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EXPLAINING SCIENCE IN THE CLASSROOM
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This impressive book. It is an example of that rare item a book
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complex scientific ideas, expressed in clear, simple language
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built on real teacher-learner conversations. Starting in the classroom,
or the laboratory, with the most common occurrence a teacher
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Explain ing Science
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offering an explanation, it proceeds by analysing the nature of specific
explanations so that teachers can gain fuller insights into what is
happening. Having teased out the processes of explanation, the

in the Classroom
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authors then reconstruct them showing how elaboration,
transformation and demonstration can enhance the understanding of
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ni the learner.

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Professor Peter Mortimore m
Is explaining science just an art, or can it be described, taught and learned?
That is the question posed by this book. From extensive classroom
observations, the authors give vivid descriptions of how teachers explain
Jon Ogborn, Gunther Kress,
C science to students, and provide their account with a sound theoretical basis.

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Attention isgiven totheways inwhich needsforexplanationare
generated, how the strange new entities of science from genes to Isabel Martins and Kieran McGiI licuddy
electrons are created through talk and action, how knowledge is
transformed to become explainable, and how demonstrations link U)
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explanation and reality. Different styles of explanation are illustrated, from
the 'teller of tales' to those who ask students to 'say it my way'. 0
Explaining Science in the Classroom is a new and exciting departure in science
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education. It brings together science educators and specialists in discourse
and communication, to reach a new synthesis of ideas. The book offers
science teachers very practical help and insight. 0
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Jon Ogborn is Professor of Science Education. Responsible (with Paul 0
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Black) for Nuffield Advanced Physics, he has also done research on basic
categories of thinking, on computer tools to develop reasoning, and on the
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learning and communicating of science. m

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Gunther Kress is Professor of Education/English. He has written many
books on language, visual and other non-verbal kinds of communication,
and on the social nature of communication.
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Isabel Martins is a researcher in science education, interested in models
of cognition and in the communication of science to lay audiences.
Kieran McGillicuddy is a linguist and former high school teacher who is
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currently interested in the interrelationships of language, action and the

meaning of things
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H[SDLQLQJVFLHQFHFODVVURRPLQGG
EXPLAINING
SCIENCE
IN THE
CLASSROOM

Jon Ogborn
Gunther Kress
Isabel Martins
Kieran McGillicuddy

OPEN UNIVERSITY PRESS

Buckingham Philadelphia
 Suffolk Edmunds, St Bury
Press, Edmundsbury St by Britain Great in Printed
Kong Hong Ltd, Typesetters Graphicratt by Typeset
CIP
9613433 507'.12dc2O
1996 Q181.E87
Jon. Ogborn, I.
Semiotics. 2. (Secondary) teaching and ScienceStudy 1.
(pbk) 033519719--i ISBN 0335197205 ISBN
index. and references bibliographical Includes
cm. p.
. .
al.] [et Ogborn. Jon / classroom the in science Explaining
Data Cataloging-in-Publication Congress of Libraiy
(pb) 1 19719 335 0 (hb) 5 19720 335 0 ISBN
Library British the from available is book this of record catalogue A
9HE. W1P London, Road, Court Tottenham 90 of Ltd Agency Licensing
Copyright the from obtained be may reproduction) reprographic (for licences
such of Details Limited. Agency Licensing Copyright the from licence a or publisher
the of permission written prior the without otherwise, or recording photocopying,
mechanical, electronic, means, any by or form any in transmitted, or system, retrieval
a in stored reproduced, be may publication this of part no review, and criticism
of purpose the for passages short of quotation the for Except reserved. rights All
1996 McGillicuddy Kieran and Martins Isabel Kress, Gunther Ogborn, Jon Copyright
1996 Published First
USA 19007, PA Bristol,
101 Suite Road, Frost 1900
and
1XW MK18
Buckingham
Balimoor 22
Court Celtic
Press University Open
 CONTENTS

Preface v
Acknowledgements viii

Chapter 1 Classrooms, explaining and science 1

Who are we? 1
What is there to understand about explaining science? 2
Explaining: some examples 3
Where do we come from? 6
Our theoretical framework: an overview 8
The structure of the book 18

Chapter 2 Opening up differences 20

A difference of opinion 20
What drives explanation? 22
Creating interest 24
'What we're going to do next' 26
What do you expect? 30
Two main kinds of difference 38

Chapter 3 The construction of entities 39

New things from old 39
Making a new conceptual entity 42
Why 'entities'? 45
Resources for explanations 48
Process entities 51
 Index
146 Sources
144 Context
144 sources and Context Appendix
141 next? What
140 claim? we do What
136 Results
135 Assumptions
134 forward looking and Concluding
134 next? what and now, What 8 Chapter
130 way' my it 'See
127 way' my it 'Say
120 tales' of teller 'The
117 together' through it think 'Let's
116 performances Integrating
116 explaining of 'Styles' 7 Chapter
112 explained be to matter subject The
108 interaction ongoing The
104 teacher The
97 structures Explanatory
96 variation of Sources
96 explanation of Dynamics 6 Chapter
95 again?' demonstration, is 'What
91 action material and Meaning
89 counterexpectation and Expectation
82 matter with meaning-making metals: Alkali
79 art by nature Vexing
77 demonstration? is What
77 matter into meaning putting Demonstration: 5 Chapter
70 metaphor and Analogy
66 narratives and parables Stories,
65 electrons with atoms up filling icebergs: Explanatory
61 transposition Didactic
59 transformed and made Knowledge
59 constancy and Change
58 knowledge Transforming
58 knowledge Reworking 4 Chapter
54 explanations Prototypical
52 parts their and Entities
CONTENTS iv
 PREFACE

This book is one of the products of collaborative research between science

education and semiotics and discourse analysis at the University of London
Institute of Education. It is addressed to all those concerned with the teach-
ing of science to science teachers and to those who train or advise them.
We started this work in the belief that science education had much to
learn from those who study language, meaning and communication, an area
which may be subsumed under the label 'semiotics' the study of the making
of meaning. We also hoped that the teaching of science would prove to be a
fruitful field for investigation by semioticians, offering them new challenges
and requiring new insights. In the event, we believe that both of these hopes
have been realized, at least, they have for us. Not only has the collaboration
led to the results described here, but it has also led us to further collaboration,
currently on the use of images in science. And we will want to follow up the
implications of the work which was started here.
The book is based on video-tapes of a number of secondary school teachers
explaining science. The argument of the book is copiously illustrated with
transcripts taken from these recordings. This generates two problems of which
the reader should be made aware. One is that language 'the words' is
thereby given prominence over other modes of communication, because there
are no easy ways of representing all the non-verbal communication which is
present. We have tried to offset this partially by including in the transcripts
commentary on actions, gestures, writing, pointing and doing things with
apparatus, etc. The second problem is that speech does not transcribe in any
simple way into the normal forms of written language. Nothing, for example,
corresponds in speech to the full stop in writing (just as nothing in writing
through- same the remain which pseudonyms, by identified are teachers The
do'). 'I versus do' 'I example, (for ambiguity otherwise
is there where stress, the indicate to type italic use we occasionally, Very
characters. spaced with printed are out' 'spelt
Words occurs. it where indicate to parentheses in notes added have but
textually, this represent to tried not have We emphasis. particular thing
some- giving when or dictating when used is intonation and pace special A
letter. capital initial an without but words speaker's first
the continue then and over, taken had speaker new a if as interruption the
insert punctuation, final a without transcript speaker's first the off break we
once, at talk they and another, interrupts person one Where letter. capital
a with begins text speaker's each normally, taken are speak to turns Where
elided. been has speaker a where tity
iden- speaker's the for place the in and continues, speaker same the when
.
text the in placed recording, the from elisions indicate .) (. dots Three
units. intelligible less or more into text spoken the
up break to as so placed but occur, they which at speech the in place the
approximately at blackboardl), on writes [teacher example (for munication
com- of acts non-linguistic describe brackets square in italics in Comments
?j'). [ a called is this 'So in (as utterance the complete would
which answer an expects which utterance, an of end the at space tioning
ques- hanging a teachers by used often quite device a symbolizes ?j
rhythms. habitual speaker's
the of those than longer hesitation, or pause noticeable a indicates ]
implied.
or asked being is question A intonation. questioning a indicate 'OK?') (e.g.
word a after or utterance an of end the at used (?), marks Question
pause. audible an be will there times
Some- repeated. or extended being is idea an because pause, actual no is
there if even pause, a feels listener the where places indicate (,) Commas
name). another to switches then but 'Henry' address to start
might speaker a where 'Hen' example, (for word uncompleted an for used
also is dash A inserted. is aside an where or again, starts and something ing
express- of way one abandons speaker the where places indicate () Dashes
too. purpose this for used occasionally are semicolons and
Colons possible. as sparingly as speech represent to writing of conventions
using is, that this done have We read. to puzzling or tiresome be would
them without speech the where speech, the of version 'written' a create to
used are sentences new of letters initial capitalizing and (.) stops Full
transcripts: in conventions and notations following the used have We
effort. minimum the with said was what of sense essential the grasp
to reader the assist to language written of devices the of some used have
we Thus read. to notations, linguistic in untrained teacher, science the for
possible as easy as them make would which way a in transcripts the present
to linguistics, in friends our annoying of risk the at decided, We finished').
haven't I yet, me interrupt 'Don't says, which intonation the to corresponds
PREFACE vi
 PREFACE vii

out the book. Thus the 'David' of Chapter 1 is the same 'David' who ap-
pears in Chapter 7, but his real name is not David. Students are also given
pseudonyms where the teacher uses a name, and are identified by that
pseudonym when they speak. Otherwise, student speakers are identified as
'Student', using 'Student 1', 'Student 2', etc. where it is necessary to keep
track of who said what in a series of exchanges. We use 'Students' as identi-
fying the speaker(s) when more than one student says the same thing. The
pseudonyms preserve gender and ethnicity.
Just occasionally, for our own purposes, we want to highlight a section
of transcript. In this case, the relevant part of the transcript is set in bold
italics.
We decided not to burden the main text of the book with references to
other work. Instead, we offer at the end of the book an Appendix which lists
and briefly discusses the main sources on which we have drawn, putting
them in context and adding references to further reading which may be of
use.
We hope that this book represents a useful new departure in science edu-
cation. In recent years, attention has been focused very strongly on students
and their understandings of science and of the world around them. Learning
science has been seen very largely as a problem for students, and especially
so the more learning has been understood as an active process of the learner.
We do not want to go back on that commitment to the need for learners to
make knowledge their own, but we do want to open up a space for teachers
to be thought about as having more to do than creating good conditions for
learning. To teach is to act on other minds, which may then react as well as
acting for themselves. So what teachers do in this way is worth describing and
understanding. What we hope to have provided is the beginning of a new
language for thinking about the act of explaining science in the classroom.
 manuscript.
the of preparation the during help secretarial efficient and unstinting her for
Benstead Judy thank We book. the of manuscript the on comments insightful
many her for Frost Jenny and discussions, interesting for Dunlop Hugh data,
his to access us giving for and discussions helpful for Christodoulou Nicolaos
thank We Veel. Robert and O'Donnell Mick Leeuwen, van Theo by scripts
manu- unpublished various in embodied ideas on gratefully drawn have We
project. the through way part seminar two-day critical useful very a for us
joined who universities other and own our from colleagues those thank We
College. Technology City Harris
and School High Riddlesdown School, Westminster North Girls, for School
Swakeley's schools: their by given assistance the acknowledge gratefully also
We them. with had we discussions helpful many the for and recorded, and
observed be to themselves allow to willingness their for help, practical their
for thanks our offer we Walker Rob and Vingoe Mike Thompson, Phillipa
Fell, Will Richardson, Jenny Okolo, Ogugua McConlough, Eugene Marco, di
Wendy Hogg, Ian Kirk, Shirley Gleeson, Chris Chandler, Bob To all. at sible
pos- work this made who occasions, several on often recorded, lessons their
have to agreed willingly so who teachers of group the course of was It
acknowledge. gratefully hereby we which support R000234916; grant Council,
Research Social and Economic the of support the with done was research The
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Chapter 1

CLASSROOMS,
EXPLAINING AND
SCIENCE

Who are we?

This book has been written by an unusual combination of people, coming
from science education and from studies of communication. It seems obvi-
ous that this is a good collaboration to have if you are interested in how
things are explained in the science classroom. There is, however, little tradi-
tion of bringing science education and studies of language together, even
though independently people within science education have thought about
language and people interested in communication and discourse have thought
about science. Work starting from science education is in danger of using too
limited a model of how language and communication works. And work start-
ing from language is in danger of not grasping the sources of difficulty and
the structuring of scientific ideas.
We have tried not merely to add the two points of view together, but to
make them interact, to reach a synthesis neither could achieve without the
other. As a result, our notions of what it is to explain scientific ideas have
changed, and so too have some of our thoughts about what is important in
language and communication more generally. This book is one outcome. It
is mainly addressed to those interested in problems of teaching science. But
we hope it will also be of interest more widely, to anyone concerned with
understanding language and communication.
2 EXPLAINING SCIENCE IN THE CLASSROOM

What is there to understand about explaining science?

Nearly every science teacher would agree that explaining things is fun-
damental to a science teacher's job. It is not of course the whole job, but it
is a central and crucial part of it. Students whose teachers 'don't explain
properly' get restive. And there is a lot of explaining to do. Why can metal
ships float even though metals sink? How do we catch colds? What keeps
the Moon going round the Earth? How does the fizz get into fizzy drinks?
How do plants grow? What is the 'greenhouse effect' and does it matter?
Where do the colours of soap bubbles come from? What happens to salt or
sugar when they dissolve in water? What is rust and where does it come
from? What are plastics made of? And so on, indefinitely.
The pages of science teachers' journals, such as the School Science Review,
are full of explanations. Many of them are in the form of demonstrations
or experiments to do. The assumption is that if the teacher arranges for an
effect to be clearly seen, it will be clearly understood. But we all know that
this is not true. We show the atmosphere crushing a tin can as air is removed
from it, but the class sees the vacuum pump 'sucking' the sides of the can
together. We show an electric current going round a circuit and they see
electricity used up to 'make' the light from a lamp.
There are also theoretical things to explain. Teachers have to explain that
it is the ceaseless motion of molecules which gives a gas its pressure, and
which accounts for the energy we call 'heat'. They have to explain that
plants build their tissue using carbon dioxide, water and sunlight. They
have to explain that chemical equilibrium is really a dynamic two-way pro-
cess of change in both directions at once that it only seems to be a case
of nothing happening at all.
Finally, and hardest of all, science teachers have to explain things that
do not seem to need explaining at all. How do we see things? Why are our
bodies warm? Why does coal burn? Why do hot things cool down? Why is
the sky dark at night? Why do mammals have four limbs? Why are solids
hard and liquids runny? Such things seem to common sense to be so obvi-
ous that there is no need to explain them. Indeed, nobody asks how to
explain them because they are just the kind of thing we use to explain other
things. Why shake the foundations unnecessarily? And yet it is typical of the
sciences that they do shake the foundations of knowledge in this way.
The act and art of explaining to a class is much less discussed than
the scientific ideas to be explained. Of course teachers swap ideas with one
another, often about useful analogies and models. But explaining is not treated
as something which could be understood, learned or taught. What can be
said about it is mainly anecdotal, lacking any systematic or thought-out
basis. Beginning teachers are supposed to learn by example how to explain,
often without being conscious of doing so; experience is taken to be the only
possible teacher. There is no body of evidence on which to base arguments
about how explaining can be done, and what different ways there are of
doing it. There is no shared theory of what is involved in explaining. Above
all, there is no common language for talking about explaining, except for
 CLASSROOMS, EXPLAINING AND SCIENCE 3

such common-sense terms as 'clear' or 'confusing', 'complicated' or 'simple'.

We hope in this book to provide the beginnings of such a language to de-
scribe and compare different cases of explaining in the science classroom.
And of course we hope that this language will prove useful to some teachers
of subjects other than science.
Our work has had two different kinds of outcome: practical and theoret-
ical. The practical outcomes are ways of thinking about explaining very dif-
ferent topics and ideas in science such as the periodic table and the nature
of sound which allow them to be compared or contrasted. Thus practising
teachers get new tools for thinking about what they are doing.
The theoretical outcomes are ways of linking the highly specific job of
explaining scientific ideas to broader issues in communication. Explaining
science can now be seen in a larger perspective, which takes on board how
language, action, gesture and personal relations come together in acts of
communication. But also, theories of communication are not left unchanged.
In particular, they have to take account of the way science is not just about
words but is also about things.

Explaining: some examples

We will now briefly offer a few examples of explaining going on in the
science classroom, to illustrate the kinds of things we found we needed to
take into account. Here is a teacher (David) explaining the digestive system
to a Year 10 class:
David: Now, the tube that goes through the middle of the worm, is [j
The tube that goes through the middle of the worm is actually
connected to the outside world. Here's the outside world here,
here's the outside world here, and the tube going through the
middle is part of the outside, of the outside world. It's not actu-
ally part of the worm, it's just a hole going through the middle.
Let me put it to you another way. You know packs of Polo mints,
yeah? You know if you buy a pack of Polo mints they look like
this and then you unwrap them, and you find that this Polo
mint looks like this up to the top here, when you take the top
Polo mint off and you eat it. But in the middle of the Polo mint
there's a hole, yeah?, and if you've got a packet of Polo mints
then that hole goes in and out the other end. Now is the hole
part of the Polo mint or not?
The first thing to notice is that the words on the page are not enough. The
teacher had a diagram on the blackboard which is an essential part of the
explanation. Figure 1.1 shows more or less what it looked like, in all its stark
simplicity. The diagram, and gestures involving it, are all part of the explana-
tion. So is the imagined tube of Polo mints. The way David is making meanings
goes well beyond language. Of course what he says is important, but spoken
language is just one of a number of meaning systems which are in use.
 non-metals: and metals into table
periodic the of division the of example for explanations, subsidiary many
are there lessons, three previews which explanation, large-scale this Within
logic. and sense common sense of full it's because is easy it's
why and subject, easy exceedingly an is chemistry Now really. else
anything than easier much chemistry understand you help does

really it think I And wonder. a is think I table periodic the And Ruth:
important: is table periodic the why
explain to tries (Ruth) teacher a table periodic chemical the on lessons 10
Year of series a of start the near which in following, the is example Another
once. at all scales time many on exist They analogy). mint Polo the contains
example this (as explanations containing themselves often also whilst tions,
explana- scale larger into fit they how seeing without understood be cannot
classrooms science in Explanations whole. a as 'systems' digestive of account
generalized more a into also and organisms, of variety a in works digestion
how of account detailed more a into develop will It somewhere. going is
it and somewhere from comes It isolated. not is explanation this Fifthly,
work. our of theme major a form
classroom, the within ideas of transformations and classroom, the in work
which representations into ideas scientific of both transformations ways,
various in knowledge of transformation the Indeed, analogy. and metaphor
through ideas transform continually teachers science way the at look to
necessary it found have We analogy. an as serve mints Polo the Fourthly,
explanations. for
need the create teachers science which in ways different the at looked has
work our of Much explain. to something clearly is there result, a As seen.
is what and said is what between created, deliberately tension, a is There
difference. a such create to is earthworm an as picture a such to refer To

resolved. be to needing view of difference a of feeling a filled be to needing
understanding of gap a up opening by works explanation the Thirdly,
radically. sometimes transformed, be to have things
explain, To obvious. and familiar seemed then until had what re-imagine
to and unfamiliar, and new world the of parts make to explaining in need
the work our in theme constant another is This developed. being is objects
topological as organisms about thinking of way new A strange. become able
comfort- and familiar the making is David digestion. of geometry the of but
earthworm an of not diagram, a is diagram strange The outside. the to open
are insides digestive our that idea bizarre bodies their about feelings day
every- people's of view of point the from but fundamental the towards ing
work- is He all. at earthworms discussing really not is teacher this Indeed,
earthworm. recognizable no like is here pictured earthworm the Secondly,
essentials to reduced brutally earthworm An 1.1 Figure
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 4
 CLASSROOMS; EXPLAINING AND SCIENCE 5

Ruth: Metals always lose electrons and non-metals always gain electrons.
So if you take Group I. . . going down they've all got one electron
in the outer shell and when they combine with another element
they lose their electron and give it to another atom.
Explanations exist right down to the smallest scale, for example of how to
read the data in one cell of the periodic table:
Ruth: .. the bottom number tells you how many protons there are in
.

the nucleus of the atom.

