OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
Open search box
We discuss how the science practices of Developing and Using Models, Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking, Constructing Explanations, and Engaging in Argument from Evidence are supported in an upper-division electrostatics activity featuring multiple external representations. In this small-group activity, students considered the electric potential of two configurations of point charges. The students had access to a tabletop whiteboard, a pre-programmed Mathematica notebook, and a dry-erasable 3D plastic graph. For this analysis, we examine a subset of the science practices defined within the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and how using these multiple external representations influenced the science practices of a group of three students. We find that the whiteboard is well-suited for developing models and using mathematics, while the Mathematica notebook and plastic graph both facilitated constructing explanations and engaging in argument from evidence.
