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Language Interpretation and Meaning

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The Pedagogy of Physical Science

Part of the book series: Contemporary Trends and Issues in Science Education ((CTISE,volume 38))

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Abstract

A central concern in science pedagogy is that of addressing the issue of science making sense and having meaning for the learner. The mechanism and structure of how individuals access knowledge and construct meaning have formed the focus of research into the congruence of the learner’s interpretation of phenomena with that of scientific explanations. The problem of meaning, concerned with the communication of science knowledge in science education discourse, raises the central issue of language, and this has become increasingly significant in contemporary debate within science education research (see e.g. Carlsen 2007). In particular, socio-cultural theorists’ claims that learning science is a discursive process (Mercer et al. 2004) derived from the traditions of Vygotsky (1978) conceptualise language as a tool for reasoning. In this chapter, we explore this perspective in relation to the presentation of science knowledge in the science curriculum and examine the epistemological notions that both implicitly and explicitly underpin this. We offer exemplification from practice which questions the idea that through language, we can somehow access the world directly to determine what there really is ‘out there’. In challenging the perception that language is a tool that is applied to developing an understanding of concepts encountered in learning science, there is a subtle shift in emphasis from the idea that reality is ‘out there’ as phenomena reflected in language, towards a notion that reality is produced by language; an ontology compatible with a dialogic in which meaning is derived in discourse between teacher and learner and through peer group interaction.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Education, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, Didsbury, United Kingdom

    David Heywood & Joan Parker

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  1. David Heywood
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  2. Joan Parker
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Correspondence to David Heywood .

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Heywood, D., Parker, J. (2009). Language Interpretation and Meaning. In: The Pedagogy of Physical Science. Contemporary Trends and Issues in Science Education, vol 38. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-5271-2_5

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