What we have to look at are structures of explanations, not just individual
bits of explanation.
So far in these examples we have not heard from students. This is not to
say that the students were not thinking, nor that the teacher was excluding
them. The explaining going on was obviously highly tuned to their concerns
and knowledge. David links his surprising view of digestion to something
very familiar. Ruth uses the students' concern with learning being made
easier to try to engage them in the work to come.
Teacher and students talking together can also construct explanations. A
common form of interaction, often described in other work such as John
Sinclair and Malcolm Coulthard's Towards an Analysis of Discourse, is the
triad 'questionanswerevaluation', as in the following example:
Elaine: Which of these things on the periodic table might be joined
together to make hydrocarbons?
Student Hydrogen.
Elaine: Hydrogen and [ ?]
Student: Carbon.
Elaine: Carbon, right. These are compounds of hydrogen and carbon.
Elaine clearly evaluates the response 'carbon'. She also evaluates the response
'hydrogen' by indicating that there is more to come, making this her next
question.
In other cases, students make more of the running and are led into sug-
gesting explanations (sometimes competing ones), drawing on what they
know or can imagine. This is difficult to illustrate briefly, because it involves
an extended to and fro of discussion. But here is a taste of one example, dis-
cussed further later in Chapter 7. The teacher, Leon, and his Year 10 class
are thinking about what might be needed in joints in the skeleton to stop
the bones wearing away as the joint moves. Leon is in the middle of getting
the class to 'design a joint':
Leon: Let's try and stop the wearing away. How can we stop the
wearing away? Emma, how can we stop the wearing away?
Emma: [Inaudiblel
Leon: Yes?
Emma: Put a sheet of something between it.
Leon: Yeah, what sort of sheet?
Student: Tissues.
explanations on either focus to tended has work previous But classrooms. ence
sci- in or explanations, in interest an express to first the course of not are We
from? come we do Where
classroom. science the in explanation describing for developed
have we framework theoretical the and relied, have we which on ideas the
generally more discuss will we chapter this of remainder the In book. the
of themes main the of several introduced have we examples, these With
carbohydrates. or electrons genes, for same the say could We with. thinking
for parts of kit biologist's the of part are They lesson). Leon's of subtext (a
vertebrates of plans body of 'design' the to related and types, general of ber
num- small a having category, biological a also are they But it. knows one ritis
arth- gets one when and right, all exist 'Joints' reasons. particular for people
particular by produced work cultural of result the 'made' and meaningful
are they time same the at But joints. in exists cartilage as world material
the in existing there', 'out things certainly are things material These tions.
explana- scientific in things material of importance the notice also We
happening.
it of evidence overt having always without imaginations, and ideas ledge,
know- students' activate could explanations how about think to had have
we Thus tidily. so organized be really can elements chemical of variety and
mess the whether wondered have may class Elaine's in and tubes, digestive
just are really humans whether about silently puzzled have well may they
class David's in But ideas. constructing in involved are students the Clearly
advert. car the in it show they like oil, Like Student:
oil? Like Leon:
[gestures].
that doing be weight'd your moving, be weight'd your But Student:
oil. Like Leon:
it. rubbing 'em stop They Student:
together] all [Talking Students:
though? do fluids would what of, sort Some Leon:
yeah. fluids, like Fluids, Student:
they... but Yeah, Student:
thing? plastic like,
this, on rubbing they're other each on rubbing of instead So Leon:
other. each hitting them stop It'd Student:
? on rubbing of instead do, disc the would what And Leon:
something. or disc a 'em, between sheet, flat a No, Student:
band. elastic an Perhaps Student:
know. I Student:
[Inaudible] Student:
it. isn't rough That's Leon:
like, be that'd no, No, Student:
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 6
 CLASSROOMS, EXPLAINING AND SCIENCE 7

as such (whether in science, or more generally as in Charles Antaki's book

Analysing Everyday Explanation) or on language in the classroom.
It has been common to think of classroom talk in science as 'inducting
students into scientific discourse' as their learning to 'talk science'. We
treat the same issues as a matter of how 'entities of science' are brought into
being for students. This reflects our preference for going beyond the realm
of words and what they refer to, to stress the role played by action, real and
imagined, by and on material things. And we extend this preference to con-
ceptual, meaning-carrying, semiotic 'things'. This view is inspired by some
current philosophy of science, particular Rom Harr's Varieties of Realism
and Roy Bhaskar's A Realist Theory of Science. We take from them the idea
of explanation as resting on 'how things are', as being stories about how a
set of entities can produce the phenomenon to be explained. This concep-
tion makes space for analogy and metaphor in explanation, often driven by
implicit even unconscious metaphors. Here we draw on work such as Eleanor
Rosch and Barbara Lloyd's Cognition and Categorization, and George Lakoff's
book about the metaphorical basis of thinking, Women, Fire and Dangerous
Things.
We also arrive here influenced by the later work of Jean Piaget on the con-
struction of meaning through action. In his later work on the logic of mean-
ings, Piaget offers an account of how the meanings of entities are constructed
through action, through what they can do, what you can do to them and what
they are made of (what parts they have). A valuable source, besides Piaget's
earlier work, has been his posthumously published book with Rolando Garcia,
Toward a Logic of Meaning.
Much discussion about problems in science teaching has revolved around
the role of practical activity in the classroom of 'doing and understanding'.
Clive Sutton's more recent work on the language of science, in Words, Science
and Learning, represents a well-articulated and richly illustrated argument for
a necessary change of focus. His inspection of the 'language of science' from
the point of view of a science educator traces the metaphorical origin of
scientific terms which are nowadays taken for granted ('cells' for example).
He provides a plethora of examples of the way scientists' choice of words is
part of their understanding and interpreting of phenomena. By choice he
pays attention mainly just to words, wanting teachers to focus on them as
active interpretations rather than as passive labels.
At the larger scales of clause and of text, the linguists Michael Halliday and
Jim Martin in their book Writing Science analyse the grammar of scientific
discourse. They note how the strikingly 'dense' nature of scientific writing is
achieved through what they call 'grammatical metaphor'. In this, a whole
physical process is condensed into a single entity, for example, 'the bending
of light as it enters a transparent material such as glass or water is called
refraction'. A process becomes a noun, and the text typically goes on to talk
about refraction and to use it in further relationships. Density quickly builds
up, as in, 'Developments in hand may lead to variable-speed turbines and
improved aerofoils that yield greater efficiency', to take an only modestly
dense example. We see this, however, as much more than simply a question
 entities constructing
differences creating
parts: main four with itself explanation, in meaning-making of account an
'stories' to analogous as explanations scientific
components: main three has

explanations describing for language our framework theoretical Our
them. elaborate and illustrate
to is book whole the of purpose The ideas. these outlines merely section
This done. be can explaining which in 'styles' different and knowledge, form
trans- explanations how involves, explanation an constructing what needed,
be to felt are they why and when are, explanations what about thinking
of way a offer to is does it What ineffective. or effective is what 'bad', or
'good' is what you tell not does language This classroom. science the in
explanations describing for language a is work our of outcome main The
overview an framework: theoretical Our
earthworm. the of example the in above suggested as explanation, driving
'tension' or 'difference' semiotic of notion a on more rely we reason this For
asymmetrical. more much surely is pupil and teacher between relation The
joints). about above example the in (as part a play can and must this though
knowledge, and experience pooling student and teacher through knowledge'
'common achieving being goal the of idea their about sure not also are We
meanings. making of ways as demonstrations doing experimenting, tables,
and graphs pictures, gesture, talk, classroom the of activity the all at look
to and further, go to tried have We assumptions. and meanings shared of
negotiation the at look rightly They 160). (p. communication' of part small
a only are said, actually things messages, 'Overt matters that everything
means no by is classroom the in language the that clear been have ledge,
Know- Common in Mercer Neil and Edwards Derek particularly Others,
them. with things doing and things on acting
through made being meaning much see we where science of case the in cially
espe- language, to importance undue give may This words. between relations
semantic grasping and patterns thematic identifying of one as explanations
teacher's the understanding of job student's the sees Lemke Jay Science, ing
Talk- his in example, For related. are they how and terms scientific learning
as science learning seeing to leads naturally very point starting linguistic A
evident. is action through constructed are meanings how
about thinking our on Garcia and Piaget of work later the of influence the
Here phenomenon. some for account to together acted have can things how
about stories generating do, can they what and are things what on bottom at
rely explanations scientific that instead argue We texts. scientific of genres
different as 'explanation' and 'report' identified have Martin and Halliday
world. the of views different and new building as it see We talking. of
way special a just than more much structure grammatical and writing of
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 8
 CLASSROOMS, EXPLAINING AND SCIENCE 9

transforming knowledge
putting meaning into matter
variation and styles of explanation
We now offer brief accounts of each; these will serve the reader as a guide
to the book, and as a foretaste of what it has to offer.

Scientific explanation
What makes a scientific explanation be something that explains? If I ask why
it is raining and you tell me that water is falling from the sky, I have been
told only what raining is. If you tell me that it is raining because it rains a
lot in April, I have been told only that raining is usual and needs no further
explanation. But a story about a depression coming across the Atlantic and
bringing wet air with it begins to do the job. Such an explanation tells how
something or other comes about. This makes a scientific explanation very
much like a story, even though it may not be told like a story. Some vital
features of a story are that:
there is a cast of protagonists, each of which has its own capabilities which
are what makes it what it is
members of this cast enact one of the many series of events of which they
are capable
these events have a consequence, which follows from the nature of the
protagonists and the events they happened to enact
Let us in this light consider some examples of scientific explanations:
how a river came to be polluted
the origin of coal
the transmission of disease
the mechanism of heredity
how television works
The explanation of how a river came to be polluted might be that farmers
fertilize their crops, that rain washes fertilizer into the river, that the fertil-
izer makes plants in the water grow rapidly so that the water becomes full
of decaying matter. The cast is farmers, fertilizers, rain, plants, etc. The story
depends on knowing what fertilizers can do to plants, what rain can do to
fertilizers, what plants do, and what rivers can do to decaying matter. Most
of the things in the story are familiar.
An explanation of the origin of coal also uses common knowledge, but the
story extends over hundreds of millions of years; ancient tropical forests, the
laying down of sediment over decayed vegetation, the effects of extreme pres-
sure and temperature. It may involve subsidiary less common-sensical stories
of continents drifting and rocks folding. The need for scales of time outside
any possible experience demands imagination to think of the explanation as
what 'really happened'. The existence of an explanation makes a difference
to what counts as a phenomenon. A mountain range dividing two countries
they how and live they where know to want we exist, they If disease'. causes
'what as just of thought be to not are Germs story. one of world closed the
beyond existing things, real as taken be to are protagonists their that insist
contrast, by explanations, Scientific imaginatively. together fits everything
which within world closed a create fictions best the of Some tales. ginative
ima- like much not are explanations scientific respect important one In
cause. some by moving kept be must object moving
any 'obviously' sense, common everyday in today still and Newton before
going; motion its keep to anything having without ever for Sun its around
travelling on go must planet a that 'obvious' is it Newton since example, For
things. other different quite by replaced be and obsolete become can obvious
once were which things And point. the beside is day chilly a on rain the in
out were you that infected; been have must you cold a have you If obvious.
as treated are things unexpected some however, thinking, scientific Within
are. things how is that When
stops. explaining where is this And are. things how of because must they
as out working events envisage we when obviousness of sense a have We
of. made are they what and them, to done be can what do, can they what
just is us, to meaning their things', of 'nature The do. to nature their in is it
what doing things from arises happens what that so sense, makes it that so
arbitrary; longer no is result the that so out work events how tells story A
them. to done have or do to able be to supposed are
involved entities the what know we until sense no make explanations Such
sense. common everyday from far often are protagonists of worlds these that
clear also is it But story. the up make behaviours possible whose protagonists
of worlds of existence the on rely explanations scientific that clear is It
mind. the
of construction a of, thought just once someone which something clearly
also are world, real the in existing as of talked Fields, home? to studio from
travel thing a such could How particle.' a on act can force a which in space
of region a is field 'A satisfying: than less seem answers the are, they what
ask we when but bulletins, news the deliver they as enough real seem They
fields. electric and magnetic entities imagined new unfamiliar of realm
the in again are we television of working the of explanation an With
world. inaccessible an in things unfamiliar
do which objects unfamiliar involves story The DNA. in sequences coded
chemically of set a possessing becomes hair brown or eyes blue Possessing
itself. of copies make can which DNA, molecule, a about story a into turns
child their to characteristics passing father and mother A entities. novel of
actions novel introduces heredity of mechanism the of explanation An
directly. upon act or see to small too scale a on but
world, everyday the as real as just world, a in belief involve them about tions
explana- microscope, the in visible are bacteria Although viruses. and bacteria

agents microscopic invisible of world new a with live we Pasteur, Since

as. things see to what for; look
to relevant is it what afresh us tells explanation The another. is crust Earth's
the of piece rising currently a of case a as range mountain the thing; one is
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 10
 CLASSROOMS, EXPLAINING AND SCIENCE 11

work. Taking something to be real means taking it to act as it does independ-

ently of our thinking and wishes. We cannot wish things into existence in
one context and out of existence in another, as it suits us. And as we get
more confident of the reality of imagined entities, the more we can act on
them or get them to act on other things.
Scientific explanations also rely on formal, sometimes mathematical, con-
structions. Thus the protagonists in explanation-stories must also be thought
of as including such entities as harmonic motion, rates of change, differen-
tial coefficients, exponential decay, negative feedback, vectors, and so on.
It may seem artificial to treat these formal entities on a par with material
entities. Are they not just part of the law-like patterns of behaviour of material
entities? The answer is that formal entities may begin life as law-like pat-
terns, but often develop a life of their own in explanations. One example
obvious to chemists is the case of 'orbitals' in atoms, treated in explana-
tions of chemical bonding as entities with their own properties and powers,
not merely as convenient pictures representing some arrangement of elec-
trons. An 'ecological niche' is a formal metaphor used as if it were a real
place to live, feed and be protected. Fields, once mathematical fictions, have
become active real entities in their own right, storing energy and transmit-
ting information. In modern particle physics, they are perhaps more real
even than matter, which in common-sense mood we take as the paradigm
of the real.

Creating differences
Nobody simply talks just for talking's sake, even if that is how it seems at
times. Conversations seem to be merely casual, informal, inconsequential,
usually pleasurable exchange; very little seems to be at issue. Certainly there
should be no attempt to dominate. If this begins to happen, other particip-
ants feel uneasy and may comment on the shift from conversation: 'Don't
start lecturing me!'; or 'I don't want to have an argument!'; or 'Don't be so
serious!'
These responses indicate that even though they feel spontaneous and
informal, conversations are circumscribed by rules which become notice-
able when they are broken. Rules of turn taking, topic change, interruption,
or pausing while still holding the floor, have been extensively studied. Such
rules are quite numerous, stable, and strictly observed by participants. Chil-
dren have to learn them, and until they do find it difficult to join in a
conversation.
In our view, the fundamental motor of communication is that there is
something known to one participant and not or often assumed not to be
known to another. I have something to say to you, which I think or
pretend you do not know, and this allows me to open a conversation.
There is a difference between us. It may be a difference of knowledge or
information. It may be a difference of interest perhaps I want to inform
you of, or recruit you to, my interest. It may be a difference of status and
power, which I want to acknowledge by being polite to you, or which I

be to have meaning and nature whose pharmaceuticals to photons from

entities new with it filling differently, world the sees It kind. in different
totally often is it large; writ knowledge common just not is knowledge tific
Scien- knowledge. everyday common and knowledge scientific established
between that is account into taken be to needing difference more One
crucial. remains need' they what 'want to students
motivating But punishment. and reward of systems to examinations and

curricula published from need they that decided been has it what accept
to students obliging or encouraging of means of variety a provide systems
education and Schools course. of teachers, to entirely left not is task This
it. wanting into students coax or demand stimulate, provoke, to need may
teacher the So know. to wants student the what and know to ought dent
stu- the what between that difference: second a then is there But ference.
dif- this bridge can teacher the that assumed is It know. to 'ought' student
the what and knows student the what between that is difference essential
one Thus schooling. of system the by but student the by not determined

knowledge and knowledge needing as student the up sets school of context
The different. very are roles the teaching, In initiative. the takes explainee
the information; for request a from start generally explanations Everyday
complementary. are relationships these
course of And responsibility. and power of relationships their in is ference
dif- crucial other The explainee. and explainer between knowledge in ence
differ- a simply than more is explanation in issue at difference the Thus
category. this into fall officers information and teachers
explain: to job their be may It mistake. a for account to has one when as
explain, to duty personal a have may They street. the in directions for asked
is one when as explanation, for request a fulfil amiably may They plainees.
ex- vis--vis motives of variety a have Explainers know. to needs or wants
explainee the something knows explainer the knowledge; to related is issue at
difference The explainee. and explainer namely fill, to participants for roles
unequal and distinct have They conversations. from differ Explanations
participation. of rights equal roughly have they that and equal, relatively as
treated are participants that means This foreground. the in all are dimensions,
pleasurable the affective, the social, the where communication of form that
as of thought be may Conversation significant. particularly as participants
by felt not is difference this but difference, is there then, conversation, In
cause. its removes which
effect an produces tension the poles, charged oppositely between arc an Like
communication. towards drive a expectations, creates difference a of ence
exist- The tension. semiotic of that is thing same the for metaphor Another
communication. no is there difference, no is there where Conversely,
communication.
drives what is it, with dealing difference, of bridging The difference. this
bridge to order in briefly only if even ensues communication and us;
between problem no is there that know you let to simply or you, towards
fondly feel I that know to you want may I feeling: of realm the in be may
difference The me. to polite be to you obliging by you on impress to want
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 12
 CLASSROOMS, EXPLAINING AND SCIENCE 13

learned. Everyday explanations are in terms of familiar entities doing famil-

iar things. Scientific explanations are often in terms of unfamiliar entities
doing unfamiliar things, and the student is a stranger in an unknown world.
It follows that much explanation in science classrooms is not the explana-
tion of phenomena, but is the explanation of resources the student needs in
order to explain phenomena. Instead of explaining how sound travels, the
teacher explains how to think about waves.
This also means that explanations between teacher and student in sci-
ence are often shaped by what scientific explanations are available. When
the teacher explains about sound being a wave or about chemical bonds
being electrical in nature, the explanation forms, as it were, the tip of an
iceberg. Unseen, underneath and keeping it afloat is a large hidden mass
of scientific explanation. The student experiments with dissolving sugar in
water; underneath lies all the science of solids and liquids, molecular theory
and thermodynamics. It is this, unknown to the student, which gives point
to putting sugar in water at different temperatures.

Constructing entities
Everyday explanations generally fill in for someone a history of how things
happened, in a world of known protagonists. The fact that the train was
delayed due to repairs to the rails explains the phenomenon of my being
late. A loose tile in the roof may account for the ceiling being damp. Explana-
tions of this kind select from a cast of known protagonists and fill out a
history which renders the thing to be explained obvious, natural, account-
able. But very often, a scientific explanation needs to invoke protagonists
which are not part of common knowledge. Explaining to someone then
requires describing the possible protagonists as well as accounting for what
they may have done.
Indeed, the very phenomenon to be explained may not even be evident.
We do not feel our muscles contract to make an arm flex; rather it feels that
we flex the arm and thereby contract the muscle. Thus, we cannot ask what
biochemical processes contract muscles; we do! Nor will a phenomenon seem
in need of explanation if one has no idea that it could be explained. Most
people recognize that metals are shiny, but they do not think of this as
explicable; it is part of what makes metals 'metals'. An explanation about
electrons which are free to move, so that shininess is connected with the
power to conduct electricity cannot be envisaged. Nor might many people
think it sensible to ask why salt dissolves in water or wax melts in a flame.
That is just what they do.
It follows that much of the work of explaining in science classrooms
concerns the resources out of which explanations are later to be constructed.
Protagonists have to be described, with what they can do and have done to
them, before any story which explains a phenomenon can be told. Before we
can explain how batteries light lamps we have to tell about electric currents,
voltages and resistances. Before we can explain respiration we have to tell
about lungs, blood, oxygen, carbon dioxide and haemoglobin. Before we can
discussion Every time. the all change students for exist they as Entities
school. in transformed being
continually also is it But context. school the reaches it before transformation
much undergone thus has Knowledge knowledge. of transformation the for
priorities new determining thus system, educational the in needs new erates
gen- jobs, of demands and nature the altering by flow, This source. this from
schooling, outside knowledge, of flow continual a is there Thus, another.
is home every in electricity example; one are desk every almost on puters
Com- artefacts. their through society into awareness technical and entific
sci- and knowledge carry technology in developments time, same the At
public. general the to and pupils
school to undergraduates, to students, graduate to accessible made be to as so
transformed being continually is knowledge Scientific school. left person that
since made newly be will old years forty (say) reaches person a time the at
around knowledge scientific crucial Much static. not is knowledge Scientific
knowledge Transforming
explanations. future of construction the also is entities of struction
con- the So explained. are which things not explanations, of part are which
entities become to have They about. think to things only are they with start
to if even thought, for tools become to have entities scientific Many crucial.
is think' to which 'with versus think' to which 'about distinction The
same. the much looks them using
and constructing of work fundamental the but different, are They think. to
which about or which with 'things' as way, similar a in discourse classroom
and scientific into enter all they that is reason other The from. made are they
what and them, with or to done be can what do, can they what from ing
mean- get ones formal or abstract objects, real like Just meaning. of chunks
new all are they that is reason One 'entities'? all them call we do Why
itself. science in existence into brought be to had all
once they course, of And, graphs). (straight-line structures formal or dulum),
(pen- science of objects special freezing), or (melting processes gas), or (fluid
classifications law), (Ohm's relations oscilloscope), (an instruments (atoms),
objects minted newly but real be may They graph. sinusoidal a example for
abstract, are Some table. periodic the example for patterns, are Some waves.
or microbes example for intangible, or invisible are Some large. is students
for existence into brought be to needing entities scientific of variety The
explanation. unknown this just is
present be to reason their but present, are they before given be cannot tion
explana- The explanation. an in role coming their part in is exist to reason
their because tricky, be can This students. for existence' into 'talked be to
have explanations in used be to are which entities The explanations. for
material the provide to has It defining. or labelling describing, like looks
classrooms science in explaining of work the of much reasons, these For
energy. and atoms, other and
oxygen between bonding oxygen, about explain to have we burning explain
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 14
 CLASSROOMS, EXPLAINING AND SCIENCE 15

gives an entity new possibilities and transforms its meaning sometimes

microscopically (I can use it here) and sometimes hugely (I didn't think
it was alive!). The pupil's knowledge is constantly being transformed. An
explanation does not 'transfer' an idea it provides material on which to
work to make an idea. These transforming processes were evidently at work
in the classroom examples we gave previously. A worm was being transformed
into a tube; a joint was being transformed into a designed construction.
One way to transform knowledge is to turn it into a narrative. Stories,
whether that of the discovery of penicillin or of a personal experience say
finding food having gone bad can act as effective 'knowledge carriers'. The
narrative relations in the story match the conceptual relations to be under-
stood, and make them memorable and easily recoverable.
The use of analogy and metaphor is crucial to the transformation of know-
ledge in the science classroom. Examples include the eye seen as a camera
and the control of the hormone system by the pituitary gland seen as a con-
ductor keeping an orchestra together. And, as Clive Sutton has eloquently
pointed out in his Words, Science and Learning, large numbers of scientific
terms rely on now dormant metaphor oxygen the maker of acids, hydro-
gen the maker of water, alkalis the product of ash, lenses the shape of lentils,
and so on indefinitely. We start from the view that analogy and metaphor
are not an optional extra, not something which merely sugars the pill of
literal meaning. We assume that metaphor and analogy are fundamental
to language, to what is called literal meaning (and we note that in this sen-
tence the words 'assume', 'metaphor', 'analogy', 'fundamental', 'language'
and even 'literal' all have metaphorical roots the last two from tongues
and from writing). All meanings are made from other meanings, in the end
being grounded in meaningful action in the world.

Putting meaning into matter

Scientific theories purport to tell us 'how things really are'. Yet, looking
around one, the world does not at all appear to be as scientific theories say
it is. Energy seems to be lost, not kept the same all the time. Motion does
not seem to go on for ever if there is no force. Sound is not obviously wave-
like. Air does not seem to have weight. Scientific theories talk about a world
behind appearances, and demonstrations try to bring that underlying world
to the surface.
Demonstrations in science teaching are designed to show the natural world
behaving as theory says it does. But, as every science teacher knows, they
easily 'go wrong'. What is concluded when they do? The failure is attributed
to some interfering effect which spoilt what 'should have' been seen. In a
sense, then, demonstrations cannot go wrong; the theory they exhibit is not
put at risk. But a demonstration is still a confrontation of ideas which may
be what we please with material reality which will not do just whatever we
please. There is still some risk. Theories cannot say just anything we want.
We might say that the job of a demonstration is to get students to see
things as theory says they are that demonstrations are about 'seeing-as'.
 we that outside air this in something There's thing. important
very one forgotten you've fact actual In [] you surprise might
It OK? right. you are way No wrong. absolutely all You're Susan:
Fifty. Susan:
Fifty. Daniel:
Daniel? Eighty-five. Susan:
Eighty-five. Robert:
Robert? More? Eighty. Susan:
Eighty. Darren:
Darren? seventy? on advances more Any Susan:
cent. per Seventy Ricky:
Ricky? cent. per Ninety Susan:
cent. per Ninety Matthew:
Matthew? I [ dioxide? carbon is cent per hundred that of
much how guess anyone out breathe you what of whiteboardl
on 100% [writes cent per hundred a is out breathe you that
gas the out breathe you that air your If air? that in ] out
breathe we dioxide carbon much how guess a have to like one
Any- in. breathe you than more therefore Obviously dioxide.
carbon contains out breathe you air the that prove can You Susan:
breath: exhaled in dioxide carbon detecting experiment an finished just has
which class 9 Year her and (Susan) teacher a between exchange brief lowing
fol- the example for Consider about. talking been have we aspects various
the together brings explanation an so whole, one in all rhythm and melody
line, vocal together brings which song, a Like way. particular a in trated
orches- once, at all aspects these of all has explanation given any Rather, one.
by one identifiable explanation, of kinds different describing been have we
that suppose to mistake capital a be would it But compared. be can tions
explana- which along dimensions of variety a described far so have We
explanations Orchestrating
case. the is what and case the be to supposed
is what between tension the of site interesting extraordinarily an therefore
are Demonstrations it. about up make can we ideas meaningful what strains
con- world material the of behaviour The imposed. be can meaning any not
crucially, But, way'. special a in move things make 'I aloud, shouts almost
track air An window. shop a or sign traffic a as meaning with loaded as is
apparatus demonstration Thus possible. as close as is does it what and about
thought be to is matter how of fit the that so crafted carefully be to has
demonstration A matter. on meaning imposing as demonstrations at look
to have we that means This 'being-as'. to 'seeing-as' from shift to shown,
are they as are things that one persuade to is demonstration a of point The
enough. quite not is this But cells. of made as seen be to is tissue particles;
charged of flow a as seen be to is electrolysis wave; a as seen be to is Sound
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 16
 CLASSROOMS, EXPLAINING AND SCIENCE 17

hardly we don't use at all. We take it in. [Gestures towards

mouth] We push it out. [Gestures away] Don't use it at all.
Don't touch it. Don't use it. Don't react with it at all. What gas
is that, Daniel?
Daniel: Nitrogen.
Susan: Well done, OK. Nitrogen is in the air out here, around me,
OK? And over seventy per cent of the atmosphere around us
here is nitrogen. It goes in. [Gestures towards face] It goes out.
[Gestures towards face] It doesn't play any role at all. It might
surprise you to know that only [pause, writes on whiteboard]
four per cent of the air that we breathe out is carbon dioxide.
That's a very small amount. That indicator is a pretty good
indicator.

