“Wow, It Turned Out Red! First, a Little Yellow, and Then Red!” 1st-Graders’ Work With an Infrared Camera

ABSTRACT

This study focuses on investigating how students make use of their bodily experiences in combination with infrared (IR) cameras, as a way to make meaning in learning about heat, temperature, and friction. A class of 20 primary students (age 7–8 years), divided into three groups, took part in three IR camera laboratory experiments. The qualitative analysis focuses on one group of students (n = 9) based on audio recordings and field notes that were taken by the teacher during one lesson as well as during a follow-up group interview. Findings include that students manage to conceptualize heat as a process, and using the IR camera serves as a shared point of attention in visual and verbal communication. In conclusion, the study shows how students make use of different resources, in combination with and without the IR camera, as a way to make meaning of the physical concepts of heat, temperature, and friction.

KEYWORDS:

• Embodied cognition
• heat camera
• primary education
• science education

Acknowledgment

The authors thank Konrad Shönborn for his helpful comments in general and his comments in relation to grammar and phrasing in particular.

Notes

1. In the case of a metonymy the relation between two domains is X stands for Y; whereas in a metaphor, X is understood as the conceptual relation to Y. For example, “according to the White House” … is meant to be interpreted as “according to the president” and, hence, this is the case for a metonymy where “White House” is just a stand-in for the “president.”