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Teaching Science Through Pictorial Models During Read-Alouds

  • Published:
Journal of Science Teacher Education

Abstract

This study examines how three elementary teachers refer to pictorial models (photographs, drawings, and cartoons) during science read-alouds. While one teacher used realistic photographs for the purpose of visually verifying facts about crystals, another employed analytical diagrams as heuristic tools to help students visualize complex target systems (rainbow formation and human eye functioning). Another teacher used fictional cartoons to engage students in analogical storytelling, communicating animal camouflage as analogous to human “blending in.” However, teachers did not always explicitly convey the representational nature of pictorial models (analog and target as separate entities). It is argued that teachers need to become more aware of how they refer to pictorial models in children’s science books and how to promote student visual literacy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Educational Theory and Practice Department, State University of New York, 1400 Washington Ave., ED 113B, Albany, NY, 12222, USA

    Alandeom W. Oliveira, Seema Rivera, Rory Glass, Michael Mastroianni, Francine Wizner & Vincent Amodeo

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  1. Alandeom W. Oliveira
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  2. Seema Rivera
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  3. Rory Glass
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  4. Michael Mastroianni
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  5. Francine Wizner
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  6. Vincent Amodeo
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alandeom W. Oliveira.

Appendix: Transcription Conventions

Appendix: Transcription Conventions

The following notation is adopted in all transcripts excerpts included in the present manuscript:

?:

indicates rising intonations

.:

indicates falling intonations

[]:

indicates observer comments

Underscore :

indicates key linguistic features of the provided excerpts

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Oliveira, A.W., Rivera, S., Glass, R. et al. Teaching Science Through Pictorial Models During Read-Alouds. J Sci Teacher Educ 24, 367–389 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10972-012-9289-9

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