First, difference. By getting guesses which are wrong the teacher creates a dif-
ference of view; there is reason to explain. Second, constructing entities. At
least two entities are under construction, 'respiration' and 'the atmosphere'.
Third, transformation. The natural process of breathing is being transformed
into a biochemical affair of exchange of gases. Fourth, demonstration. Susan's
gestures evoke an actual physical process of movement of gases.
There are, of course, many ways in which explanations can be orches-
trated, and many aspects of difference, construction of entities and trans-
formation which may be at issue. Thus we have to think about some of the
sources of their variety and about some of the ways in which they can be
put together. One source of variety is the context of surrounding explana-
tions. Explanations hardly ever appear as isolated single events. They nest
inside and fit alongside one another, to form larger patterns which are
themselves explanations. Explaining the periodic table, or the behaviour
of waves, may occupy many lessons. We cannot understand why what is
being explained at a given moment is being explained unless we look at
this larger picture. Similarly, many lessons have an overall explanation plan
often clear only to the teacher into which smaller acts of explaining
intelligibly fit.
Another source of variety is the teacher. How a given teacher explains
has a personal history a history of experience and of relationships with
pupils in the class. We cannot understand how a given teacher is explain-
ing something without having some idea of what resources of authority,
knowledge, experience, materials, etc. this teacher commands. Only rarely
does one see an explanation newly minted in the classroom. Mostly, teachers
bring out well-practised forms; 'good' explanations are part of their stock in
trade. Teachers are also careful to stimulate just those interactions with the
class which they feel confident of managing with that class in that context.
Variety also arises from what is going on at that moment in interaction
with students. The question a student asks may call for an explanation. The
answer a student gives may need to be elaborated or corrected. Ideas which
might be used to construct an explanation may need to be collected from
the class. At other times, a way may have to be found to gain attention for
creating with deals 2 Chapter explanations. comparing and analysing for ies
categor- of groups main three our analyse and up open 4 and 3 2, Chapters
practice. in out work they how shows and them, justifies
and elaborates book the of rest The book. the in found be to evidence and
arguments the of view overall an give to attempted has chapter first This
book the of structure The
right'. it 'get does ory
the- the all after how show to try may Demonstrations theory. the plifying
exem- as presented is reality excused; or ignored are seen is what in edges'
'Rough theory. certain a of view of point the from seen be 'should' they
as evaporating, water or springs, down sent waves magnets, round filings
iron as such phenomena, see to students get to try to out sets way' my it
'see style the using teacher The field. magnetic unseen an with filled as but
empty as not example, for seen, be to has magnet a round space The way.
certain a in things see to one require explanations scientific Many
agent. causal active an as treated is 'energy' further', go it makes energy
'Its in example for play to permitted are terms which roles grammatical
the in implied often are Explanations ?]'). [ pitch the increases, frequency
the ('If practised and out laid are words of forms Explanatory talking. of
ways as explanations on focus a has way' it
my 'say call may we style A
obtained. been have which
ideas official' 'making and reworking and contributions for opportunities up
opening between fro and to continual requires It together'. through it think
'let's this call may We class. the from ideas reshaping and collecting through
explanations at arrives teacher the which in that is style different very A
form. narrative in put be readily can steel, of making
the or continents of movement the disease, a by infection as such processes
physical Some works. science how about explanations carry and resources stock
teachers' of part are penicillin of discovery chance the and Fleming urea, of
synthesis accidental the and Whler dream, his and Kekul apple, the and
Newton discovery scientific of stories classical The stories. of form the in
'carried' knowledge or given explanations of tales', of 'teller the of that is
style such One styles. of variety a in together things these all put Teachers
abstract? or concrete they Are processes?
or objects they Are artificial? or natural they Are invisible? or visible they
Are concerned: entities the of nature the on depend decisions These avoid.
to what and assume to what explain, to what of made being continually are
choices so difficulty, and kind in vary ideas Scientific explain. to how and
what of choices on effect pervasive a has also hand in matter subject The
encourages. or allows teacher the interaction of kinds what on depend
will arise them of Which required. is explaining of kind what and done,
is explaining how influence will arise, they before foreseeable not some
interaction, of kinds these All on. so And restated. and recalled be to need
may explanations given Previously explanation. complicated or lengthy a
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 18
 CLASSROOMS, EXPLAINING AND SCIENCE 19

differences, with motivating explanations in a variety of ways. Chapter 3

discusses the construction of entities, both concrete and abstract, object-
like and process-like. Chapter 4 describes a number of kinds of transforma-
tion of knowledge, both in adapting it to school science and in transforming
it as students learn. Chapter 5, starting from the role of demonstrations in
explanation, shows how in science meanings and material things have to be
brought together.
Chapters 6 and 7 begin the synthesis as having taken explanation apart
we try to put it together again. Chapter 6 traces sources of variety in
explanation, and Chapter 7 looks at a number of styles of explanation the
teacher may use.
Finally, Chapter 8 draws together the main ideas and points to issues,
questions and problems which the work here has brought to light.
 No. Students:
No. Student:
development? sexual secondary
through gone it has okay, right, born be to about foetus, little
this little, this of think okay, me tell to trying you are So Leon:
[1 funny. It's 5: Student
it. about laugh Don't student] another [To 4: Student
true. be must It true. be must auntie, your Oh, Leon:
auntie. My 3: Student
stunned] is teacher [The you. From 1: Student
from? Who Leon:
heard. I what That's 3: Student
that. believe don't I 2: Student
heard. I what that's it, of shape The 1: Student
belly] rounded a [gestures
where? the where, by, girl, or boy a having you're if or, a,
or baby a having you're if tell can you that think you Do Leon:
girls. are class 9
Year his in students the All purpose. on kind this of disagreement a provokes
(Leon) teacher the follows, which extract the In differ'. to 'agree they course,
of unless, another one to ideas their explain to them for need a is there
understandings, their in differ people When obvious. the with start us Let
opinion of difference A
DIFFERENCES
UP OPENING
2 Chapter
 OPENING UP DIFFERENCES 21

Leon: Okay, a little baby brother, a penis about this big, okay.
[Teacher holds fingers close together in front of his eyes] [Student
laughter] True? True? You're telling me, that that alters, the
swelling [Teacher makes a curved shape with his arms around his
stomach]
Student: But you can tell if you're having a boy, like because your
bump gets bigger, and if you're having a girl it's normal.
Leon: Oh.
[Students laugh]
Leon: I would like to s, I would like to see the paper in Nature, that
established the that data, yeah. Do you think its likely,
Aisha, that a penis on a little baby boy, is going to affect a
pregnant mother's bump, in any way? Do you think it's likely?
I'm not saying it's true or false.
Student: It might.
Leon: You think it might?
Students: Yeah.
Student: It depends upon if the woman's having a girl or boy.
Leon: Pardon?
Student 1: Because, if she's having a girl, she gets uglier and fatter, and
if it's a boy
Student 2: No, no she doesn't.
Student 1: That's what I've heard.
Student 3: I heard this sir.
Student 4: I heard different.
Student 1: If, if it's a girl
Leon: Uh-uh.
Student: [inaudible]
Leon: Yeah?
Student 1: if it's a girl
Leon: Yeah?
Student 1: it becomes round.

The differences here look like differences between persons and what they be-
lieve or entertain to be the case. The persons are unequal in status: the teacher
feels free to appeal to scientific authority. He produces an argument against
the belief (the argument that a penis makes no appreciable difference to the
size of a foetus). The students range against that argument 'what I have heard'
or 'what I have been told', and they do not give up. After all, they know per-
fectly reputable adult people who hold and use this belief. Thus the difference
becomes, not that between what Leon believes and what one student believes
a matter of a difference of opinion between two people but a matter of

a difference between cultures; between home and school, between the every-
day and 'science'. The argument turns from being about what teacher and
student happen to believe to being about what students 'ought to believe'.
We thus see that the difference behind the surface which motivates the
discussion is a difference between what students know or believe at the
 we and scalpel fairy a and microscope special very a had we
and it cut and it cut we and carbon of piece big a took we If Teacher:
it. around field magnetic a have sumably
pre- would it OK?, case, the is that that imagine to were we If Teacher:
'we'.
of use the with shift that signalling often it, understand to attempt the
in students Join to offer frequently teachers Science understood. be to ing
need- world physical the player another is there classroom science the in
but, big a is it and But, backdrop. fundamental the is This things. different
achieve to concerned are and things, different do to able are things, different
know students and Teachers interest. and power knowledge, of difference: of
kinds three all include these And student. and teacher between especially
people, between differences are there classroom science the in Certainly
interest. of power, of knowledge, of difference a
be may It people. two between difference a as understood is 'difference' Often,
above. mentioned 'distance' of idea the than generalized more but to close
is metaphor The 1. Chapter in indicated we as 'difference', of metaphor the
use communicate, people makes what for account to want who discourse,
and communication in interested theorists Some generally. more discourse
analyse who those of that with here work our link to and explanation, for
need a create to order in do to has teacher a what at looking of ways gest
sug- to twofold: is metaphors into excursion small this for reason The
grasp. my in now is elsewhere, once standing,
under- An it'. have I 'now possession: of is metaphor related A gaps. across
paths become Explanations it'. 'follow or it', 'see there', 'get can we stand,
under- we When see'. to 'unable or follow', to 'unable being of standing,
under- to 'blockage' a of stuck', 'being of speak We another'. to position
one from 'moving of and apart' 'distance of is metaphor main other The
communication. driving as force and conflict
of one is image underlying The thought. of movement the 'smooth' to
and explain to need a creating another, one on grating ideas different of
friction of that is metaphor nearby A it. relieving as explanations and sion
ten- such creating as situations of and view, of points between 'opposition'
or 'tension' of speak We differences'. our 'resolving of speak often We
explanation? drives What
talk. better had they so agree, not do They people. two
between difference a of there, still is which sense strong the is students, by
intervention spontaneous and dispute of level high unusually its produces
and alive, interaction classroom this keeps what Nevertheless, think. should
they decided has someone what and now think students what between tom
bot- at is difference the So school. in event an all after is this change that
of direction the decided has teacher The understandings. their changing at
directed is It future. the in believe or know might they what and moment
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 22
 OPENING UP DIFFERENCES 23

cut and cut and cut and cut - then eventually we would end
up with millions and millions of these separate little bits of
carbon, and they would be called atoms. And if we cut them
any more, then they wouldn't be carbon any more.
What this kind of use of 'we' does is to blur the distinction between
the human participants, and to encourage a focus on what is being talked
about. Of course, the use of 'we' is a symptom, not a cause. It arises when
the teacher has done work to create a social situation of acting together to
learn, of joint agency. This is done in many ways, small and large. One small
one is completing a thought together:

Teacher: Microbes, and you need a micro [ ?l

Students: scope [Teacher says it tool
Teacher: to see them.

A much larger one is the example with which we began this chapter,
of teacher and students arguing together. Another is the teacher 'thinking
aloud', with hesitations, false starts and re-attempts. This may be an attempt
to explain, or more involving still it may be creating something for stu-
dents to think about, as below:
Leon: . . then what what do you see? What do you actually see?. . is
. .

that what remember when we saw I drew the one with three
beams of light coming in what happened to that? Did it go
out? Did it did it actually refract outwards? Did it? Because
look we said we said that this part this part at this end was
just like a bit of a prism, OK? So if light came in if light came
into that part imagine that's a prism there, right?, where does it
refract to?

The hesitations, rephrasings and repetitions here are not, in our opinion,
'lack of clarity'. They signal that here we have 'thinking in progress', and so
that there is something really to be thought about. By contrast, a question
like, 'What happens when a light ray strikes a lens here?', signals something
very different: 'what you ought to know', and locates the difference back
between teacher and student, not between the student and the phenomenon
to be understood.
We want to say, then, that explanations in the science classroom are
mainly driven by differences between what students know now and what
they need to know. For this reason teachers often talk in the tense of 'We
are going to . .': the future in the present. Part of the job of the teacher is
.

to open up, to create, this difference. Of course, merely being in school tells
the student that some such difference will be at issue one is supposed to

be there to learn. But and in science this creates a lot of work for the
teacher it is often not easy for the student to see in advance just what
difference in understanding needs to be bridged.
 your to happened what see and hole, this through look thr look

a have just I'll and again, and now breakfasts free have just

know you and days few a for here stay just you don't why
don't why 'Look, said, he bloke, this to said he so right, That's David:
see. could he and Oh, Student:
digested.' being it's while food
the to happening what's see and hole that through look could
I means this minute, a 'Wait thought, doctor the suddenly
digestion: of process
the study to opportunity the used doctor whose and wound, gunshot a by
opened was stomach whose Martin St. Alexis trapper fur French-Canadian
a surrounding events extraordinary the concerning lesson a from example
an note us let moment, the For 7. and 4 Chapters in this about say to more
have We story-telling. through is interest sustaining of way obvious One
physicists.
for interest passionate their acknowledging whilst uninteresting, supremely
the of prototypes as stand might gravity, under motion analyse to how tion
men- to not pendulum, a of oscillation of period the determines what of
question The appealing. more them making of hope in uses practical their
to linked be may both though fascinating, obviously less is solution a of
acidity the measure or sulphate copper electrolyse to How move. fact in do
they that fact surprising the told been have students once case, a hard too
not is continents of movement the Perhaps students. to concern less much
of matters other many in interest creating of task the face teachers Science
reproduce? do they do How Katie. idiot, an such be Don't Student:
rats? female get you Can Katie:
testes. its are Here David:
ten [Laugh
words. correct the use well as might We David:
[Laughter]
penis. its is That David:
willy? his that Is Student:
saying was I as Right, wait. and down
sit Just time. a at question one have let's on, wait on, Wait David:
that? causes what constipated, you're when happens What Student:
its that's and rat, male a is this tail, its underneath It's David:
that? What's Student:
David. is teacher The 10. Year from below
example the in as sexual, especially functions, bodily so more even and
issues environmental include interest of areas Common notably. increases
ask they questions of variety and number the are they when and things,
some in interested 'naturally' are Students obvious. the to return us Let
interest Creating
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 24
 OPENING UP DIFFERENCES 25

breakfast as you're eating it?' So they did this, and the doctor
wrote these great long diaries of what was happening, he took
bits of he took bits of boiled egg, for example, and tied the
bit of boiled egg onto a bit of string, stuck it through the hole,
and then he st took the time, 'Eight o'clock', 'ni', you know,
'nine o'clock', stuck a boiled egg through [mimes waiting] 'five
past nine', pulled it out, had a look, to see what was happening,
wrote down what was happening, stuck it back in. And he did
this for day after day after day, with all sorts of different foods,
sticking it through the hole, pulling it out, looking to see what
was going on. . . Anyway, that's how they discovered what was
happening inside the stomach.
The whole bizarre story can be found in Chapter 7. Beyond its immediate
(and perhaps dubious) appeal, the story serves other interests. Its force comes in
part from the special collision between eating as everyday experience ('have
free breakfasts now and again') and the biological interest in digestion as a
biochemical process ('I'll just have a look. . . and see what happened'). The
continued oscillation between the two worlds of personal well-being and of
'scientific observation' is striking, and gives the tale its ghoulish character.
It offers a definite and not wholly sympathetic image of the kinds of
interest science has in things. We will begin Chapter 3 with a similar example,
but there seen from the point of view of transforming the objects of concern
of seeing them differently.

This example leads us to broaden the notion of 'interest' somewhat, be-

yond 'natural curiosity' or 'entertainment'. Teachers cannot, and in our data
do not, try to make everything attention grabbing. This is simply because
much of what is of interest to the sciences is not of immediate fascination
to students and cannot be made so without deforming it. What is a mat-
ter of interest, of concern, what is a problem, varies from one culture to
another. The cultures with which we are concerned are those of the every-
day (in our case Western industrial) world, and of science and specifically
science in school. Quite generally, but very importantly in this particular
case, cultures decide what it is important to attend to. Culture decides what
counts as problematic. 'Interest' now becomes, not what one finds appeal-
ing, but one's main concerns; what one is trying to achieve (as in the sense
of the phrase 'an interested party'). And the problem is that the sciences
have their very special interests which are not necessarily shared with others.
Understanding the motion of things like pendulums is one of them, for
reasons not to do with pendulums but to do with much larger issues, namely
understanding the causes of motion throughout the universe. The teacher's
task is to reproduce some such structure of interests in students, if possible.
That is what it would mean to make them 'more scientific'; it would be to
make them ask the kinds of question central to the interests of the sciences.
And this is no small matter: to change one's interests is to become a different
kind of person who belongs in a different culture.
Much of the remainder of the chapter concerns how teachers set about
 . .
growing... Health. Student:
that? about explicit more bit a
be you Can things. Growing got. you've that ideas the of some
up put just Let's down. this write Don't Okay. things. Growing Elaine:
. . ,
things. growing
Yes? organic? word the From
include? might topic this what ideas any got have? Anyone Elaine:
questions. next her to responses the in shows difficulty that and
heading, a such of students to meaning of lack the of aware well is Elaine
please? heading
main your as that put you can So chemistry'. 'organic called
it's and topic, new a is today on start to going we're What Right. Elaine:
that. simply doing than cern
con- deeper much a has she fact in that however see will We have. already
they which associations and ideas from starting by interest students' 11 Year
co-opting (Elaine) teacher the shows example next the surface, the On
'density'. of meaning the concerning 3, Chapter in example another
give We ideas. new of set a with simply started get to hard it makes which
meanings of interlocking this is It others. the from meaning its gets element
Each anything. understand can one before understand to lot a is there case
elementary this in Even 'circumference'. and 'diameter' 'radius', like terms
and perspective), student's the from be, may they (whatever curves plane ing
includ- others, with interlocks interest This circles. in interest of kind unusual
very a has culture mathematical the that plain too all is it And circles. about
think mathematicians geometry, in how, you showing is It is. circle a what
you telling not is text The peculiar. more even look may it does, one if And
out. find to way the be not would this was circle a what know not did one If
72) 1993: Martin and Halliday in (quoted
circumference. its called is circle the of length The radius. the twice is
circle the of diameter The circle. the of radius the called is distance
This centre. the called point particular a from distance same the at is it
on point every that property special the with curve plane a is circle A
Science: Writing Martin's and Halliday in
definitions of discussion a from taken textbook, 6 Year a from example an
with this illustrate We incomprehensible. less or more are learned be to ideas
new the of meanings the of statements brief so: doing in difficulty crucial
but simple a is There understood. been has topic new the of much anything
before topic, new a of nature the explain to need frequently teachers Science
next' do to going we're 'What
explanations. scientific

in sense social wider our in interest interest of structures new creating
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 26
 OPENING UP DIFFERENCES 27

Elaine: Sorry. Health. Natural. Okay. Healthy. Put some hands up the
word organic what does it mean?
Student: [Inaudiblej
Elaine: Sorry? Crops

Elaine: Sorry somebody said? Shampoo. Right.

[Murmurs of surprise and amusement]
Elaine: Fine. Any other ways you've met this word organic?
Student: Food.
Elaine: Food. Right.
As this interaction continues, Elaine can bring out that the main associ-
ations of the word 'organic' are with living things. She does so because she
is going to spring a surprise. The surprise is that 'organic chemistry' is not
the chemistry of living things, but is just the chemistry of carbon com-
pounds, and that this includes the chemistry of living things, but much else
besides including such non-natural substances as plastics. So this introduc-
tion, easily mistaken for a case of 'eliciting what students know', is going to
be used to undermine what they know. The 'organic', the 'natural', are to
become not what they seemed. And Elaine will do this through telling the
story of the accidental synthesis of urea an 'organic' substance made from
inorganic materials at a time when this was thought impossible because
'organic' substances were held to need some special contribution from living
organisms:
Elaine: . . . they thought that these special chemicals could only be made
inside living things or they were the waste products of living
things or the decayed products of living things. In fact, they
had a theory called the Vital Force Theory.
More of this episode can be found in Chapter 4. Here our concern with it
is the way it confronts the clash of meanings and the differences in interest
between science and everyday life. To do organic chemistry is to ask a com-
pletely new set of questions; no longer questions like, 'Is this substance good
for you?', but questions like, 'How many carbon atoms do the molecules of
this substance contain?'. Elaine's job has been both to expose this difference,
and through interaction with the class and some history of chemistry, to try
to bridge it. The work she is doing opens up two complementary differences:
firstly that between the student now and the student later, after learning
organic chemistry, and secondly, that between the interests of and questions
proper to two different kinds of knowledge about living materials the
scientific and the everyday.

Utility
A common strategy in introducing a new topic is to stress its useful-
ness. Indeed Elaine, in her introduction to organic chemistry just discussed,
deploys this strategy too:
 digestion: on lesson David's in instance, For utility.
to appeals briefer and simpler of examples many course, of are, There
it. learning of business the with and it, from available is knowledge what with
like, is chemistry what with do to differences issue: at be will which ference
dif- of kinds several establishing is time, of space short a quite in doing, also
is she what But possible. as facets many as to appealing by come, to is what
reject to students for possible as difficult as it make to trying is Elaine if as
seems certainly It overkill. motivational to close as earlier, discussed duction
intro- the of part the with together taken this, all see perhaps might One
together'. teacher and students as 'we to then and chemists' as
'we to people' interested ordinary as 'we being from shifts passage this in
'we' the Correspondingly, students. as job their of facility the in change a
and chemistry, to proper interests the towards in interested are they what
in change a them, interest already that things of knowledge in change a
become: might they as and now are they as students between difference of
kinds three creates she differently, it put to Or, learners. as concerns their to
also but novelty, technical in and things living in interests 'natural' pected
ex- students' to appeals she Thus learn. to easier it make to knowledge of
organization of (iii) and materials useful and new making for (ii) biology, ing
understand- for (i) utility are They 'usefulness'. of kinds three evokes Elaine
learn. to us for easier much it make to
going is which packages little discrete into compounds carbon
different these about knowledge our organize can we So group.
the of members other the all about guesses good pretty some
make can you then group, the of member one about learn to
have only really you so common in lot a quite have they group
a Within groups. into put be can about learn to have do we
that those and them of all about learn to have don't we is
news good the but news, bad the was that now Right, on. so
and furniture for foams polyurethane our tiles, ceiling styrene
poly- our terylene, nylons, our clothes, our for fibres, thetic
syn- our all now, granted for them take just we And around.
weren't ago, so or years 100 that things the dyestuffs, plastics,
like now granted for take we that things the producing for istry
chem- the also It's that. like things and proteins and hydrates
carbo- of chemistry the biology, about talking we're when
use we that chemistry the it's because chemistry of part ant
import- extremely an It's together. put elements other the all as
compounds many as times eight or seven about forms Carbon Elaine:
compounds. carbon
different million half a and three about are there chemistry
organic about reading was I time last the but now by this
on date of out be could I and about, are there news bad The Elaine:
bad. The Student:
news? bad the or news, good the want you do Now, Elaine:
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 28
 OPENING UP DIFFERENCES 29

David: . but I've forgotten to tell you about hiccoughs, and you all
. .

want to know how you get hiccoughs don't you?

