RepTaL

Representations for Teachers as Learners (RepTaL): Teacher Cognition and Learning about Incorporating Science Representations in Elementary Classrooms

Joshua Danish 
Associate Professor and Program Coordinator 
Learning Sciences Program 
Indiana University

Cindy Hmelo-Silver
Barbara B. Jacobs Chair of Education and Technology 
Professor of Learning Sciences 
Indiana University   

Meredith Park Rogers  
Associate Professor of Science Education 
Center for P-16 Research and Collaboration  
Curriculum and Instruction 
Indiana University 

Dionne Cross Francis
Associate Professor of Mathematics Education 
Center for P-16 Research and Collaboration  
Curriculum and Instruction 
Indiana University  

Rob Goldstone
Chancellor's Professor
Psychological and Brain Sciences 
Indiana University 

Celeste Nicholas
Postdoctoral Associate in the Learning Sciences  
Center for Research on Technology and Learning 
Indiana University 

Noel Enyedy  
Professor of Science Education 
Department of Teaching and Learning 
Vanderbilt University  

Danielle Keifert  
Postdoctoral Scholar 
Department of Teaching and Learning 
Vanderbilt University

Jose Felipe Martinez 
Associate Professor in Social Research Methodology 
Graduate School of Education 
University of California, Los Angeles 

Maria Paz Fernandez  
PhD Student in Social Research Methodology  
Graduate School of Education  
University of California, Los Angeles

Xintian Tu
Graduate Student in Learning Sciences
IU School of Education

Nicholas, C., McClain, J., Park Rogers, M., & Danish, J. (2020). Elementary teachers' elicitation of students’ funds of knowledge to support science learning with representations. Poster presented at the International Conference on the Learning Sciences (ICLS). Nashville, TN.

Danish, J., Stiso, C., Nicholas, C., Hmelo-Silver, C., Park Rogers, M., and Cross Francis, D. (2020). What, how, and why do elementary teachers think about using representations in their science teaching? Paper presented at the International Conference on the Learning Sciences (ICLS). Nashville, TN.

Nicholas, C., Park Rogers, M., Danish, J., Hmelo-Silver, C., Zhong, Q., Stiso, C., Phillips, A., McClain, J., Gerber, A., (2020). Rural elementary teachers’ perceptions about incorporating representations into their science teaching. Paper presented at the National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST) International Conference. Portland, OR.

Danish, J., Nicholas, C., Hmelo-Silver, C., Park Rogers, M., Cross Francis, D., Enyedy, N., Keifert, D., and Stiso, C. (2020). What, how, and why do elementary teachers think about using representations in their science teaching? Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting. San Francisco, CA.

McClain, J., Pierce, E., Zhong, Q., and Zimmermann, K. (2020). “It's above me now”: Using representations to improve student engagement of earth and space in elementary classrooms. Workshop presented at Hoosier Association of Science Teachers (HASTI) Conference. Indianapolis, Indiana.

Park Rogers, M., Nicholas., C, Danish, J., Gerber, A., McClain, J., Phillips, A., Stiso, C., and Zhong, Q. (2020). Elementary teachers’ developing perceptions of the role of representations in teaching science. Paper presented at the Association for Science Teacher Education (ASTE) International Conference. San Antonio, TX.

Park Rogers, M., Danish, J., Nicholas, C., Cross Francis, D. Hmelo-Silver, C. (2019). Supporting teacher cognition and instruction of science representations in elementary classrooms: A peek into the first year of a multi-year program. Poster presented at the Association for Science Teacher Education (ASTE) International Conference. Savannah, GA.

McClain, J., Nicholas, C., Zimmermann, K., Pierce, E., Danish, J., & Zhong, Q. (2022). Observing the Unobservable. Science and Children, 60(2).

Danish, J., Johnson, H.J., Nicholas, C., Francis, D. C., Hmelo-Silver, C., Rogers, M. P., Askew, R., Gerber, A., & Enyedy, N. (2021). Situating video as context for teacher learning. Learning, Culture, and Social Interaction, 30, 100542.

The RepTaL team provides elementary teachers from rural southern Indiana and Nashville with professional learning around incorporating representations which addresses content, pedagogy, facilitation, and assessment. Teachers attenda summer professional development institute on representations and receive coaching during the school year. Video reflection tools also aid teachers in documenting and reflecting upon their learning process. As we work collaboratively with teachers, we will document the processes through which teachers engage with new ideas about representations to better understand their cognition around how to work with representations, and how to engage with students in productive classroom interactions that leverage representations within science inquiry.

For more information, please visit: www.reptalproject.org

This work is supported by the James S. McDonnell Foundation. JSMF Grant #: 220020521

The RepTaL project supports elementary teachers in using representations (drawings, pictures, graphs, and other forms) during their science lessons. Although representations are a foundation of science literacy, they can be challenging to use effectively and for students to interpret meaningfully. The project examines two key interrelated dimensions to teachers’ knowledge of representations in science: 1) an understanding of representations and their value in learning concepts, and 2) the ability to support productive use of representations within classroom conversations, and facilitate discussions which help students see representations as part of their scientific practices. To address these dimensions, the RepTaL project works with practicing teachers to identify their existing practices and challenges they face in incorporating representations in their science classrooms. We work iteratively with teachers to explore new ideas from the cognitive and learning sciences, introduce those ideas in their own classrooms, document their teaching practices, reflect upon their practices and those of their peers, and develop new practices.