 3 Titles: – TitleFull: Journal of Science Education & Technology Type: main |
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