Promises and anticipations

A good many science lessons start by naming the topic to come, and this
may include some kind of definition of what it is about. We are interested
in the function of such a step, so far as later explanations are concerned,
over and above having a heading written in students' exercise books. Here
is the start of one Year 10 lesson:
Tom: OK, the alkali metals. []So what would you start off by doing
[] is copying those first three into your book. Copy the three
boxes into your book. It may be bigger.
Student: Sodium.
Tom: Lithium, sodium, potassium.
The teacher is going to do a demonstration (see Chapter 5 for an extended
account of this lesson) to show the similarities and differences between the
three elements, the nature of which leads to their being called 'alkali metals'.
This and other such groupings of elements will be crucial to much later
learning of chemistry; indeed it is very common to use this group of ele-
ments to introduce the very idea of such groups. One might argue that it
would be better if the label 'alkali metals' were to come at the end, when
some reason for choosing it had been provided. As it is, it is no less 'incom-
prehensible' than the circle was previously. The name comes before the basis
for the name.
This argument, however, is to mistake the function of this kind of action
of a teacher. The title is best understood as making a promise. It names
something not yet known and promises that it can and will be understood.
A difference is opened up between where students are now and where they
will be, in the shape of a blank but labelled conceptual space. Interestingly,
the form of the lesson to come actually implicitly follows this metaphor,
'filling the space' item by item with a comparative table of the properties of
the three elements. Providing for that exercise is indeed the reason for the
initial activity of copying boxes to be filled in.
Near the beginning of Chapter 3 we give an example in which a definition
(of 'density') also functions as a promise of understanding to come an
interesting case since definitions are usually envisaged (wrongly in our view)
as clarifications, not as things identifying the 'not yet understood'. The def-
inition of a circle, discussed above, must function in the same kind of way.
Here are some further examples of talk near the start of explanatory epis-
odes which are also, in the above sense, not yet strictly comprehensible, but
which serve to promise an understanding, and so once again open up a
difference between students' present and anticipated knowledge:
Teacher: . . . electricity and magnetism are two things which are very
closely related, OK?
 student: 8 Year one for salient is what is Here eye. the about
anything knows who asked has Alan, teacher, The phenomenon. intuitive
counter- a to attention draws who student a is it example, next the In
basis. and authority
respective their and knowing of worlds two between that created; is ference
dif- important and large A it. believe students the by trusted and to known
people reasonable why to as remains still issue the accepted, is idea the of
rejection biological teacher's the if Even understanding. further with bridged
be to gap a or resolved, be to tension a creates clearly It another. with
phenomena about beliefs or expectations of set one confronting of case a
is 'bump', the of shape the from sex baby's the tell could women pregnant
whether about discussion a of chapter, this began we which with example The
Counterexpectation
others. some
in fill then and two, these illustrate we First right. is it if out finding before
answer an to themselves commit to them getting to phenomena prising
sur- see students letting from ranging sense, broad a in 'expectations' term
the use We explain. to need a produce can which difference a creating of
way main another as expectations, students' on draw constantly Teachers
expect? you do What
sense. make utterances the make will which come to work of
harbingers a as utterances such understand to learn They students. for lem
prob- a necessarily not is it And strategy. a as it of aware be not may teachers
though strategy, common quite a is It statements. such producing in 'mistake'
of sort any making is teacher the that suggest to want we do way no In
name. baptismal a solemn
so deserve or interesting way any in be should it why at hinting without
is pendulum a what you tells last the And table'? periodic the to relation 'in
be, that could what but particles', of 'drawing the promises third The mean.
could work' graphs 'how what or experiment, an in computer a use to is it
what out finds one when sense much make only will second The magnetism.
electro- of nothing knows who someone to mysterious quite be may first The
swings. which end the
on hanging something and string of piece a is pendulum a in
is there All thing. simple very a basically is pendulum a Now, Teacher:
table. periodic the to relation in particles drawing at look to
. .
going we're you. for table periodic the summarize to going I'm Teacher:
measurements. scientific make can which here things two
. .
got I've work. graphs how better understand will you lesson
the of end the by hope also I graph. a make to going is it and . . .
experiment, an in used be can computer a how see will you Teacher:
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 30
 OPENING UP DIFFERENCES 31

Student: When you [I the pictures in your eye [lit doesn't come straight
away like the right way round it it comes upside down.

Alan: Good. Good. So the image that's formed in our eye might actu-
ally be upside down.
The issue is not forgotten. At the end of the lesson Alan returns to it:
Alan: The image gets picked up by the light-sensitive cells in the retina,
and messages are sent to the brain, and it's actually the brain that
effectively turns that image the right way round so that we see
things the right way up.
If this addresses the difference created by puzzling about how upside-down
gets to be experienced as right-way up, it does so only partially. It opens up
yet further queries, notably how a brain could possibly do such a thing. And
that this is so is signalled by the use of 'effectively', indicating that there are
mysterious depths here which it is not now proposed to plumb.
Chapter 1 contains another example of counterexpectation, when a teacher
shows a class that they have all grossly overestimated the amount of carbon
dioxide in exhaled breath.

'I wonder if I'm right?'

Although science teachers often ask questions and nominate or allow one
student to answer often to the relief of those passed over they sometimes
get a whole class to commit themselves to an answer, so raising the tension
at least a little. Early in a lesson on joints in the skeleton the teacher (Leon)
gave out statements to judge true or false. He insists on a clear answer:
Leon: 'Bone is not a living tissue.' Is that true or false? I don't want you
doing one of those 't's where you can change it into an 'f'.
Soon he and the Year 10 class come to the answers to this question:
Leon: Next question?
Student: Bone is not a living tissue.
Leon: True or false, bone is not a living tissue. False, it's most
definitely,
Student: It's the first question I got right.
[Student laughter]
Leon: It's a living tissue. Why do some people think of bone as not
living? It's a psychological thing.
Leon: I, well what I believe about this is, whenever do you actually
see it?
Student: You don't.
Student: Cut yourself.
Leon: No, when do you actually normally see bone?
Student 5: When you

no. afraid I'm year, this Not Alan:
that? do we Can Student:
Ugh! Students:
inside? look a had and up eye an cut ever anybody Has Alan:
eye: the about lesson 8 Year a in used, much not
but created difference a of example following the Consider created. been
has that difference the sense They questions. spontaneous posing start
themselves students that is happened has this that sign A things. unusual
or surprising about thinking or seeing by created be can Meaning-tension
that!' "Imagine
resolved. be to tensions creating or meanings
new with filled be to space making challenged, or used either are tions
expecta- students' which in examples other of variety a to now turn We
rarely. quite it saw we certainly lessons science in underused probably is
It everyone. amongst difference distributing of way a is issue, an discussing
before position a to commit to students all getting of device, This opposite.
the think might one why of and material living is bone why of explanations
drive helped and created was difference A out. turn would it how in ested
inter- were and be, might answer the what of expectation some formed had
students The answer. an to student each of commitment prior the to thing
some- owe must issue that of existence into bringing The exchanges. lively
these in clear very is resolve to difference a issue an of existence The
alive. absolutely it's body, your of bit dead a like not
it's totally, living, it's grows, it and living, actually it's stuff,
living it's mu, it So you? can't grafts bone do can you Bone, Leon:
Bone. Student:
marrow. Bone Students:
marrow. Bone Student:
?] [ people other into them put and ?] [ people
some from take actually you can what Because yeah? alive,
much very is bone, But stuff. dead like, it, of think you so, Leon:
ground. the in they're Because Student:
like like, looks just
yeah, stuff, compounds, mineral like of sort some like, them
of think you and skeletons, see you know, you s, you what
on, based is bone, about think people some what so see, You Leon:
No. Student:
No. Student:
living? bone that is
skeleton the see actually you when thing, one get let's Okay, Leon:
laughter] [Student
obviously. skeleton that out bring you when or Yep, 5: Student
yourself. cut 5: Student
you When 1: Student
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 32
 OPENING UP DIFFERENCES 33

The work in fact then turns to looking at pictures of the construction of the
eye. There is no doubt that the idea of dissecting an eye produces feelings
of revulsion in many people. As in previous examples, a difference indeed
a gulf opens up between the human feeling for our eyes and our sight as
precious possessions, and the objectifying mode of biological investigation
of their structure. This difference is here neither used nor explored, fertile
though that might have been. But evidence that the tension remains is
provided by a number of questions students raise later in the same lesson,
after Alan mentions the matter again:
Alan: . . if at some stage in the future you see a demonstration of
.

an eye being cut open

Students: Ugh!
Alan: and actually take the lens out, and you can have a look at this
lens [ ] you'll see
chatter]
Alan: You will see
Student: What year will we do that in, sir?
Alan: You might do it in GCSE.

Student: When you've taken the eye out, does the pupil still work?
Alan: It won't respond then the eye will effectively be dead.

Student: Is it true that if you push there at your eye you can take your
eye out?
Student: Oh don't!
Alan: I very much doubt it. I wouldn't try.
Has this to do with expectations, as opposed to just being 'natural' feelings
of revulsion? We think so. It has to do with the meaning of our eyes to us,
and so with how we expect to feel when dissecting them, contrasted with
how we are being expected to feel the latter signalled by the objectifying

language used by the teacher. The gulf between the two worlds is, however,
not always so great in this lesson. At another point, Alan is talking about the
action of the pupil of the eye:
Alan: So if it is quite dim if there isn't very much light around
then your pupils have to open to allow as much light in as
possible. What might happen if it was very very bright and
our pupils were wide open?
Student: They'd get small again.
Student: They'd get damaged.
Alan: You could possibly damage your eyes. . there'd possibly be
.

too much light for them to respond to so the pupil closes

down again to limit the amount of light.
Student: How can you? If your eyes are open and it gets? How can
it control it?
Alan: Oh you don't do it consciously. It all happens for you.
 helmets. the in glass The Student:
through? travel to have sound
the did what So Glen, hear could Neila other each hear could
they touched helmets the when that is there assumption the
So Glen? reach to through travel to have voice Neila's did what
touched, helmets the when that say they 3, Question at look a
have we If moment. a in that at look a have We'll it? Is it? Is Alan:
it?
isn't through, getting from it stopping is wearing they're What Student:
space? in air no there's that it Is Student:
yes? word, a hear can't Neila 'Whaa!'. go, Glen see can
You picture. first the is This shouting? was he if even Glen hear
Neila couldn't why saying, is 2 Question then, Now Glen. naut
astro- other the called they've and Neila astronauts the of one
called They've pictures. those on astronauts two are there
space: in another one to talk could astronauts two whether about
question textbook a uses Alan sound, about lesson a In facts. surprising
potentially of sense making involve often can about think to Problems
happen. to expect to what about
thinking are really students the that suggests this All on). turned light the
and up woken (being example good a offers spontaneously quite Another
willed. being without happens thing a such how pupils; the controls what
know to wants student one Thus thinking. own students' the from come
They know. they what illustrate to 'examples' just not are these And used.
being is but challenged, being not is expect and know students what Here
it? doesn't readjust, to eyes your for time of period short very

a just takes it And up. eyes your cover to got you've eyes] his

[covers that like 'uh!' go you and light the on switches in
. .
walks somebody and. possible as in light that of much as get

to open wide are pupils your so that like anything or shadows
any out make to struggle to have really eyes your that around

light little so there's eyes Your something. see to struggling
you're and room darkened a in there lying you're - morning
. .
the in up woken you've So it. of example brilliant yeah OK, Alan:
Yeah. Student:

in comes mum

your when on comes just light the and bed in you're When Student:
OK. away, straight up close to starts pupil The
it. about think to have don't You respond. automatically would
they but wide, too be might they moment brief a For respond.
automatically would eyes your is happen would what But Alan:
open. wide are eyes your if
it about anything do can't you though damaged get still You Student:
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 34
 OPENING UP DIFFERENCES 35

We must notice here that the (Year 8) students are not accounting theoret-
ically for what they know to happen, but are asked to work out what 'must'
happen from what they know theoretically. Theory is driving 'fact'. What
one should expect is the driving idea, and what happens is going to be made
to fit. The reason, of course, is that the lesson is about the theory, not about
the phenomena. A later passage in which theoretical results are 'inferred'
from fantasy facts helps make it clear that this is what is going on:
Alan: Well the fact that if they had some new radios they could hear
each other so what would that prove to us that radio waves
can do?. . . OK so the radio waves that are going between their

radios must be able to travel through space.

There are thus two different kinds of 'imagining strange things'. One is
seeing something strange and not easily explicable, such as an upside-down
image, a ball supported on a jet of air, a big spark from a small battery and
so on. The phenomenon is unexpected and the issue is one of explaining it.
The other is hearing one of the stranger explanatory stories of science, such
as motion going on for ever, light travelling through nothing, or the unfold-
ing of a new organism from a single egg. Now the problem is one of coming
to terms with the odd behaviour of the entities in that story, and of believ-
ing that the phenomena it suggests actually happen (can astronauts not hear
through space? does the stretching of time in relativity really happen?).

'What do we think now?'

We must avoid giving the impression that creating differences, motivating
explanation, is something to be done at the beginning of some explanatory
episode to get things going and to be abandoned afterwards, as the now-
wanted explanation unfuris. On the contrary, it happens continuously. As
bits of explaining get done, students have to thiqk what each means, and
whether there are gaps yet to be bridged or tensions to be resolved. 'Does
that mean that if. ?' questions from students are one sign of such work
. .

going on. Below, a Year 9 student checks with the teacher (Tom) if a newly
created way of thinking about measuring volumes makes sense.
Tom: So if I wanted to know what your, what your volume was,
you'd get a big dustbin, and you'd get in it, and you'd get
under the water for a second and you'd see how much water
overflows.
Student 1: You might get killed trying to get out.
Tom: Well you have to do it very carefully, under strict controls.
Student 2: Sir, erm, say, you've got a massive swimming pooi, like say
about thirty people, and you've got, say, twenty people going
in it, you'd put one by one and then you'd measure
Tom: measure how much it grows, that's right, that's it.
Sometimes students who want to test out an idea, or who find difficulties
with their understandings, will speak up, but the extent to which this happens

that in right? [points], there it's though as sky the in looks it
. .
and star a see we if So us. to lines straight in space. through
way the all yes? space through way the all comes it And
Right? way. long a travelled they've right? see can we that
light of sources furthest the are stars the that you with agree I'd Leon:
there. them see we because are they where are things that
round, way other the reason we thinking, everyday in because only if easy,
be cannot It travels. light way the of terms in explained be to something
into are' really they 'where things see we that fact obvious and simple the
making of problem the himself sets Leon follows, what In explaining. needs
which but expected, be to obviously not something into obvious seems
what making of case the is It expect. to what and think to how disturbing of
differences; creating of case difficult very a of example an with conclude We
explain?' to 'Nothing
out. checked was it that ensured Steve and discovered Steve which
idea an had Steve's out, it checked and idea an had student Tom's Where
previously. ideas Daniel's heard having be, to going was answer
the what of knowledge full in question a asked Steve So thought. same the
had probably who class the in students other the would Nor stuff?' watery
this for name right the water 'Is asked, have never probably would Daniel
sir. Yes, Daniel:
water?
some got you have wak, some got you have moment, the at
tube your in got, you have Daniel, So, water? into melted It Steve:
water. into melted wax the mmm, Arr, Daniel:
experiment? the in happened what's
Daniel, happened. what's say to names by people pick to going
just I'm because up, hand your put to need don't you moment
the at and out, shouting people want don't I names. people's say
to going I'm happened. what's now people certain ask to going
I'm and experiment this in happened what's about tables, the of
most to spoken I've and out find to trying been I've mmm, Now, Steve:
tables: of number a at groups in working students 7 Year
of teacher the by 'tour' classroom a such of results the shows excerpt ing
follow- The whole. a as class the to discovered problems the 'publishing'
then and questions, asking and done being work at looking class the tour
to is possibility One ideas. or difficulties out bringing for students on ility
responsib- place to always teacher the for however, necessary, not is It
low. be to
tend will proportion the controlled, tightly is turn-taking where classrooms
in Clearly, expression. overt find cases such of proportion small a only that
believe we arise, occasion on can which questions such of number erable
consid- the From teacher. to teacher and class to class from widely varies
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 36
 OPENING UP DIFFERENCES 37

line over there where really is it? If it looks to be over there

[points], is it really down there [pointsl?
Student: No.
Leon: Has the light gone, sort of like, from over there, 'nee-ee-um'
[gesture and sound of rapid motion in a curvej something like that?
Student: No.
Leon: What's the light done? It's just gone 'zy-oom' [gesture and sound
of rapid motion in a straight line] straight to us, yeah? It travels
in straight lines, right? Do you see what I mean? If I wanted to
smack you across the head, right? I don't I don't I never
would want to do that but if I wanted to do that, right? Or
give you this pen. If I wanted to give you this pen, yes? Would
I would I put it into your hand 'cos really your hand's there?
Where really is your hand?
Student: There
Leon: Yeah. And I know that, don't I? How do I know your hand is
in that line from me to you?
Student: 'cos you can see it.
Leon: But how can I see it? What? there's light in the room, there's
light coming in, and where is it shining?
Student: Everywhere.
Leon: Is some of the light shining here? [points to student's handl
Student: Yes.
Leon: And then what does it do? Shines on to you?
Student: And reflects.
Leon: It reflects. To me? Does it reflect to me in curved lines or in
straight lines?
Student: No, straight lines.
Leon: So it's coming through [gesture towards teacherl so if I want to
put this pen in your hand I can go straight along the line that
the light's coming from, and put it in your hand right and

that's in your hand isn't it?

We see Leon here tackling one of the most fundamental problems of ex-
plaining scientific explanations, that is, dealing with cases where there seems
to be absolutely nothing to explain. Indeed what is about to be explained is
that which, in everyday thinking, itself does the explaining. Leon has not only
to make it seem a problem that he can see a hand where it is, but has to get
further involved in making it a problem that he can see the hand at all.
Instead of a story of light travelling from hand to eye, common sense has
a story of light 'everywhere' which is a condition of seeing but not a mechan-
ism of seeing. People do the seeing the presence of light helps. Notice the
response, 'Everywhere' to the question, 'Where is it shining?' (from Year 8).
A limiting, but fundamentally important case of dealing with expecta-
tions is thus that case where there are no expectations at all the case of the
seemingly obvious. There are more than a few such in science. Things fall
when we let them go and stop when supported by the ground. It is obvious
 expect?' you do 'What ing
head- the under grouped mainly are These that. to counter runs which ledge
know- and know they think students what between is difference the when is
other The next'. do to going are we 'What heading the under grouped are
These know. to need they what and know not do students what between is
difference the when is kind One kinds. main two into grouped be usefully
perhaps can chapter this in discussed difference creating of ways many The
difference of kinds main Two
them. with happens what influencing yeah? chemicals, of
sort some be must there mean, I Yeah, light? the towards grow to
know, to were, it as know, they would how What, know? they do
. . .
How leaves? their drop to autumn the in know plants do how Leon:
explained: be to something into
'obvious' something make to trying case, different a in again, Leon is Here
explained. be to not is it explains; It not. is what and animate is what us ing
tell- 'animate', being of meaning the of part is itself' by 'Motion why. and it
do they how here explain to something is there that anyone persuade to
hard is It themselves. by around move animals another: Take here? 'gravity' of
need What explained. be to event an as not events, explain to it use we and
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 38
Chapter 3

THE CONSTRUCTION
OF ENTITIES

New things from old

A teacher, David,. is talking about teeth:
David: Your teeth are part of your digestive system, your teeth take the
food, smash it up into tiny bits, bite it off, smash it, make it into
tiny bits.
What is going on here? Several accounts are possible: David is explaining
the function of the teeth; he is explaining a part of the process of digestion;
he is developing 'the concept of the digestive system'. But what strikes us
most about it is that the teacher is trying to change what 'teeth' are for the
students. The students already know a lot about teeth, from early childhood
and beyond. They know about what they can do and what can be done to
them, about where they are and what they are. They have been constantly
reminded to clean them. They may remember losing milk teeth. They have
experienced dental care. They know not necessarily consciously that

teeth are important in smiling. They have been prevented from biting other
people. But now the teacher wants them to imagine teeth differently, not
now as a part of the mouth, and not now in relation to feelings, but as a
component of a biological system. Words like 'chew' associated with inten-
tional action are avoided; instead the teeth are presented like machinery
('smash it up into tiny bits'). So our account is that the teacher is busy
constructing a new entity, the entity 'teeth in the digestive system'. Teeth are
being given new meaning, just as (say) 'banks' are given new meaning when
what and them, to done be can what do, can they what establishing means
them constructing And constructed. be to have entities biological relevant
the needed resources the explanations, biological the to get to So lunch.
having of business everyday the of actors human social the all at not are tion
diges- of story the in actors biological The processes. biochemical and juices
organs, of made world, different a in story a tells explanation biological The
wants. satisfies It satisfying. personally as well as sociable necessary, as well as
nice is food that is eating of explanation everyday The explanation. of nature
the from derives which reason a world, their change to reason a is There
bodies. own their including to, added and changed
being are world their up make which entities the objects The world. the
in objects as themselves regard to and persons as themselves outside stand
to asked being are students The on. going is pointing and gesturing of lot
.
A 'Here.'). 'No.' .' somewhere. here 'Down here.' 'Down is?' that think
you do ('Where now and here things on focus intense the Notice telling.
just not But things. them telling of matter a be to simply seem changes
these surface, the On bladder. the and intestine, small the intestine, large
the bodies, human of parts various of understanding their changing also is
He system. digestive the of understanding students' the changing is David
body. your of out waste takes that system, excretory your of part is
That system. digestive your of part not It's bladder. a got You've David:
bladder. The Katie:
got? you what've Katie, got? you have else
What anus. the at the, at up finishes actually and back, comes
and around, then top, the across goes It good. right, That's David:
top. On Student:
go? intestine large the does
where here, sits intestine small The intestine. large a got You've David:
intestine. large The Student:
got? we have else what else what anyway, but here,
about they're maybe or okay, here, about are intestine small The
big. really it's cause intestine, 'small' the called it's why knows
goodness intestine', 'small the called it's fact, In here. about It's David:
Here. Student:
No. Student:
somewhere. here Down David:
here. Down Student:
is? that think you do Where intestine. small The David:
intestine. small The Student:
got.
you've bits the of some of names the me Tell system. digestive
your in got you've know you do bits what start, we before So David:
construction':
'under system digestive the of more is lesson 10 Year same the from Here
money. gets one where Street High the in place a
as ofinstead economy, invisible the of part as economist an by considered
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 40
 THE CONSTRUCTION OF ENTITIES 41

they are made of. We showed in Chapter 1 how this way of looking at what
is involved in meaning derives from combining a Piagetian viewpoint with
a semiotic one.
In Chapter 1 we also briefly discussed the nature of explanations and the
special nature of scientific explanations. We presented scientific explanations
as analogous to stories of how things come about, but with the actors in the
story often being unfamiliar and new. Here we see a small example of the
introduction of new actors. These particular new actors these new entities
are not especially new to students, however. That is one good reason for

the teacher wanting to make teeth seem strange, so as to suggest that there
is something new about them to consider. Later in this chapter we will see
much less familiar much stranger entities under construction, including
some that it would at first sight not seem reasonable to think of as 'entities'
at all.
Here is one further extract from the same lesson on digestion. The class are
looking with the teacher at a dissected rat.
Student: What's that black stuff?
David: That bit there is the liver.
Student: It looks like it's been smoking.
David: That bit there is the stomach, Katie, that bit there is the
stomach.
Students: [Light laughterj
David: Okay, and now what she's looking at, is this stuff here, which
is the liver. People don't realise how big the liver is, livers are
really big. That great chunk there is liver. So when she says it
looks like it's been smoking, she's thinking that this is in fact
lungs. If you were to look at the lungs of somebody who's been
smoking, they're not pink and soft like they should be, they're
black and gritty, and that's why, that's why you said that...
nicotine and tar. . . Anyway, that's the liver. Now, the liver, is
a place where food is stored. The liver's part of the digestive
system, I guess, because eventually food is taken from the
from the gut, via the blood, to the liver, and stored in the liver
till need it's needed, okay?, so, for example, if you have for
lunch four Mars bars and you.. . four Mars bars then the
stuff would go to the, to your gut, all the sugar in those Mars
bars, which would be a lot, would come straight back to your
gut, and into your blood, and your blood would be like treacle,
because it'd be full of sugar, so in fact, it's taken straight to the
liver, and it's stored in the liver, and small amounts are let out,
uh, through the course of time, okay?, so that's the, that's a
kind of storehouse where things are stored, so the liver stores
food, it does a whole load of other jobs, but it stores food.
This seems like the naming of parts. But it quickly develops into an explana-
tion of what the liver does, a story about digestive events. Starting from a
student asking, 'What's that?', we get a story about sugar and livers, not just
Other field. another in term the of understanding his employing standing,
under- tentative own his create can he if seeing already is student One
work. that in participants active be to have will
students the and time, of period long a over work, of lot a perform to have
will teacher the develop, to term the For more. something become will it
that promises effectively teacher the but them, to word a lust is 'density' yet,
As new. something encountering are students these examples, previous in As
is. it way a In got? you've information much How Tom:
Yeah. Student:
disk? computer a like mean you what, way, a in well, No, Tom:
disk? a on as same the it Is Student:
it. measure can you how at look a have and go to going
we're then and means, density what you tell to going I'm Now, Tom:
know. I Student:
density. means, word this what mmm,
about, chat ahave is now do to want we what listen, Right, Tom:
density'. of concept 'the
to class 9 Year difficult sometimes and ability low relatively his introducing
of task unenviable perhaps the has Tom, below, extract the in teacher The
entity conceptual new a Making
teacher. the
by offered explanation for resources of and explanations of sense own their
make to also is work Their too. that be may it though hand to world the in
or themselves in already knowledge discovering always not is work that but
do, to work have students The them. to done have and do can things what
from meanings new constructing of part is which explanations, other in
play may entity new a role what illustrating of but that), do also may they
(though phenomenon a explaining of primarily not function, the have tions
explana- Some explanations. making for resources become will which entities
entities modified or new constructing together teachers and students volves
in- explanation with do to work the of much that case a made have We
rats. in livers about not general, in livers about talking are we that
implicitly says livers human as lob same the do livers rats' that assumption

unmentioned indeed easy the And know. already they what replace, to
not to, add to meant is entity the about knowledge new the that students
the tells context, familiar a of choice its with given, is explanation the way
The possess. already students the which foods and livers of knowledge to
and it, at looking by gained have children the knowledge perceptual the to
things: other several to linked smoothly is entity new This liver. the entity
biological the constructing of job the of part indeed is explanation, an in
role a liver the giving explanation, the So it. to done be can what and do
can it what is, liver the what this: for reason good is there And naming. a
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 42
 THE CONSTRUCTION OF ENTITIES 43

students are likely to be doing the same even though they merely seem to
listen. The way this student thinks ('the same as on a disk') points to another
vital aspect of the construction of entities: building them by analogy with
others. Interestingly, the term 'density' as used in the label, 'Double-sided
high density', on a computer disk derives from an analogy of information
density with material density from an analogy with the very scientific term
'density' which the teacher is here involved in constructing. The student,
more familiar with computer disks than with ratios of mass to volume, does
the same job backwards. We return to the role of analogy and metaphor in
Chapter 4.
Even at this early stage, it is not hard to see that something new is coming
into existence, a new thing which may still seem to be a 'term', a 'word'.
And the teacher talks in a way which has an air of 'explaining terms': talking
about 'meaning', defining terms and giving examples, as below:
Tom: Density is how much stuff there is inside a thing. Now, to give
you an example of what I mean by that, Michael, that's made of
wood, okay, this piece is made of metal, which one do you think
is heavier?
Rather quickly, however, the teacher moves from words into activities
which seem quite different. In fact, he stops talking about density and
puts pieces of wood and metal before the class, discussing which is heavier
and which is bigger, and he does things together with the students, having
them weigh various objects, and having them look at the objects to make
guesses of their size. The work is directed at things, not at a word any more.
The teacher dared to assume, with a 'lower ability' class, that the students
would understand that he was talking about 'density', when he was actually
talking about 'weight' and 'wood' and 'metal'. And the assumption held. The
students can 'read' this kind of classroom work.
The teacher does not refer to density again until some time later. When
he does, he uses a new term, 'mass', and he places a qualification on the
things in question. They are now not just things, but things which are the
same size.

Tom: That one would sink. This one is denser than this one, so two
things the same size, one has got more mass in it than the other
one.
What is striking here is that what the teacher is saying cannot yet make
sense to the student. The experience is very familiar. New definitions gener-
ally seem distinctly opaque (if the reader is not persuaded we advise look-
ing at some definitions of 'money' in an economics textbook!). Of itself
that is not necessarily a problem; at various points in their school life stu-
dents will encounter similar and no less mystifying 'definitions', which will
later and only gradually come to make sense. In this lesson the teacher
moves quickly to give the definition a more permanent form, and makes the
students write it down:
idea same the is it that each; in way same the in used be to is idea new the
that cases; parallel all are these that things: several 'says' repetition The
Right. Tom:
Wood. Student:
balsa?
some or wood of piece A cubed? centimetre every for grams
more got What's question. a asking I'm down, sit no, No, then?
cubed centimetre per grams more got has think you do what
right, one, another try to want you be, must it so done, Well Tom:
glass. of Piece Student:
polystyrene?
of piece a or glass of piece a cubed, centimetre every for grams
more got has think you do what Tim, okay, lead of Piece Tom:
lead. of Piece Student:
wood? of piece a or lead of piece the
cubed, centimetre every for grams more got has is, think you do
what Meesha, do. to what know you if see and look a have Let's Tom:
examples: successive several in words
of form a and meaning a repeating through rehearsed is 'density' of form
last The done. now is job the that assume not does teacher the And structed.
con- are existence', into 'come gradually talk teacher's the of entities The
cubed cm every in there are stuff of grams many how
object an in is there stuff much how of measure a
one other the than it in mass more got has one size, same the things two
thing a inside is there stuff much how
transformations: successive the
are Here constructed. gradually is 'density' lesson, whole a of span the Over
got. you've that space of cubed cm every in there are stuff
of grams many how is in interested be you'd what something, of
density the know to wanted you if So, okay. cubed, cm in volume
grams, in measured is mass measure, you what know you So Yeah. Tom:
again: transformed is density of definition the objects, of variety a of
masses and volumes the measuring activities practical after lesson, the in later
Much density. of not mass, of definition Newton's was this that matter No
object.
an in is there stuff much how of measure a is Density I.
matter doesn't it being, time the for stuff it call just We'll Tom:
Density 2: Student
[1 Density Tom:
is Density 1: Student
whiteboard] the on writes teacher [The
down. this copy So is. density
. . .
what down write is do to going we're thing first the So, Tom:
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 44
 THE CONSTRUCTION OF ENTITIES 45

in each. It repeats one of the things one can do with the entity 'density',
namely deciding which of two things is more massive. And the form of
words ties an expression to what the class have just been doing with their
hands when measuring the masses and volumes of different objects.
By having the students write down the definition the teacher indicates
that density will be recurrently important in their work in science. But
terms such as 'density', or 'stuff', do not make sense simply because of the def-
initions. The teacher may say what density is, but the students do not, as a
result of that saying, know what density is. To say what density is, isn't to
mean, but is effectively to make a promise that the utterance will be mean-
ingful in retrospect. Students can recognize that these utterances have a
particular status; from the slow pace of speech, a particular intonation,
their repetition, and the fact that they are often to be written down and
remembered.
'Density' will continue to be transformed. Over several years it will be
implicated in a wide variety of relations with other entities floating ships,
'floating' continents, gases, mercury and barometers, the atmosphere and
the weather, convection, and even in ways of distinguishing chemical ele-
ments. It will participate as an entity in a multitude of explanations. In all
this, as it becomes related to other things, it will be undergoing yet fur-
ther change. The students will be learning more of what you can do with
this entity. For example, in Tom's lesson, density cannot be a property of a
gas, since, for the students, gases do not yet clearly have any mass. When
eventually the density of a gas is considered, both 'gas' and 'density' will be
changing into something else, each a little different. Density will now apply
to seemingly intangible things. And a gas will as a result come to seem more
tangible, more substantial. Thus, in these later incarnations, the entity 'dens-
ity' may not obviously be changing, but change there will be. 'Density', like
other entities, does not come into existence and remain what it is for all
time. Meanings of entities undergo constant change, though where the change
is less dramatic it may be barely noticeable.

Why 'entities'?
We referred above to the teeth and the liver as 'entities'. In the discussion
of density in the section which followed, we have referred to 'density' vari-
ously as a term, a word, a concept, an idea; but we have also, and with less
obvious justification, called it an 'entity', as if it were to be thought about
in the same way as the teeth or the liver. Why insist on it as an 'entity',
implying that it is constnicted in the same way as others? There are several
reasons.
First, we do not find it helpful to distinguish 'explanations of material
things' from 'explanations of concepts'. Certainly verbal forms of definition
play a role in the latter which is not so obvious in the former. But the
discussion of material things in the classroom involves a lot of definition.
For example (coming from Year 10):

function a suggest or identity them give would which features individual
the without blocks regular bland as way, special a in presented are They
way. new a in seen be to are materials The objects. make to them use not
does he but objects, make to used commonly are which materials provides
Tom density. 'concept' the about talk the and feel) and look their to ing
attend- and materials different many of blocks (handling provides Tom ities
activ- material the between made be can connections perspective, this In
iob. of kind same the ways many
in is meaning their learning But 'livers'. with done be can what as thing
of kind same the not is 'density' with done be can what course Of 'livers'.
as well as 'density' 'electricity', as well as 'acceleration' 'planets', as well as
'verbs' and 'nouns' covers formulation a Such make. or from made be can it
what and it to done have can do, can something what are they possibilities;
of constellations are meanings them, understand we As made. and created
are meanings how with do to has reason fundamental, again and fourth, A
blood. the in levels sugar controlling insulin
about one as form same the fits gravity by produced as motion (say) of
explanation An about. learn to has student the which things the as entities)
(the actors the of think can we and roles, their out play actors which in
stories like being as explanations of think can We explanations. of account
uniform a give can we kind, some of 'entities' as explanations scientific into
enter that elements the all of thinking By fundamental. is reason third The
another. one affect which things as about
talked also are but concepts, are accelerations and Forces time. same the at
real and conceptual similarly are wave a or bond chemical A actions. proper
own its with entity tangible a into needle') compass a of directions of locus
('the concept this turning teacher a of example an give we 6 Chapter In cept.
con- a and thing real a both is field magnetic A itself. science in clear-cut all
at not is conceptual the and material the between distinction the Second,
on? stuck what's
quickly], very [said ribs and column spinal skull the onto stuck
what's Now, it. onto stuck like yeah, end, the on Appendix, Leon:
appendix. like Urn, Student:
Appendicular. LAR. [1 icu [] END [1 P double A
appendicular. be, will skeleton, the of it, of part next The right.
part, main the stem, main The something? of axis the like,
what's, all, after Because Yeah? ribs] his touches [teacher ribs and Leon:
column. spinal Skull, Student:
end, the at column said I skull, column, spinal skull, Umm, Leon:
it? in What's Student:
skeleton. axial the in what's say to want you brackets in
. .
and L, A I X A L, A I AX axial, down, it write are, They skeleton.
human the to are there that parts, two those learn anybody Did
parts. two are there though as it classify we but part, one there's
and part one there's and shlip, go, can you like Not really. not
Well, sections. two skeleton, human a to parts two are There Leon:
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 46
 THE CONSTRUCTION OF ENTITIES 47

that is, they are presented as 'substance' rather than 'object'. Where a steel
spoon would have said, 'use me', the teacher's regular steel blocks in the
context of the lesson say 'measure me'. The material objects are being trans-
formed too, into things which are measurable in three dimensions, that have
volume and mass, for which the relation between 'the space they fill up' and
their massiveness is salient and important. Thus materials get new possibil-
ities and new meanings. And all this looks forward in the curriculum to a
time when materials like these are to be seen, not as stuff with which to
make things, but as stuff made of something of atoms and molecules.
These kinds of transformations are common and fundamental to science.
Eating becomes digestion; falling becomes the effect of gravity; our stable
home, the Earth, becomes a rocky ball hurtling through space; what parents
pass to children becomes DNA; feeling unwell becomes an affair of microbes;
plugging in the electric kettle becomes a current flowing under a potential
difference; and so on. It is not enough to say that these transformations just
involve knowing a bit more. They change the inhabitants of the world.
We take up this theme of transformation again in Chapter 4. To think
about how entities are constructed is to think about how they are trans-
formed. Everything new is made from something old. Some entities made
in the learning of science are radically new, but there is much seemingly
mundane construction work to do as well, as here in Year 9:
Tom: Right, as Katie correctly says sorry, Donna Donna correctly
says [teacher holds up an object to the classl that is a, all together
now [?1
Student: a plastic tube.
Tom: Measuring cylinder, it's not a plastic tube. Right, it's a measur-
ing cylinder, okay.
However, to see a plastic tube as a measuring cylinder is to do more than
learn the name of a tool. To understand the entity 'measuring cylinder' is
also to understand more about a different kind of entity, 'volume'. And there
are not two distinct activities, 'learning the concept volume' and 'recogniz-
ing measuring cylinders', there is just one, with 'measuring cylinder' and
'volume' coming into existence together. The measuring cylinder is significant
because of its relationship to the concept 'volume', and the concept 'volume'
may in large part develop through the use of measuring cylinders. Their
features their markings for measurement, and their three-dimensionality,
help 'carry' and concretize the notion 'volume'. We can see something of
this complex joint construction process going on in the following, with the
same class:
Tom: Right, now let's decide. Volume is now [1 Yes right [the teacher
raises the measuring cylinder in front of the classl it's the amount of
space something takes up, the volume is like the amount of space
something takes up [teacher starts pointing to the measuring cylinderl
so if I build it up to 100, Kathleen, that means that that is hold-
ing a 100 centimetre cubed worth of space, or worth of water, yes?
 are'. they
'how about is do' they 'what Here, screen. television a on light making or

current electric an carrying electrons were it if be might it as nomenon
phe- a explaining in yet as part a plays which something not is do' they
'what But do. they what and things on here focus the particularly note We
electrons. are there course

of And carbon. and boron elements are There electrons). of arrangement
of forms are (which is or 2p, as game) this to outsider the to (mysteriously
to referred entities the are There contain. atoms their particles of numbers
the and properties chemical by simultaneously patterned elements chemical
of display a table periodic the entity, the is There construction. under here
are potential, future important and large with resources, explanatory Several
2401) 1990: (Lemke
before. from notes the from also is This
orbitals. confining those within anywhere be can they And
electrons. Six tablel. periodic to Ipoints Here Carbon. Carbon. Teacher:
Carbon! Carbon! Students:
?I [ What's you? it? said Who Teacher:
Carbon. Student:

here one I
here one here, one here, one here, one here, one have to have

you'd So electrons. seven [1 uh have That'd be would That Teacher:
Boron? Ron:
F
Ron? I configuration? this by represented being
is element what is, the in electrons two 2s, the in electrons
two the in electron one the in electron one have I If Teacher:
atom. an in electrons of configuration electronic
particular a by represented being is element what asks teacher The Science.
Talking book, Lemke's Jay from example an borrow we this illustrate To
explanation. involving as
seen be to are activities classroom of range wide very a way, this in sidered
Con- depend. will schooling later which on resources creating by often ena,
phenom- of variety whole a explain to used be may which resource a create
to is but question, in immediately be may which phenomenon particular
a explain to simply not thus is explaining, and teaching, of point The
together. bond atoms
how at or flow, or move things how example for at explanation, of classes
potential future at directed is classroom science the of work the penetrates,
rainwater which to soil of depth the say, phenomenon, particular a for tion
explana- an find to concerned be well may scientist working the Whereas
built. be may phenomena of explanations which with entities the structing
con- to but phenomena, explaining to just not however, devoted, is classroom
science the of work explanatory the of Much about. comes something how
tells It explanation. an clearly is bar chocolate a digesting about story David's
explanations for Resources
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 48
 THE CONSTRUCTION OF ENTITIES 49

This particularly complex set of interrelated entities is valuable for its fu-
ture potential. They will make it possible to explain such things as the differ-
ences and similarities between chemical elements, why some are metals and
others are not, why some react easily and others do not, why water has two
hydrogen atoms for every oxygen one. Whilst a description of all of these
entities could perhaps be got into a chapter in a book, a compilation of
explanations of all the phenomena which they can be used to generate could
fill a library and still not be exhausted.
The example is extreme. A simpler case is the following, in which Steve is
teaching a Year 7 group about melting:

Steve: Shamir?
Shamir: It's liquid.
Steve: Right. Okay, it's a liquid, like water, it's a liquid like water. Can
you just explain what you mean by that.
Shamir: It's hke, umm, it's runny.
Steve: It's runny. You can pour it [teacher picks up test-tube] you could
pour it out of the tube. It's a liquid.
'Liquid' is much more than the 'correct scientific term' for runny things,
though that may be how it seems at that moment. 'Liquid', along with
'solid' and 'gas' will gradually be transformed into 'states of matter'. And
the reason to do that is not at all a matter of terminology. It is that differ-
ent kinds of explanation are appropriate for accounting for these different
states, and also that these different states play very different roles in creating
explanations of other phenomena, whether the strength of bridge girders,
the way to get a balloon to rise, or under what pressure oil has to be pumped
down a pipeline. Thus the 'terms' solid, liquid and gas are pointers to dif-
ferent kinds of explanation. They help organize knowledge about differences
and overlaps between explanations.
Our conception of 'entities' as resources for making explanations embraces
a very wide variety of things, an 'ontological zoo'. A few examples might be:
water, energy, animals, fluids, density, amplitude, convection, evaporation,
newton-metres, mass, volume, electrons, electron shells, line graphs, equa-
tions, variables, friction, cubic centimetres. Even this small sample points
to the enormous amount of work which is required to build 'worlds' in
which these things make sense and can be used. The list does not distin-
guish material and abstract things. Distinct though they are at one level,
for us they are all 'entities' at a more abstract level, because of the uniform
way they enter into explanations.
Providing resources to be used later obviously has its problems. It may
seem to students too much like a case of 'medicine today, jam tomorrow'.
For this reason, teachers need to provide effective motives for attempts to
construct entities. These can be of many kinds, from appealing to the exi-
gencies of the syllabus to involving the students in thinking out how things
might be. A good example of the latter appears in Chapter 7, where a teacher
gets a class to think through with him what joints in the skeleton might be
 girls'. as same the just frightened get 'boys air: the
in is gender of meaning the in shift possible A hormones. sex-related on ier
earl- touched has which lesson, whole the of context the in so does boys?',
and girls for this 'Is asks, who girl The minds. students' in them of many
time, same the at on going are constructions many but one not always, As
yeah? active, pretty something for ready
get to going you're get, to trying you're though, as sounds it
[?]Nasma, do to ready get to trying you're though as sounds It Leon:
laughter] [Student Spree. Student:
do? to ready
get to trying you're like sound, that does What right? Food, Leon:
Food. Student:
[?} and Oxygen, Leon:
Oxygen. Students:
?I [ contains which blood, of Lots Leon:
Blood. Student:
body? your round get to trying
you are What fe-toom. fe-toom, bodyl his across gestures large
very [makes goes toom, toom, toom, chest] his over gestures small
[makes going just of instead heart your and yeah, Oxygen, Leon:
Oxygen. Students:
?] [
particularly Well Leon:
Air. Students:
of? lot a get to trying you are What again? back
come then and there about to down go to diaphragm your
and here, about to up come of sort to cage rib your want you
would why lungs, your want, you would []Why for? it What's Leon:
Ohhh. Student:
girls. as same the just frightened get
boys the Yeah, yeah. one, this does everybody well well, Yeah, Leon:
boys? and girls for this Is Student:
yeah.
adrenalin, produces it and gland Ad-re-nal Myra. done, well Yes, Leon:
adrenalin? makes what That's Student:
whiteboardl the on
gland' 'adrenal [writes gland Adrenal L. A EN R D A gland, adrenal
the called gland another that's umm, so, umm, okay, Umm, Leon:
student: 9 Year a by it about asked been having fright, a get you
when happens what about class the questioning by case this in hormones, of
working the of examples particular of number a for time makes but mones',
'hor- entity the up building is teacher the below, example the In sugary.
something digesting of process the on that just doing was David familiar.
preferably real, something of explanation partial some in use to put be can
'entity-coming-to-exist' The motives. providing of ways other are There
together. class and teacher by constructed
co- are entities that so students with work to able are teachers Some like.
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 50
 THE CONSTRUCTION OF ENTITIES 51

In all these examples, the teacher's talk is crucial, as an example of how

to talk, indeed of how to think. The very point of constructing entities as
resources is that they need to become, not things to think about, but things
to think with. This is the importance of teachers demonstrating in their
own talk a process of thinking which will allow the formulating of questions
and of answers to questions, that is, demonstrating how to think with and
manipulate one's knowledge.
And not only that. It is also part of constructing entities as thinking re-
sources for students to try using them as such. Having worked with a Year 8
class on light rays (another entity at once abstract and material) Leon's next
teaching step is to challenge the students to put them to use:
Leon: I want you to draw something that looks like this.
Student: A wiggly line.
Leon: No, like this. Glass rod. Okay, that's just a glass rod, a bit of a
glass rod. Draw this please all of you.
Student: Pardon.
Leon: Draw this. It's a bit of the glass rod, and the question is, how
can light, which travels in straight lines, OK, light travels like
that, straight lines, how can it, erm, get to the end? [I How can
it possibly do it?
The answer to such a question is an explanation, a possible story about the
behaviour of certain entities (here light and glass), and the way in which this
story accounts for how an event might come about. We don't reproduce
a student's answer above, because there wasn't one. Leon knew that this
process making up an explanation would take time; and he made time
and space for it. For a substantial fraction of the lesson, students worked
on the problem and Leon moved amongst them addressing problems they
raised about it.

Process entities
Scientific texts are well known for their high concentration of events and
processes presented as if they were things. Simple examples include evapora-
tion, crystallization, ionization, speciation, oscillation. Any scientific textbook
or journal will yield a multitude of them, as transparent as 'magnification'
or as opaque as 'commensurability oscillations in the resistivity' (culled from
a relatively non-specialized journal). Their presence is not due to the bar-
barous linguistic habits of scientists. They exist in texts and talk as entities
because they exist in the thinking of scientists as entities. They are, as we
said before, things with which to think.
Our next example shows a teacher (Steve) working on constructing a pro-
cess with Year 7:
Steve: I want to finish off the lesson by just making sure you under-
stand the word 'melted'. If you get a teaspoon of sugar and put
 . .
are there retina your In work. hard the all does that brain
your it's and brain, your to messages sending by respond they

send they them on shines light when is do they what fact in
and II things do they OK, respond, they them on light shine
you if so light, to respond retina the in Cells OK? retina the
in cells of types main two are there retina the at look you if Alaw
retina: the eye, the of part
of account 8) (Year following the is example further A skeleton). the of parts
and system digestive the of (parts above examples two seen have We ponents.
subcom- physical straightforward are entities of parts the cases, some In
'lungs'. entity
the in up packaged meaning the to contribute facets these All system. atory
respir- the entity, conceptual a of part and body, the thing, physical a both
of part themselves are and vessels, blood and passages air as such parts have
lungs The cup. a of meaning the to contribute features These handle. a and
base a rim, a space, hollow a has cup a packages: complex as come Entities
parts. are they which of entities other the and have, they parts the of': made
are they 'what is It examined. be to remains entities for meaning making of
aspect further A them. to done be can what and do can they what of terms
in entities for meaning of construction the at looked mainly have we far So
parts their and Entities
etc. 'excretion', 'radiation', 'convection',
'meiosis', 'hydrolysis', 'digestion', as such entities objects, material hardly way
other this in are, which science for study' of 'objects more yet find we here
and things', 'material just hardly are science interest which entities the that
point the made earlier have We example. for discussed, melt' 'the see we
glaciers studying in and iron smelting In things. like something into them
turn does them examining in and processes, such examines carefully it that
science of characteristic important an is it entity, an be to 'melting' as such
process a consider initially not would one although that above argued We
other. each as same the not They're melt. and dissolve
between difference the understand you sure make So dissolves. It Steve:
dissolves. It Esther:
tea? in sugar to
happens what describe to use you do word what Esther, that.
describe to word another there's melting, not is that's liquid,
a with it mix you when disappears which solid a got you've
if what, important, very is this and it, mix you when appears
dis- which solid a have you If melts. it liquid, a to solid a from
changes something If melt. will it hour, an half for hand your
in it hold you and ice-lolly an get you If melted. not has it but
anymore bottom the at bits little have don't you, can't, you and
liquid, the into goes It I melt. not does it it, tea, of cup a in it
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 52
 THE CONSTRUCTION OF ENTITIES 53

actually two different types of cells two main different types

of cells. One of the cells responds to coloured light, OK? The
other cells respond more to black and white light. OK? When
it's dark in the evening at night times and so on, can you see
colours? Or do you tend to see in shades of black, white and
grey?
Student: Black, white and grey.
Student: You can see green.
Alan: You see green?
Student: If they're bright.
Alan: You certainly don't see the variety of colours that you see dur-
ing the day OK? most of you have probably noticed that
you see things in black, white, shades of grey in between. that .

is because one of the types of cells in your retina. . . responds

more to black, white and grey than to colour. And it needs less
light to do so.
In introducing parts, Alan focuses as in many previous examples on
what they can do and what can be done to them. The role which the parts
can play in an explanation, here of night vision, is an essential part of their
meaning. One expects an organ like the eye to have parts, but some entities
have parts much less obviously. Here is Leon stressing to Year 8 that lack of
obviousness in the case of light itself being made of colours:
Leon: Have you, did you ever have one of those Barbie dolls? Yeah?
Okay. Right, excuse me, if you, if you, take this leg off, and this
leg off, and this arm off, excuse me, this arm off and the head
off, right? You've got all the parts, yes?
Student: Yes.
Leon: Stop. . . the Barbie doll, you took the bits off, yes, and it's just
like parts now. What happens if you, put this leg on and this
leg on and this arm on and this arm and it's head on?
Leon: It's a Barbie doll. So if you've got white light, yes, and you can
separate it into all its colours red, orange, yellow, green and
blue and violet what happens if you put red, orange, yellow,
green and blue and violet back together again?
Students: They're white.
Leon: OK, right, that's how it works. I didn't think you'd get that one
'cause it's a hard one, okay.
Leon enforces the not so obvious idea that white light can be 'taken apart'
into colours and then 'put together again' by the analogy with a doll which
can obviously be taken apart and put together again. The analogy is not one
which says anything about what light is. It is one which says something
about what can be done to it.
Just as entities, in our way of thinking, are not at all restricted to physical
entities but can be conceptual, so parts can also be conceptual. Chapter 7
the explain to used is scheme This influences. various of actions the between
balances and checks controlled of terms in for accounted is organisms logical
bio- in stability example, For form. in similar are but detail in differ which
explanation, of kinds about learning much as just is science learning But enon.
phenom- given a for account to entities particular use explanations Particular
explanations Prototypical
them. to done is what or do
they what by explained is parts the of nature the again Once box'. dioxide
'carbon the to or from added arrows be to there expect to students the
of reasonable very be would It atmosphere. the of out or into dioxide carbon
of flows to rise give which processes of classes in part taking entities of
classes of consist parts the that principle; structuring the on also emphasis

is there But whole. structured a is cycle carbon the entity this that idea
the enforce to serve may diagram, the drawing of act physical the on and
here') over box ('a in filled be to parts of existence the on emphasis The
limits. of sort those within it keep so middle, the
in box a and here, over box a and here, over box a get to got
you've that remember but box, a big how know you if first
. .
it write would I again, Respiration. respiration'. during ide
diox- carbon out breathe 'animals says box that that's so OK, Elaine:
out. it breathe We Student:
air? the into get dioxide carbon the does how now Right, Elaine:
it? isn't
rainforest, the down burning not for reasons Two right. That's Elaine:

down. cut not they're if and down cut Trees Student:
air. the of out dioxide carbon take things other and
air the into dioxide carbon put things some because time the

all amount same the less or more stays that and atmosphere
. .
the in dioxide carbon - Right it. around box a draw and first

writing the do to better be might it box a Draw atmosphere.
. . .

the in dioxide carbon top the at started I 1
diagram to [Points Elaine:
diagram: a up builds she as cycle bon
car- the of parts the explaining 9) (Year teacher the see can we Below cycle.
carbon the or table periodic the as such structures knowledge diagrammatic
and tabular crucial are parts with entity of kinds important other Amongst
real. seem
entity abstract an of parts abstract these making into goes that work the
there emphasize and force, of lines of' 'made as constructed being fields netic
mag- of example the give we 6 Chapter in Similarly, transformed. is 'sound'
entity the process that in and itself, sound thing the over laid and posed
im- being is conception A 'frequency'. and 'wavelength' 'amplitude', parts
conceptual the introducing as read be can which sound, on lesson a contains
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 54
 THE CONSTRUCTION OF ENTITIES 55

control of body temperature, of hormone levels, and even of the rate of

breathing. It may be termed a 'prototypical explanation'. In this way an entity
which fills a certain role (e.g. control) in one such explanation, for example
a hormone, becomes more than a hormone. It is also a regulator a general
class of entities (see Chapter 4 for an example of an analogy with an orches-
tra and its conductor, clearly intended to lift the argument to this more
general level). And, of course, a hormone is already a class of entities, includ-
ing progesterone and testosterone as members.
An example of a lesson about a prototypical explanation and the classes
of entities it involves is one on weathering. The interchanges between the
teacher Elaine and the Year 7 students continually shift level, from par-
ticular cases to what they are cases of, and back again.
Elaine: So, what is weathering? What do we mean by weathering?
Yvonne?
Yvonne: Weather can wear it away.
Elaine: Right not necessarily wear it away but [ ?]
Student: Damage it.
Elaine: Damage it and loosen it, so that perhaps the surface looks
crumbly. Right, so that's damage, to the surface of rocks or
buildings, stone, brought about by things like wind and rain
and frost the different weather conditions which is why it's
called weathering. Pollutants. Scientists think that pollutants
might speed up this change, might make it go faster. What do
we mean by a pollutant?
Student: Something in the atmosphere.
Elaine: Something that pollutes the atmosphere. What do we mean by
'pollutes the atmosphere'?
Student: Changes that makes it bad, like put bad fumes into the air or
something.

Elaine: Changes the air in a way that causes some kind of problem or
damage. And how does that pollution get there?
The prototypical term 'weathering' is exemplified ('things like wind and
rain and frost'). The general term 'damage' is illustrated ('perhaps the sur-
face looks crumbly'), after being substituted for the slightly less general idea,
'wears things away'. In this lesson, this talk is leading up to an experimental
activity in which students will see whether different concentrations of dilute
acid affect different materials at different rates. Its point is that Elaine wants
the students to see the activity, not as testing the effect of acid on some
materials, but as a prototypical explanation of pollutant concentrations
altering rates of weathering.
Much of schooling in science necessarily concerns such prototypical
explanations and classes of entities. Teaching about electric circuits is not
teaching about 'this circuit here now', but is about how a current is pro-
duced by a voltage across a resistance. Teaching about gravity is about a

bubbly. and hot being it and out coming steam Er Sally:
change? chemical the for evidence your was What Leon:

chemical. Er Sally:
one? Which Leon:

yes. Er Sally:
change? physical a or chemical a was it that conclude you Do OK. Leon:
it. that's and

green went it then out, coming steam had and hot quite was
it and bubbling was it down, and up going was it as And 33. to
down back went then 60, to up went and 20 at started also [] urn
powder magnesium the then And colour. reddish of sort a went
they then and with start to grey were they filings iron the in
change colour a noticed also we and [I Er top. the at filings iron
other few a then and clear then and bottom the at right filings
iron was there so middle the in clear was it one, that finished
we'd when [] er then and 30, to up went it then and 20 read
thermometer the start, the at [1 and up go did heat the urn And Sally:
go. you off now Good, Leon:
Yes. Sally:
there? thermometer the put you why that's So Leon:
Yes. Sally:
here? pen
hap- to going was reaction chemical a of, possibility a was there
that be, might there think to reason some had you And Chemical. Leon:
Chemical. Sally:
energy? of lot a out gives often
out, gives change, of sort what reaction, of sort What answer]
them? between happen might think you did what sulphate
copper the and magnesium the and iron, the and sulphate per
cop- the between happen to expecting you were what Because, Leon:
it. that's Yes, Sally:
up? go might temperature the thought you So Leon:
rise. to thermometer the in stuff red the made um heat The Sally:
suspecting? of sort
you were What all? at in thermometer the putting for reason the
was What on? carry you before Sally, something, say just I Can Leon:
it. in thermometer a put also
and powder magnesium put we one other the in and well as it
in thermometer a and filings iron put we them of one in then
and them of both in sulphate copper of bit little a put we Well Sally:
change. of prototypes between difference this identify can students
9 Year whether seeing is (Leon) teacher the follows, what In change. ical
phys- and chemical between distinction the is explanations of kinds between
distinctions schematic general very such of example An current). charge,
(mass, object test a on magnetic) electric, (gravitational, field a by exerted force
a to general, in fields to expanded is this on later mass; a on exerted force
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 56
 THE CONSTRUCTION OF ENTITIES 57

Leon: Anything else?

Sally: Colour.
We at once notice the distance between the worlds invoked here. Sally talks
mainly in the here and now ('hot and bubbly', 'went up to 60') and of what
she saw. Leon is talking much more generally about types of change. The
bridge between them is the attention, evidently expected and clearly given,
to a temperature change and to a colour change both symptomatic of but
not defining of a chemical change. Sally moves between this somewhat gen-
eral level and the particular ('a colour change in the iron filings they were
grey to start with and then they went a sort of reddish colour'); this being a
change she sees as one 'in the iron filings' which Leon would see as a chem-
ical change reddish copper coming out of the compound copper sulphate.
Sally noticed that the blue solution went clear but did not associate that with
the removal of copper.
Here we have the beginning along a long road towards understanding
different forms of explanation. The immediate props for understanding are
simplified (transformed) versions of the chemist's distinction temperature
and colour change. The gap is at its most evident when Leon asks, 'what did
you think might happen between them?', but isn't answered. His repair job
to the question provides a heavier clue, to which Sally can respond. What
we think we see here is practice in thinking in parallel in two ways, one par-
ticular and one prototypical. It is from the rough edges between them the
'semiotic friction' we mentioned in Chapter 2 that Sally and her listening
classmates can learn.
To conclude, we return to the subject matter with which we began
digestion to illustrate that general prototypical kinds of change need not

just to be abstracted but also to be instanced. Here is the teacher, David,

making sure that 'digestion' does not remain only a prototype; that what
'digestion' is in particular is also made vivid, immediate and concrete.
David: So right here [points at dissected rat] here is the stomach yeah?
and the food, when it's liquid, gets squirted into the first little

bit of the tube there, which is called the duodenum. . the duo-
.

denum is where extra digestive enzymes get squirted onto the

food to help to make digestion continue.
 language. reshaping
as science knowledge, remaking as talking interdependent: deeply as them
see we because indistinguishable often are science, and language knowledge,
and talk chapter, this in story this of telling our In students. by, and for,
produced explanations in and explanation scientific in metaphor and logy
ana- of role the discuss we Finally, knowledge. scientific and science about
messages particular carry which stories work, scientific about stories sulated
encap- of on passing and creation the in knowledge, of reworking of kind
special a consider then We science. school into transformed is knowledge
that how show we community, scientific the in knowledge scientific from
Starting telling. the in transformed always is knowledge that argue We
class. this in students the for appropriate
knowledge' 'school into transformed now is which community, scientific the
by produced been has which knowledge the be may it or classroom; science
the in built gradually been has that knowledge of kind the be may it life;
everyday of experiences the from students by held already knowledge sense'
'common- be may This transformed. is knowledge which in ways of number
a show to wish we now somewhat; changes focus our Now happen. can tion
explana- of work the which in arena, shared a building in do to has teacher
science the which work the show to tried have we 3 and 2 Chapters In
knowledge Transforming
KNOWLEDGE REWORKING
4 Chapter
 REWORKING KNOWLEDGE 59

Change and constancy

A central fact about languages is that, despite their appearance of stability
and constancy, they are constantly changing. The source of change is clear:
every act of communicating, every production of a meaningful sign, every
understanding reached, is newly made. Every new-made meaning differs,
however slightly, from the old one. Languages both change and stay the
same because communicating necessarily implies both newness and same-
ness. Signs get meaning from their contrasts with others, yet make those
contrasts anew each time. The source of constancy is thus also clear: new
meanings are only possible by contrast with old ones.
Scientific knowledge is also continuously changing. The 'amount' of sci-
entific knowledge has been estimated to double every fifteen years. But it is
also the case that at a given moment, scientific knowledge appears to be
very stable, providing a settled framework for understanding the world. And
this framework is what schools see themselves as teaching. The dynamics
of constancy and change in knowledge are rather like those of language.
Constancy there has to be because every piece of knowledge depends on
other knowledge. Change there inevitably is, because of the drive to new
understandings.
A language community has to have ways of keeping its language both
fixed and fluid. Similarly, a scientific community has to have ways of keeping
its knowledge stable and constant, not to freeze it forever but almost para-
doxically so that change is inevitable. One of the mechanisms of stability
is schooling. It is no accident that in schooling knowledge is heavily policed;
that 'right' and 'wrong' ways of thinking are sharply demarcated and differ-
ently rewarded. But this is not the whole story. Every telling, and every hear-
ing, makes a little difference. Learning is an active construction; just because
the knowledge of one person can appear in another does not mean that it
was piped across with the implication that it travels unchanged. To teach
is to act on other minds, which themselves act in response.
Knowledge in the teaching thus differs from knowledge in the making.
Scientific knowledge, as stabilized in the scientific community, has to be rad-
ically transformed before its form is fitted to a given act of teaching. And in
the learning it is transformed again, as students make their own sense of it.
All these transformations happen not by chance, but through work. Thus an
account of knowledge transformation is best thought of as an account of the
reworking of knowledge.

Knowledge made and transformed

There is a long path from the production of knowledge in the scientific com-
munity to its eventual appearance in the classroom (or in the Sunday news-
papers). The history goes something like this. Fragments of possible 'knowledge
in the making' are produced in original papers in the primary journals. Meet-
ings at conferences expose new ideas and look for any emerging consensus on
system educational the that so jobs, by made demands knowledge and skill
the that with and economy, the alters change Technological system. tional
educa- the in needs new generate flow this of consequences social The
knowledge. that for need the
existence their by evident make and them, behind knowledge the teaching
for available become resources technical These canning. or refrigeration by
food of decay the preventing is example obvious an mechanisms: or ciples
prin- of knowledge through than interaction technological through area
an about more know may They them. 'understanding' without artefacts, of
range wide a with acquaintance first-hand some have generally people ult,
res- a As computing. of spread the and power, electrical of availability spread
wide- the television, and radio include Examples them. behind knowledge
the does than rapidly more much socially diffuse technologies Often
science). computer
is example recent (a knowledge of kind special own their contribute also
technologies All understood. not still course, of are, some and understood
are they before centuries) (perhaps long established fully become working)
metal- and smelting example, (for practices technical some But transmission.
radio example, for theories existing upon depend and use technologies
Some products. their with interact people and develop Technologies ety.
soci- enters knowledge which by path different, very second, a is There
year-olds. 14 to thing same the teaching in
difficulties same the bemoaning journals to letters write now teachers ates;
undergradu- to mechanics Newtonian teaching of difficulty the of plaining
com- letters wrote Maxwell century nineteenth late the In old. century a
over well being despite courses university of level the below got yet not still
has radiation electromagnetic of theory the generation; one in curriculum
school secondary the reached DNA through inheritance of nature the tury;
cen- a within sense common everyday to penetrated less or more disease of
theory germ The time. of amount variable very a takes process whole The
it. knows everybody since all at teaching worth
thought not is it that knowledge common of matter a such become might ial
mater- the ultimately, sometimes, Just ones). new some with together errors
their including (often ones first the copy textbooks Other textbooks. versity
uni- previous on drawing by often it, incorporate textbooks school and ulum,
curric- school the for fit deemed is material the Finally, established. thus
formats the follow generally texts Later audience. new the for it framing and
ordering matter, subject the rework to have appear to texts first The student.
the for examples and problems with replete appear, to begin textbooks point
which at courses, undergraduate for suitable deemed be may material the
course, due In field. the enter to wishing others of and students postgraduate
of benefit the for mainly learnable be to designed form a in time first the
for it presenting of and known, is what archiving of purpose double the with
possible, as framework a complete as construct which field, the in leaders
by written often appear, monographs still, Later unreliable. the from reliable
the sift to and relate, they how show to results, integrate to attempt journals
review in articles time, some After wrong. which and right look results which
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 60
 REWORKING KNOWLEDGE 61

is expected to prepare people for coping with such jobs. Technological change
thus helps to determine priorities for and the speed of transformation of
knowledge.

Didactic transposition

The transforming of knowledge from forms which are appropriate to a given

scientific community to forms adapted to teaching at a given level has in
the Anglo-Saxon educational tradition no accepted name. Being unbaptized,
it seems not to exist. In other European educational cultures, it has acquired
the name 'didactic transposition'.
The use of the term 'didactic' may need a gloss for the English reader,
to whom it is likely to suggest 'unduly authoritarian teaching'. In a wide
range of other European languages, 'didactics' refers to the careful ana-
lysis of subject matter for teaching purposes. What in England and the
USA would be called 'science education' would there be called 'didactics
of science'. To claim the title 'didactician' is a proud boast, not in the
least an apology.
Let us take a very simple example of this reworking of knowledge for teachers
and learners. It is the notion, widely used in primary science, of a 'fair test'.
Faced with trying to communicate something of 'scientific method' at the
primary level, primary teachers and their advisers hit on this expression of
part of what is involved, and it proved so apt both for teachers and pupils
that it caught on like wildfire. The idea transforms an aspect of what is done
in doing science in such a way as to be memorable, intelligible and able to
be put to use in the primary school.
What is explained in a science lesson is a carefully versioned form of
knowledge, specially adapted to be appropriate for learners in a particular
context. This versioning is the product of work, often over many years, by
teachers and textbook writers. The process is in many ways akin to what the
popularizer of science has to do to reach a mass audience, though the social
constraints differ importantly readers of popular science do not have to sit
examinations!
One obvious product of didactic transposition is the circuit board now
widely used in schools to teach about simple electric circuits. Another is the
use of universal indicator to teach the idea of the pH (acidity or alkalinity)
of a solution, just by associating colours of the indicator with the pH of
the solution. A more complex example is the development of periodic table
displays showing graphically such properties as ionic radii and ionization
energies, so that various kinds of periodicity could be appreciated and com-
pared visually.
In what follows we will examine another case in detail, showing some of
the transformations that have been made and how they set the frame for the
act of explaining in the classroom.
part, most the For experience? everyday in itself present sound does How
lines. wavy in seen be to patterns about and wavelengths, and quencies
fre- vibrations, about all is It life. everyday in us to appear they as sounds
with do to little have to seems story new that And sounds. about story new
a of protagonists the now', and here us to 'present possible, as concrete as
make to is do to trying be to seems Alan What together'. close getting all
'they're objectified: become has screen a on light of pattern mere A 7).
Chapter (see is used language the visual and physical how striking is It
represents. actually image the what blurring
justify to advantage enough big a is this thinks he Perhaps converse. the
and together' squashed more means 'higher as appears relation That tion.
rela- reciprocal a having variables as wavelength and frequency with dealing
avoid to image, the of appearance the on effect an saw they that fact the on
capitalizes He frequency. and wavelength between relationships reciprocal
the into effort of lot a put to starts now He same. the seeming, into talked
be can made, be can which another for picture one substituted has Alan
screen. the on graphed oscillation an at looking are they wave; a at looking
not are students the But wave. a name, new a has at looked being is what
And display. visual static a into transformed been has time in variation A
life. real in rare is it as discussion further the in dominant as be will
which variation, sinusoidal a means doubt no Alan wave' smooth nice 'a By
screen. the across going
that like wave smooth nice a see should you note pure nice a
get we if see should You shapes. different lines different OK, Alan:
. . .
shapes. different and lines different making by Student:
sound? of types different the display to try it does how
so that, like them display can't oscilloscope cathode-ray The Alan:
represented: and representation between
gap the with concern his continues Alan time. in variation its of pattern
the example for it hearing from get can we than is', really it 'as sound the
of more see can we since too, one good a been have would 'Yes' answer the
fact in But represented. the from way long a is representation the So screen.
a on line bright a not is sound and screen, a on line bright a is image The
No. Student:
are? really they as them
display it Can air? the through travel that waves sound real the
like anything they are screen the on see we waves sound The Alan:
itself: sound
the and screen the on represented is what between relation the about cerned
con- is He light. another, to sound, medium, one from transposition a tion,
visualiza- stresses He oscilloscope. cathode-ray a on displayed are they when
microphone a into made sounds of patterns the students 8 Year showing

is Alan teacher the 7, Chapter in detail greater in discussed lesson a In
transposition didactic a sound: Seeing
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 62
 REWORKING KNOWLEDGE 63

sounds are just present to us, on a par with tastes and smells. We have little
sense that they involve vibration (though we do sense vibrations for loud
low-pitched sounds, and we do associate some sounds with vibration as
in the rumble of traffic). We have little sense that sounds travel (even an
echo or a delayed thunderclap appears to be 'a sound happening a little bit
late'). For most purposes, a sound seems to be heard at the instant that it is
made. The region round a source of sound appears to us to be filled with its
sound. We often hear round corners. But it does seem that sounds can be
blocked, since we hardly hear sounds from inside closed spaces. And the
region filled with sound is rather local, since we do not often hear sounds
from far off.
Living with technological artefacts teaches us that sounds can be recorded
and played back, and that they can be sent by other means (telephone, tele-
vision and radio). Experience does not tell us whether the air, which is always
there, is an essential or accidental accompaniment to the possibility of mak-
ing and hearing sounds. And since we have rare experience of deafness, and
then mostly at second hand, being able to hear seems natural and normal,
not in need of being made accountable.
What, by contrast, does the scientific story look like? Sounds are made
by making vibrations. But for most sounds the vibrations are too rapid
to feel as vibrations (typically from hundreds to thousands of vibrations
per second). Sounds are heard by producing vibrations in bones in the ear,
which set neurones firing and sending information about the vibrations to
the brain. That information is subtly coded, so that we hear the presence of
differently pitched sounds simultaneously (technically, the earbrain system
does Fourier analysis, unlike the eyebrain system with which we do not
'see' the different colours in the light from a source).
Sounds belong to a wide class of phenomena named 'waves', which share
a similar underlying theoretical analysis the equations describing them
have similar forms, and the mechanisms are analogous. Because of this,
there are a common set of terms to describe any wave:
frequency (rapidity of vibration)
wavelength (distance apart in space of correspondingly excited places)
amplitude (magnitude of the maximum excitation at a point)
velocity (speed at which the excitation propagates)
These and other terms are taught because wavemotion and vibration of
many kinds have turned out to be important in many parts of science and
engineering. The description of sound waves contributes to a much larger
agenda than it seems. But while they are generalized terms of description,
however, these terms also have explanatory force. The pitch of a sound 'is
nothing other than' its frequency of vibration. The loudness of a sound 'is
nothing other. than' its amplitude of vibration.
A wave is a travelling disturbance. It is motion in motion (or more
generally change in motion). There is nothing static about it. It changes
simultaneously in time and space. To visualize waves, their motion has to
be frozen so that what is unchanging can be contemplated. This is done in
 talking. of ways
and experiences, visual activities, of variety a into reworked is equations
two or one as down written be can What sound. a making of process ial
mater- the in on going is what to relation their and relationships, their tion,
representa- of kinds several explaining requires sound Explaining sound.
about teaching of matter simple the seems what for even needed is which
knowledge transforming of work the in, involved detail complex the and
work of amount the stress to is analysis lengthy rather this of point The
space. in out spread if look would wave the how showing one as image the
'read' to choose could we places, and times correlates itself wave the of ling
travel- the since like, we if But however. wave, as it of speak to natural is it
same, the exactly look can instant, an at frozen space, in wave sound a of
representation a Because space. in pattern static a into time in change of tern
pat- a transforms It intensity. and time both spatializes representation The
oscillation. an of representation a is It wave. a not is screen the on is What
oscilloscope. an to connected microphone a with seeing, were students Alan's
which 4.2 Figure is It different. quite is meaning the but same, the is appearance
The same. the exactly look diagrams the apart) (labelling that Note space. in
point single a at oscillations other the and time in frozen wave a one tions:
representa- two the illustrate 4.2 and 4.1 Figures dynamic. entirely something
of representations static wholly and spatial purely now two gives This tion.
direc- spatial vertical the use to is wave the in pressure in changes the ent
repres- to way a page, the across spatially represented are time or space If
representation. spatial a time giving by or tern,
pat- spatial the see to photograph a in as time freezing by ways: main two
space in point a at wave a in Oscillation 4.2 Figure
time
oscillation
one for time
time of moment a at frozen wave A 4.1 Figure
space
wavelength
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 64
 REWORKING KNOWLEDGE 65

In Chapter 5, on demonstrations, we discuss how material things become

semiotic objects signs as well as substance. The oscilloscope here is a clear
example. Its very function is to make meaningful displays out of material
things (sounds, electrical impulses) fed to it.

Explanatory icebergs: filling up atoms with electrons

Didactic transformations hide knowledge at least as much as they expose it.
Explanations are like the tips of icebergs, with a large amount of supporting
knowledge lurking below the surface.
We give an example taken from a series of lessons on the chemical peri-
odic table, discussed later from a different point of view in Chapter 6. In this
sequence, as in many textbooks, atoms are described as having layers ('shells')
which may be successively 'filled up' with electrons. (Later in this chapter we
will also consider 'filling up' as an example of metaphor.) The first shell can
take two electrons, the second can take eight, the third either eight or eight-
een and so on. Real differences between real substances such as sodium and
sulphur, to everyday reason 'just how things are', are determined by these
number patterns. Sodium is 'sodium' and sulphur is 'sulphur' because of the
number and arrangement of electrons they possess.
The reader may well have the feeling that this talk of numbers of the
magic sequence 288 or 18, is far from being a full explanation. And this
feeling is entirely correct. Plainly such numbers themselves call for explana-
tion. It may be useful to sketch what this explanation is so that one can see
the hidden part of the explanatory iceberg which underlies the above very
common didactic form of explanation.
The only sensible or satisfying number of electrons which could 'fill'
something is, plainly, simply one. And indeed at bottom this is the
simple rule underlying this whole complicated scheme. It is that only
one electron can be in a given state in the same atom. All the magic
numbers are combinations of the number 1. The more complex number
patterns arise because the 'state' of an electron depends on the shape of
its distribution in space. Further, two electrons can occupy the same
spatial distribution as long as they differ in the direction of their 'spin',
up or down. This lets two electrons occupy each spatial distribution. The
electrons fill up the spatial distributions in order of their energy, lowest
first. The first two (giving the initial 2 in the magic sequence) occupy a
spherically symmetric pattern close to the nucleus of the atom. The next
set of possible spatial distributions is a bit more complicated. It has one
spherically symmetrical pattern, but space being three-dimensional, there
are a further three asymmetrical lobed patterns oriented in three direc-
tions at right angles. Thus this set of states can be occupied by two plus
three times two electrons eight in all. The later larger numbers (18, 32)
arise from yet more complex spatial patternings of states. But in the end,
all these numbers follow from three simple numbers: one for the number
in survives DNA (e.g. knowledge other with together story, the of structure
the into built are heredity, of material the is it that and cells, all in present
is it that DNA, about facts essential Some carrier'. 'knowledge a as story the
of think can we level deeper a at But willy-filly. readers, and hearers as us
involves up, sets structure narrative the which resolution for need the and
next, the evokes readily part one because remember to easy are Stories story. a
through class 10 Year his for things enliven to seeking is Leon level one At
think. I programme fascinating a be to going it's So
match. to going it's exactly be to going it's daughter their she's
if because if see and killed were who people the of bones the to
go now? can they understand you do now can they is really
she whether programmel television Equinox on reveal to going
they're week this programme the on and DNA the now know you

DNA the at looked and yes? bone a of bit a taken they've
dead she's that now is done actually they've what So daughter.
Tsar's the was really really she not or whether to as years and years
and years for on went debate a was it and right? her kill didn't
they but wasn't she so alive was she obviously reason some

for killed' wasn't I 'No says, she since was it think I America
in woman this there's right? 1917 in family Tsar the all killed
they said they know You [1 fascinating quite looks it it, watch
should you doing they're er It's that? watch to going you Are

'Anastasia' that? watch to going who's Russian? a really she

was Russian that about programme that watch to going Who's Leon:
instance: an is Here
narratives. and tales stories, in knowledge embedding is example An us. to
represented is it which in or it, meet we which in form the of is reworking
of kind Another knowledge. of organization 'internal' the of reworking a
is It kind. conceptual a of is above discussed knowledge of reworking The
narratives and parables Stories,
explicit. made be to
able easily being this without structure deep such retain they that notions
transposed of typical rather is It matter. of solidity the explains fermion the
of concept the Deeply, once. at state same the in be can which of two no
'fermions', called particle of type the into transmuted is once at place same
the in be cannot things such two which in object' 'solid of notion everyday
the theory, quantum the In 'filling'. of notion common-sense seemingly the
in original, of idea deep the of something retain does it But numbers.
unexplained and magic by simplicity its replaces 'shells' of 'filling' of one
to above account theory quantum the from transposition didactic The
space. of dimensions of number the for three and tions;
direc- spin of number the for two state; one occupy to able electrons of
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 66
 REWORKING KNOWLEDGE 67

dead bodies). Conceptual connections are carried by narrative links. Not all
such stories used in explanations are so dramatic here is a much more
mundane example from a Year 8 lesson about sound:
Alan: Now then I used to have terrible problems using a phone box
because I worked up in Scotland in a little village. . . where the
Glenfiddich whisky comes from so it was a bit nice. And when
I used to phone home there used to be a great big clock tower in
the middle of the village and throughout the summer they would
have a piper standing next to the telephone boxes playing the
bagpipes so you can imagine what that was like when you were
trying to phone home.
The fact about sound, that it can travel through solid materials, is neatly
carried by the story. Telephone boxes are of their nature enclosed, and one
telephones from inside, so the very structure of the story, simple as it is,
embodies the idea. The telephone box should have shut out the sound but
it didn't.
In the next example, Leon (in a lesson about microbes) gets the Year 7
class to help create a small scenario to encapsulate some basic facts about
microbes:
Leon: Picture this then because this has happened to me might have
happened to you this is a confession for my part. If you get some
sliced bread, yeah? [1 It's OK if you live in a big family, because
you're eating it all the time right? yeah but I don't live in a
big family, right, so I get I get some sliced bread right? And it
lasts quite a long time but usually I don't actually get to eat the
last few slices arid you've got to tell me why I don't normally eat
the last few slices of my of a sliced loaf in my house. Can you
tell me why?
Leon gets the answer he wants, that the bread goes mouldy, and this little
episode now helps to carry the idea that unseen microbes are everywhere
and in time will grow on anything which nourishes them. His students get
the point. Two of them immediately recall parallel events:
Student: My uncle ages ago he left his packed lunch box and he went
on holiday and he left it in his packed lunch box and when it
was time to go all the.
Leon: You lift your lid off the Tupperware and you sort of go 'ugh'
Student: At our primary school you used to have these cupboards and
you used to put our lunch boxes and then people used to leave
it over night and all the damp...
In the next chapter, on demonstrations, we claim that stories like these have
some of the character of demonstrations. We see that knowledge can be
reworked into story-like forms, not merely to add to its 'liveliness' or 'inter-
est', and not merely to show it 'applied' to some real context, but more
'life'. with do to mainly answers getting them, to meant 'organic' word the
what them asked previously had Elaine carbon. of but life of not chemistry
the as form, modern its in chemistry organic of start the of parable known
well- the tells Elaine, teacher, The 2. Chapter in lesson this of part earlier
an discussed We chemistry. organic of study the beginning is class 11 Year A
classroom
the in parable a Force: Vital of destruction The
sense. derogatory a in 'ideology' term the using not are We
necessary. and important both are views world broad and views, world broad
capture parables Such ideology. is It ideology. avoid cannot be to ought
things how of notion A misunderstanding. no however, be, there Let
historians. of writing the in
found be to contestation and qualification subtle the of little with confident,
and unproblematic often is tone their told, are they As moral. particular a of
service the in facts the bending ideology, of pieces shaped carefully are parables
the that shows episodes 'well-known' these of investigation historical serious
again, and Again heard). not had he fact in which (of experiment Morley
Michelson the by impressed Einstein endlessly; cannon boring by water
boiling Rumford benzene; of structure the about idea Kekul's penicillin; of
discovery Fleming's telling: the shaping and driving point ideological their
with often tales, such repeat regularly texts, science and teachers, Science
ever. for culture
Western changed idea That objects. mundane and heavenly both of motion
the embrace to enough is scheme one that Earth; the circles it as Earth
the towards Moon the of 'fall' the as phenomenon same the just is apple an
of fall the that is It startling. more yet is insight theoretical the Newton, of
case the In it. in immersed is object the when container a in water of level in
rise the noting by calculated easily be can shape, in complex however object,
any of volume the that is it Archimedes, of case the In thought. pure taking
by discoveries make may one that is It uncongenial. too is it because perhaps
telling, the in missed often is which one but interest, ideological same the
serve both Curiously, trees. from fall apples that known have Newton must
surely more even overflow; baths that knew Archimedes Surely obvious. seem
not does drawn be to moral The puzzling. unusually are two these tales, such
other many Unlike science. of folklore the of part are apple an of fall the
noticing Newton or 'Eureka', of cry a with bath overflowing his from leaping
Archimedes be. to ought or is science how about ideas carry parables entific
Sci- be. should or are things how about idea an carry Parables parables. or
tales moral in carried are science of nature the about ideas commonly, Quite
parables or tales Moral
form. reworked a in knowledge, the is story The carrier.
knowledge efficient and memorable a involving, an as act to fundamentally
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 68
 REWORKING KNOWLEDGE 69

Elaine: Now originally, before about 1825 which probably seems like
the beginning of the world to you, 1825, it's not even two
hundred years ago, people like you did just now thought that
there was a whole class of chemical substances that were special
in some way because they were concerned with living things. In
fact, they thought that these chemicals couldn't be made in a
laboratory they couldn't be made in test tubes and beakers
and so forth or in factories, although the industry wasn't
organized in factories and we didn't have firms like um Glaxo
and so on and ICI they thought that these special chemicals
could only be made inside living things or they were the waste
products of living things or the decayed products of living things.
In fact, they had a theory called the Vital Force Theory. Any-
body know what 'vital' really means?
Student: 'Important'.
Elaine: How important?
Student: Major.
Elaine: How major?
Student: Extremely important.
Elaine: Extremely, so important that in fact
Student: It's life or death.
Elaine: life or death.

Elaine: 'Vital' is really concerned with something living OK so the

Vital Force Theory says that to put these chemicals together,
you needed this mysterious Life Force. It could only be done
inside living things because you needed this mysterious Life
Force. It's no good mixing things in beakers or test tubes,
wouldn't work. Then along came a guy called Whler [1 who
I guess was German, maybe Austrian, I guess he was German
and he quite accidentally made a chemical substance in the
laboratory and that chemical substance was called urea. Now
you must have come across that before. What's urea?
Student: [Inaudible]
Elaine: It's a substance that dissolves in water that we call urine, and
it's most definitely organic in the old sense. Because it's a waste
product of living things, it's the way we get rid of our waste
nitrogen compounds. So, he made urea, he wasn't trying to
make this, he was trying to make something else and during the
process he was heating it and it rearranged itself and it came
out as urea. Well that upset the apple-cart a little bit didn't it?
And lots of people didn't believe that he'd really made it and
there was a lot of discussion but other people did think, 'Maybe
there's something in this,' and after a little while, several of
these organic compounds were made in laboratories. So we had
to rethink I say 'We' I wasn't really alive in 1825, I wasn't
really part of it. We had to rethink the theory. What we know
a of equivalent the have atoms in electrons that suppose would Nobody
concerned. all to evident is knowledge reworking of work the Here grasp.
to 'easy' and familiar made is knowledge strange some events, all At atoms.
in electrons of arrangement the of pictures 'correct' make to how about
equivalently, or, electrons, adding successively by atom an making gining
ima- about is It atom. one any about not is analogy The 6. Chapter in ther
fur- discussed is it and above, lesson 10 Year this to referred already have We
like. you wherever sit to tend
don't You row. next the into go you full is row first the When
row. by row in go you makes she leader year the assembly into go
you If [1 hall. assembly an in really chairs like it imagine to try I Ruth:
possible. as obvious and simple as seem atoms in shells 'filling' electrons

issue crucial and subtle a make to analogy an using teacher a of example

an is Here analogy. through is knowledge reworking of way obvious One
metaphor and Analogy
chemistry'. 'organic called is it why and learned, be to kind
this of subject a is there why explains It carbon. of chemistry the about
years several over students some for weeks several over lessons in come to
explanations the all to frame explanatory large-scale a gives parable this of
use Elaine's scales. many on exist explanations that 6, Chapter in elaborated
and 1 Chapter in briefly put point a to here refer usefully also may We
authority. an to it ing
attach- through explanation, the authorize to serves textbooks), in common
'scientists' of portraits thumbnail the in also (as person a on focus The
make. to impossible thought was it substance a accident by made Wohler
that is out leave would teacher no which element key the However, 'they'.
not 'we' using tale, contemporary a as almost presented is It consensus.
communal for need the and product, human a as science about messages
has also parable The chance'. seized-upon by overthrown misapprehension
'massive heroic and forceful is parable The right. are we and wrong was
view old The please'. books your in 'write you what is This now'. know we
'what is this that And compounds. carbon of chemistry the but nothing is
things living of chemistry the that is moral reductionist and difficult more
a second The view. world theoretical whole a overturn to event crucial
single a of power the is first The twofold. is here moral ideological The
compounds.' 'Carbon please. books
your in that write you can So [I compounds. carbon are they is
common in have all they what plants of walls cell the makes
which cellulose carbohydrate, and protein like things include
we and products, decayed their and products waste their and
plants, and animals with things, living with another or way some
in concerned are things these of many although that is now,
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 70
 REWORKING KNOWLEDGE 71

'year leader' enforcing the rules of their construction. In fact, the equivalent
of the 'year leader' in the analogy is the student who makes the marks
representing electrons in atoms go in their assigned places.
At an opposite extreme, analogy or metaphor may be so well hidden
so taken for granted as not to seem to be analogy or metaphor at all.
Clive Sutton in his book Words, Science and Learning provides a wealth of
examples. One is that of 'cell' in biology, introduced by Robert Hooke
when he looked at cork through the microscope and saw tiny structures
arranged like the cells of a honeycomb. Another is 'molecule' meaning 'tiny
lump'. The list is endless, and for a good reason. Making new knowledge can
only be done by reworking old knowledge. With help from William Whewell
who himself coined the word 'scientist' Faraday exploited Greek words

to invent the terms 'ion' (traveller) and 'electrode' (path for electricity). And
he did it not to have graceful expressions, but to enforce a point of view.
Faraday wanted to build right into scientific language his notion that elec-
trolysis was a matter of particles travelling in a solution carrying with them
electricity which entered at one plate and left at another.
Science is not special in this respect. Everyday language is full of some
would say entirely composed of metaphor, much of it hidden. The word
'language' itself to do with tongues is a case in point. So is 'metaphor'
a 'carrying across' of something, a metaphor used differently in the word

'transport'.
Our concept of didactic transposition invokes the very same process. The
example of the multiple transpositions involved in the lesson on sound
shows, on the one hand, the extent to which this has become 'entirely
natural', and on the other the extent to which it is entirely essential.

Students thinking with analogy and metaphor

In Chapter 2 we gave the example of a teacher finding and bringing
to attention a possible 'misconception', that melted wax is water. And in
Chapter 3 we considered the same issue from the point of view of con-
structing the entity 'liquid'. Here we use the same discussion to show that
part of what is at issue is analogy and metaphor. The teacher is Steve; the
class is from Year 7.
Steve: It's liquid?
Pretesh: Yes.
Steve: Is that a different word for water?
Pretesh: Yeah.
Steve: Yeah. It's like water in some ways isn't it. What about it is like
water? [The teacher is swirling the liquid wax in a test-tubej
Pretesh: It can, it, it, it can
Student: Sir, sir, sir.
Pretesh: it can move. It's runny.
Steve: It's runny, yeah, it's runny like water. What else is like water?
In what ways is it like water?
book Sutton's Clive in present strongly view A ideas. scientific explaining of
aspects inessential but pleasing or elegant as them of think to easy too all
is it so expression, literal plain by done being work' 'real the function, ative
decor- mainly a with language, of 'grace-notes' as of thought wrongly but
commonly are metaphor and analogy as Just accessible. more vivid, more

palatable, more ideas make to superficial somewhat is science learning
in metaphor and analogy of value the that suppose to tempting is It
boat. a in felt
or beach the from seen be can what with analogy taken-for-granted almost
an invoke to is 'waves' as sound and light both of think to Similarly, clear.
immediately less is metaphor source the 'fields', as space empty through
spread influences of thinking in as familiar, more and older grown when But
clear. is basis analogical the of existence the computer, a like as brain the of
thinking current in instance for as new, are they When ideas. new of having
the and thoughts new of thinking the in crucial always are metaphor and
analogy exception; an not is example The animals. of breeding domestic with
analogy an by evolution of theory the to way his found Darwin way the is
example famous A itself. work scientific within meanings new constructing
in metaphor and analogy by played role important the above mentioned We
meanings new Constructing
audible. less and
visible less remain usually they though even learning, inform processes same
the But 'explanations'. available publicly the provides who teacher the is it
because 'teaching', on usually is book this in focus Our conceptions'. ative
'altern- called are what of many underlying time, the all on going is thing
of kind this that know we And water. and wax melted between analogy the
of source the are who teacher, the not students, the is it here that Notice
substances. watery for and oxygen, and
hydrogen of made stuff drinkable the for both service do to has 'water' word
the 'liquid' Without common. in have they what catches which 'liquid'
term the for motive a provide to so and water, and wax melted compare to
that on capitalizes Steve 'liquid'. saying of way everyday common very a is
'watery' And runny. and clear both water, like much very is it But unwise.
be would this that clear are they it, drink can they if later asks Steve When
water? 'really' is wax melted think students the Do here? issue the is What
liquid. a It's tube. the of out it pour
could you test-tube] up picks [teacher it pour can You runny. It's Steve:
runny. it's urn, like, It's Shamar:
that. by mean you what explain just you
Can water. like liquid a it's water, like liquid, a it's Okay, Right. Steve:
liquid. It's Shamar:
Shamar? Steve:
water. thick like It's Student:
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 72
 REWORKING KNOWLEDGE 73

(see p. 71) is that attention to metaphor and analogy can enliven and hu-
manize scientific thinking for students. No doubt all these effects are present,
but we believe that the importance of analogy and metaphor in learning
science is much more fundamental than this, and is similar in kind to their
fundamental importance in doing science.
To conclude this chapter, we will give a few further broadly sketched
examples of analogies and metaphors at work. First we will discuss those
which are relatively visible overt metaphors and then those which are
better hidden covert metaphors.

Overt metaphors

An example of overt metaphor from the classroom (in Year 9) concerns the
control of the hormone system, explained by the teacher using the meta-
phor of orchestration:
Leon: Does anyone here play a musical instrument?
Student: Yes.
Leon: Where did you play, at school or in a band?
Student: Orchestra.
Leon: Anyone else?
Student: Piano.
Student: I play the trombone.
Leon: What would happen if you'd all got together as a group of
people and you could all play these instruments, and you just
start to play?
Student: You get a racket.
Leon: There would be a racket. In order to control it and to make sure
it all works and plays a tune, what do you need?
Student: A team.
Leon: To work as a team. You need a team. What does an orchestra
usually have?
Student: A conductor.
Leon: A conductor and what does a conductor do?
Student: Controls the whole thing.
Leon: Yes, a conductor controls the whole thing. So, think about it.
We've said ovaries, testes, adrenal glands, thyroids, Islets of
Langerhans, if they were all doing their own thing, what would
the body be like?
Student: A catastrophe.
Leon: It would be a bit of a mess. So, you can probably half guess that
there is some sort of system controlling all the glands together.
Some way of making sure that all switch on and switch off at
the right time.
The analogy need not be at all complicated. In the next extract the teacher,
Alan, organizes a whole Year 8 lesson around the eye thought of as a camera:
When are'. things 'how of images suggest strongly but descriptions neutral
not are Metaphors electrodes. and ions of 'naming' Faraday's of example
our in suggested we as metaphor, the of maker the of interest specific the by

motivated driven is invention Their arbitrary. all at not are terms Such
('monthly'). menstrual 'finger'), (Latin penis ovaries, egg, examples: obvious of
set a provides reproduction Human writing. and talking of ways scientific in
and terminology scientific in work at invisibly but strongly often is Metaphor
work at metaphor Covert
on. so And from? come programmes its could
where computer, a like is brain the If water? the to corresponds what wave,
a is light If zip? the of role the plays what fastener, zip a like works DNA
If whole. a as envisaged be to able package concrete complete a as comes
analogy An know. to needs it everything knowing yet without work to get to
thought allows which concreteness, their from derives power That power. ive
imaginat- and suggestive their by way this in work metaphor and Analogy
selection.
natural towards driven was Darwin Thus breed?' to which from individuals
selecting person the like act could evolution in 'What question, urgent the
suggests immediately breeding domestic and evolution between analogy
Darwin's itself. work scientific in metaphor and analogy of role the precisely
is understood, be to need may more what seeing of process, this But
answer.
of form a suggest may analogy the And understood. or about thought be
to need may what better see can student The on. so And controllers? the
controls What glands? control hormones do How everything. know to ing
need- without sought be can answers and asked be can questions ductive
pro- which within framework a provides analogy the examples, these In
it. doing of experience granted for taken the 'outside'
from vision about thinking of matter difficult the in help can analogy the
So image'. the at 'looking and picture' the 'taking apart splits contrast,
by camera, The perceiving. and looking between come to seems Nothing
seeing'. 'simply of one is vision of experience The productive. be to chance
a has that two the between tension the is It eye. the like be to reworked
being is camera a and camera a like be to reworked being is eye the Here
thing. of sort same the perform basically they but cleverer
much is eye your in lens the So one. this like thinner become can
it or powerful more and thicker become can It thickness. changes
actually it because like, you if cleverer much is eye your in lens
The way. same the exactly in work they but eyes your in lenses
the than larger much obviously are They OK. lenses of types ent
differ- of selection a variety a here got I've then Now good.
OK please, diagram the on lens the find all you Can lens. a
called something there front the towards see will you eye the of
diagram the at look you if please do to you like would I What Alan:
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 74
 REWORKING KNOWLEDGE 75

Hooke called the small parts of living material 'cells', the word at once sug-
gests questions about what is inside, what their walls are made of, how stuff
can get in or out, and so on. Here are some examples, taken from transcripts
we have cited already, of words and of ways of talking doing such suggestive
work.
The first two examples concern terms from the 'scientific way of talking'
which use metaphor descriptively. In the first we should note that 'trans-
parent' is not a 'better' word for 'see-through'; this is precisely what it means
(Latin: trans parare, 'appear through'). In the second we need to recall that
the term 'alkali' comes from Arabic science and refers to material obtained
from potash that is, the ashes of wood used to fire pots, which was used
both as a fertilizer and with fats to make soap, the latter process making
essential use of the property chemists call alkalinity.
Teacher: . this hot wax at the moment is like water because it's see-
. .

through. What is a better word for 'see-through'? A longer one.

Student: Transparent.
Teacher: Why do they call them alkali metals?
Student: They make alkali.
Teacher: Right. When it reacts with water it's producing some sort of
solution that's alkaline.
The next example illustrates the rich associations a term here 'organic'
can have, and the way metaphors evoke complexes of meaning. That
complex is exactly what this teacher needs to get at in order to build
some sympathy for a now-discredited theory the Vital Force Theory
which she wants to use to introduce the subject of organic chemistry to a
class (see pp. 6870 for more of the context).
Teacher: Any other ways you've met this word 'organic'?
Student: Food.
Teacher: Food. Right. Does it remind you of any other words you've
come across in science?
Student: Organism.
Teacher: Organism. Airight. What is an organism?
Student: A living thing.
So far we have concentrated on 'terms', on words. But there are metaphor-
ical ways of talking as well, which shape ways of thinking. They also work
in transforming knowledge. Consider the following:
Teacher: It's got a coating like rust it's oxidized, OK? It's got a coating
on the surface where it's reacted with the air. . . Look at that.
There you can see a very very bright silver surface that is prac-
tically going grey. The air is reacting with it very fast indeed.
Student: . . . we put the egg on top and I think the pressure pulled it in.
 meaning. of making the are they And thinking. are They difficult. it
find who those for thinking to aid of kind a helpful, or decorative merely not
are metaphor and analogy that plain it make section this in examples The
image. another for need a make to as so mined
under- being is thought of level metaphorical the Here alternative. an as
serve to Sun the to planets joining string a like nothing and tracks, no are
there But tracks. railway were orbits the if as orbits little') ('nice predestined
their in') ('stay 'follow' planets that imagine to easy is It conflict. a again is
there second, the In lubrication. of job the do substances oily how imagine
help to ball-bearings, into molecules transforms teacher the first, the In
orbits? little nice those in
stay they do Why themselves? by off go just they don't Why
round? going them keeps actually what So way. any in Not Teacher:
No. Student:
Sun? the onto
joined they Are Sun? the round going keep planets the do Why Teacher:
scraping. of instead rolling
just I'm because No, away? wear and hot really get they do So
. . .
yes? bearings, ball molecule-size these on rolling just they're Teacher:
system: solar the about is second the and joints in lubrication
about is first The big. too or small too are they because directly, see cannot
we things about talking of ways analogical illustrate examples next The
on. going is what of
image natural the overcome to enough not is 'pressure' term the of force ical
metaphor- The press. which things are pressures though even 'pulled', sure
pres- the that says student the that perception this is strong So in. 'pushed'
not in, 'sucked' egg the as is it see to way natural the and striking, is vacuum
partial a creates and cools bottle the in vapour water as bottle a into drawn
egg an of sight The thinking. and talking of ways of conflict a is there pair,
this of second the In air. with reaction a get to coating the off scrape coating;
the prevent to surface the cover inferences: immediate make can student the
which from image an is it And eye. mind's the for image an build to face)
sur- the at only solids reaches air the reaction, a of result the is rust surfaces,
on is and coating a is rust surfaces, on are (coatings another one reinforce
mutually air' the with 'reacting surface', the 'on 'rust', 'coating', first, the In
air. the
by bottle the into pushed been had it that said we and bottle
the into got we that egg hard-boiled a got we So Yes. Right. Teacher:
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 76
Chapter 5

DEMONSTRATION:
PUTFING MEANING
INTO MATFER

What is demonstration?
In this chapter we consider an aspect of explanation which is essential to
science, namely demonstration. There is a long tradition of demonstration
in science teaching a tradition especially strong in Germany but important
everywhere. Companies manufacture and market large amounts of equip-
ment for demonstrating everything from magnetism to microwaves; from
cell preparations to colloids. 'Great demonstrators' are remembered with
affection and awe; they include several famous names from the history of
science such as Faraday and Tyndall.
It seems obvious that demonstrations are simply a matter of 'showing
nature as it is', as clearly and vividly as possible. We are going in this chapter
to cast some doubt on this seemingly self-evident proposition. We will argue
that the key aspect of demonstrating is to coerce material phenomena into
being meaningful. What that statement might mean will gradually become
clear.
We can gain an entry into the argument by reporting a demonstration
done by a teacher (Leon) in the course of a Year 8 lesson about light. Leon
needs to explain that in a 'transverse wave' the wave energy travels at right
angles to the oscillatory motion of the wave. We ask the reader to try to
imagine the events which are happening here.
Leon: Where did the energy go? [ ] Do it this way [singles out a pupil
and instructs her as follows] Hold this heavy rope. Hold it heavy
rope. Ready? Hold it tight [1 [clenches his hand in front of him to
workings, its and world the concern They demonstrations. of characteristic

generally are features these qualifications few some with that believe We
element imaginative irreducible and strong a had it
world the of constituents real as ones,
unobservable including entities, some of vision a enforce to was function its
go?') it did way 'Which but travelling?' as energy the of think we
must 'How (not as' 'being as as' 'seeing much so not emphasized talk the
now' and here
us of front in 'happening as event the dramatize to made was effort every
observables of as well as (energy) unobservables of was talk the
irrelevancies accidental of shorn was 'seen' was what
conception theoretical a of service the in events was 'shown' was what
wrong go cannot demonstration the
quotes): scare in term the place to temptation
the despite that, it call will we (and demonstration Leon's of features crucial
some Notice explanation. in play they role the and are, demonstrations what
about questions important some up opens episode little this think We

if...?' happen would What rope. a
have we 'Imagine say, not does Leon hypothetical all at not is It you?'). to
happened 'What hard', really it do 'I'll rope', heavy this ('Hold present and
actual the of entirely is language The gestures. and actions convincing the
by concrete and vivid made one but fact, in not thought in demonstration
a was It happen. should what envisaging in exercise imaginative an into
turned been has rope a on pulse wave real a of demonstration A eyes. his
with pulse' 'wave the following happen, would what 'see' to attentively rope
imaginary the 'watching' hand, his of motions up-and-down real made Leon
and hands, clenched strongly with rope imaginary the of ends the 'held'
pupil the and He heavy. it finding of play convincing a with but student, the
to rope heavy a of end the handing mimed merely Leon rope! no was there
that is unusual one this makes What usual. entirely are demonstrations Such
demonstration. small this in happening
event an such envisage to able been have will readers Many end. other the
at tug sideways a as felt be can and pulse, wave a as rope the along travels
end one at shake sideways a them, between rope a hold people two When
way. that student] the to himself from [gestures went energy
the but down] and up [gestures way this moved I go? it did way
Which go? energy the does where energy the did where But Leon:
again. up went You Student:
move? I did way which So again] movement down and up the
[repeats go more one it do I'll hard. really this doing I'm moved]
have would hand student's the as hand his [moves moved never
You you? to happened What strongly] more again, movement the
[makes hard really it do I'll you? to happened What down] and up
sharply hand clenched his [moves ready? you are Right, direction]
the indicate to up head his [moves way this movement the do to
going I'm I himself towards pulls and rope a of end other the hold
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 78
 DEMONSTRATION: PUTTING MEANING INTO MATTER 79

as some scientific theory envisages them to be. And Leon's imaginary demon-
stration raises the question whether it was better for him to do it this way
rather than for real. We think that in this case there are good arguments

to do with the necessary role of imagination why it was better.

We conclude this introduction with an (imaginary but all too familiar)
evocation of a well-known demonstration as it not meant to be experienced
by students:
The teacher put two wires into some water in a little bowl. Froth grew
on the water, and she scooped up a bit of the froth and put a match to
it. The froth went bang! right there in her hand. But she wasn't hurt at
all. I don't know what it was supposed to show but she must be very
brave to do it.
Many a student has gone away from a demonstration saying, 'I don't know
what it was supposed to show, but. .'. The event is there but it lacks mean-
.

ing. The student remembers what could be seen, but lacks an idea of what
the events are supposed to mean. The teacher wanted to show water being
torn apart by an electric current into hydrogen and oxygen, which then
exploded, combining back into water and releasing the energy which had
been supplied in tearing them apart. The student saw wires, water, froth and
a bang. The demonstration failed in its effect on many counts in the list of
features above, not least the imaginative, even though it 'worked'.

Vexing nature by art

Francis Bacon, a contemporary of Galileo, and so writing at the time when
what we now call science was being invented, gave the following advice to
observers of nature:
the secrets of nature reveal themselves more readily under the vexa-
tions of art than when they go their own way.
Francis Bacon, The New Organon, Book One, xcviii
What he had in mind was that in the events of the natural world, the effects
of various entities are entangled with one another, so that the effect of the
entity one wants to understand may be interfered with by the effects of
others.
A good example from the history of science is the discovery of electrons
by J. J. Thomson. In the late nineteenth century 'cathode rays', produced
when electricity was discharged in gases at low pressure, were well known
but their nature was a puzzle. Some thought they were a kind of immater-
ial radiation; others thought they were beams of charged particles. One piece
of evidence against them being beams of charged particles was that they
were not deflected by an electric field as they should be if they consist of
moving charges. Thomson had the idea that the problem was that a cloud
of charge from the ionised gas shielded the cathode rays from the electric
field, neutralizing its effect. So he progressively reduced the gas pressure, to
 some is get to likely more you're what custard any got haven't
we but custard with before this done I've said, I as get to likely
more you're What current. convection a is get should you What David:
crack.
to going is thing whole the that solid so is stuff that that feeling
. . .
this got just I've tripod] the on beaker the [places convection
is which already, times several about talked we've something is
you show to want I what because burner] bunsen [adjusts gently
that heat to try to going I'm Now top. on layer white a with
layer, blue a urn beaker] the of base the at finger his with [circles
is there here bottom the At OK? substancel the of flow no is there
and side, its on beaker large [turns is it thick how see can you then,
mixture, jelly-like thick a is This here. what's explain just let's
But work. to it get can we if see to just gelatine, with it trying
we're so custard, any have didn't we unfortunately but custard, . . .
be to meant it's er actually be to meant is this what David:
work. might that experiment an doing
. .
we're that pretend we'll we'll so work. won't it undoubtedly . . .

experiment an you show should I luck, of bit a with David:
insouciance: and
gloom of blend typical a with failure its anticipated show, to ready stance
sub- jelly-like a in convection of demonstration a with tectonics, plate
about 10 Year in teaching David, this. about clear very are Teachers
intended. as vexed been not has Nature meaning. of failure a is
problem The show. to meant was it what show not does demonstration the
that is It fail? to it is What failing. it of nervous is demonstration a doing
teacher science every course, of fact, In mind. in had we what explain now
must and fail, cannot demonstrations that however, above, suggested We
performance. actual in fail
can both Yet 'made'. contrived, artful, essence the of are Both material. the
and theoretical the between tension a involve both demonstration and ment
experi- science, teaching in and doing in that is show does argument brief this
what But themselves. manifest to made be cannot consequences whose cies
fan- that: exactly be to out turn may fancies theoretical Our work. to bound
not are Experiments recalcitrant. is nature because 'yes' is however, answer,
The anywhere? getting it is show', to 'meant is it what only 'shows' stration
demon- or experiment an If unsettling. is circularity of suggestion The
course. of demonstrations, of true is fortiori, a same, The reveal. to built is it
what reveal to built artifice, constructed and controlled carefully a be must
experiment Any general. completely is course, of point, The another. see to
as so effect one remove artfully to art by nature vex to had Thomson
side-effect.
a of result the became now evidence contrary be to seemed had What rays.
cathode the deflect could he that found ultimately and effect, this reduce
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 80
 DEMONSTRATION: PUTTING MEANING INTO MATTER 81

kind of nuclear custard explosion, and the whole thing stuck to

the ceiling. [Students laugh] But with a bit of luck with a bit of
luck what we should start to see what we should see is the
blue layer at the bottom starting to circulate. We should get a
convection current starting, as the blue starts to rise and goes to
the surface.

In fact the beaker did crack and any movement of the blue layer was at best
marginal. In that sense, the demonstration failed. But the class had seen, in
the context of learning about the structure of the Earth, something more or
less 'solid' heated and expected to move. The point of the demonstration
was not to make gelatine convect, but to make a parallel between convection
and processes inside the Earth. The meaning was still clear: continents move
because they are carried on hot moving molten rock circulating inside the
Earth, and the underlying process is one which is familiar in everyday life,
not something exotic. The demonstration offered a model for thought, not
a slice of life. Here is a further example of the transformation of knowledge
through analogy, discussed earlier in Chapter 4.
A demonstration, then, is an event in which some aspect of the material
world is to be made meaningful in a particular preordained way. And this
is done usually through special apparatus, chosen and constructed so as to
exhibit the meaning as forcefully, clearly and unambiguously as possible.
The demonstration does not put what is to be demonstrated at risk. Yet,
making something 'really happen' is, because of the feeling of risk, more
forceful in its effect than just saying that it will happen.
Demonstration apparatus and demonstration itself, are material objects
and events composed into meaningful signs. The sign says that a particular
theory is in good working order; that a given natural material process is to
be understood as entities going through their expected behaviour; that things
are as we say they are. At first sight it is not obvious that brute events in the
material world are the kind of thing that could be made into a sign. Surely
signs are parts of messages, not things which 'just happen'? Consider an air
track: a hollow beam on which gliders 'float' on a cushion of air with hardly
any friction. Set moving, such a glider travels an astonishing distance up and
down the track, barely slowing down. It 'demonstrates' that if there are no
forces, motion continues 'for ever', flatly contradicting the everyday belief
that all movement needs a cause. We choose the example because of the
transparency of its artifice. The air track is clearly a heavily manufactured
human artefact, not something 'natural'. Its sharp linearity is evident to the
eye; the small holes are carefully contrived. And why on earth should a
glider supported mysteriously on air blown through holes in a beam be
taken as the representative of 'a moving thing', rather than a football or a car?
The example shows rather more clearly than most how a demonstration
must be understood as matter put in service of theory.
We may say that the students see demonstrations as events of a particular
kind because of the work the teacher puts into preparing them to see the
events in that way. When we look at the character of that work, it is in large
burns. is) it (whatever gas this that way the in burns hydrogen that notes
and match, a with alight bubbles the from gas the sets He product. alkaline
an indicating colour a to lithium the near indicator the of change a by and
forming bubbles by shown reaction, the to attention draws He in. lithium
the drops and dish, a in water in indicator some puts he Then tarnishes.
slowly it watch, they as that, way the to attention draws and surface, very
sil- the displays He so. do to hard quite is it that showing knife, a with
piece small a cuts He oil. in stored is lithium the that fact the to attention
draws He lithium. using actions, of sequence a through goes now Tom
phenomena.
between differences and similarities but themselves, phenomena not ing
observ- themselves find students the later that so form, table in monstration
de- the of part each in observations down write to students the asks Tom
actions. teacher's
the of details the to down way, 'tabular' a in organized is demonstration
whole the that fact in see shall We order. have and table, a to belong They
metals). (alkali name group a and names, with elements, three of group a
becomes here water into put stuff greyish of bits been have would What
please. underlined title the Okay, whiteboard] the on Metals'
'Alkali [writes lesson today's for title the is this group, that of name
the you giving by, off, start can we So okay. it, in potassium and
sodium, lithium, with one the one, number called one the table]
periodic the of column a to [points one that students] the to it displays
and table, periodic the of copy a containing book a up [picks is today
at look to going we're one the Now turn. in groups these of each
. .
at looking start, to on go to is today do to want I What table.
periodic the of areas in colour to is far so done we've What Good. Tom:
table. periodic the in place their to reference with teacher the by ordered
and chosen been have They substances. old any just not are these But each.
to done is thing same the because compared, be to are substances three
that is guess can we All meaning. no is there thus, Put substance. third a
with same the doing then and happens; what seeing and water in substance
another of quantity small a placing happens; what seeing water, in substance
one of quantity small a placing involves demonstration the way, one Seen
potassium.

and sodium lithium, metals' 'alkali so-called three of properties the of tion
demonstra- a is example The meanings. of set a into phenomena and action
talk, of blend a shape carefully can teacher a how 10, Year in lesson stration
demon- one of account extended an through illustrate, to now turn We
matter with meaning-making metals: Alkali
different. quite something into bangs, and froth wires, of experience an from
events transforms theory The demonstration. the to prior presented theory the
of product a is perception students' The theory. some of presentation a part
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 82
 DEMONSTRATION: PUTTING MEANING INTO MATTER 83

Table 5.1 Comparison of alkali metals

Element Atomic Hardness Surface Tarnishes Reacts Solution Produces

number with water

Lithium 3 hard bright slowly gently alkaline hydrogen

Sodium 11 soft bright quickly strongly alkaline hydrogen
Potassium 19 very bright very violent alkaline hydrogen
soft quickly

Francium 87 liquid explodes alkaline hydrogen

What is important is that when he comes to sodium, he repeats the same

actions, in the same way, even to the point of doing each in the same place
on the bench as the previous one. Here is part of what was said as Tom went
through the first part of this exercise, while repeating it with sodium.
Tom: Now we're going to see what happens when we cut it. [Cuts the
sodium] Right, look at how soft that is. Okay, so its softer,
Student: I've got harder.
Tom: [Holds small piece in front of the class, with tweezers] and it's
going, it's going white very very fast indeed, much quicker than
before.
Student: Going what?
Tom: Going white, it's oxidizing, or tarnishing much faster than the
last bit.
Student: Is it hard sir?
Tom: No, it's soft, it's, it's like, it's now like hard butter. If you're
cutting it with knife it's about the same toughness as hard butter.
We can see the previous steps replicated. Also, we can notice the built-
in comparison ('softer', 'faster', 'it's now like . .'). It is helpful at this point
.

to show the tabular structure which, when one has watched the whole de-
monstration, emerges as the pattern underlying everything the teacher does
(Table 5.1). This is a table about two things: resemblance and progressive
difference. Some terms are the same and others vary. But the variations are
variations on the same themes: all are cuttable but some more easily than
others; all react with air and with water but some do it more rapidly than
others. And these progressions match the numerical progression of atomic
number, which in the end turns out to be the deep underlying point. It
is the theoretical patterns of the periodic table which order the teacher's
actions he shows the elements in strict sequence. And the tests are never
related to the character of the substances involved, but are seen to be sig-
nificant simply for their consistency with the pattern in question. There is
a strong focus in all the talk and in the patterned action on similarity with
difference. Indeed Tom reinforces early on the point that the substances in
question are theoretical entities. He questions the class about what they know
 off? given was gas what Okay, alkaline. gone it's now, water
the in happened has whatever So water. in was it okay, Water, Tom:
Water. Students:
?] [ in indicator green Yeah, Tom:
indicator. Green
beforehand? there in was what Now alkaline. that's solution
of sort some producing it's water with reacts it when Right, Tom:
metals? alkali them call they do Why
metals? I Group the for name that use they'd think you why
reason a er, me, give now anyone can so H water to added is
metal the when purple, indicator the turns It clear. soon will It Tom:
coughi [Students
purple. indicator the turns it turned, it's say, can you so Okay, Tom:
lithium. the near purple went solution indicator the that fact
observable the about discussion, next the in meaning and interpretation
its with happens' 'what of mingling the clearly more even see can We
shape. good in are theories that means it facts; discover not
does It wrong. go cannot demonstration the way a in previously, suggested
we As underscored. is hydrogen makes reaction the that story the and did,
.
it Nevertheless, .'. have. should it 'Well like, something said have would
Tom fire, catch to failed had gas the if that sure rather be can We so. done
has and scratch to up come to chance a given been has Nature does. gen
hydro- things the of one for check we so hydrogen, expect to us leads theory
that is here on going argument actual The hydrogen. is gas the that follow
course of not does It hydrogen. does So fire. catches and 'pops' gas The
sensation. choking a like it's like, It's Tom:
it. smell can't I Student
actually. smell horrible a quite it's quite, It's Tom:
airship. big the Like
fire. catches that gas a it's popping, It's Tom:
pops. It Students:
hydrogen? it's know you do how Right Tom:
Hydrogen. 4: Student
Hydrogen. 3: Student
Flammable. 2: Student
Flameable. 1: Student
water] the
on metal the to match lighted [moves look a have Let's match]
a [lights is gas the what know to want we then, now Right Tom:
seen. is what beyond well goes 'observed' is what extract, next the in see
we as But, seeing'. and 'looking as on going is what represents Tom however,
demonstration, the In properties. these at looking of question no is There
unobservables. concerns course, of this, All elements. three these of nuclei,
the in neutrons and protons of numbers the of and number, atomic the of
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 84
 DEMONSTRATION: PU'ITING MEANING INTO MATTER 85

Students: Hydrogen.
Tom: Right, what do you get if you take some hydrogen away from
water? What's left?
Student: Oxygen.
Tom: Oxygen yeah. OK so you'd, erm, what you've actually got left
is one H and an 0. One, water is H20, isn't it?
Students: Yes.
Tom: And one of the Hs has been nicked, or stolen, by what?
Student: Burning.
Tom: By the sodium, by the, sorry, by the lithium. Okay, so the, the
lithium has st stolen one of the, erm, one part of it for itself,
the OH, and it's thrown the bit that it doesn't want, the hydro-
gen, out, so it's come off, as a gas, and we're able to set fire to
it, okay? Let's have a look at the next one.
The mixture of kinds of inference and interpretation here is complex and
interesting. The inference to alkalinity from colour change is done by mak-
ing the colour change mean alkalinity. The teacher is very clear that colour
changes of the indicator have meanings (see the highlighted remark below).
Tom: You've seen this before, this is called universal indicator
basically it's vegetable juice. What colour, what colour is it?
Student: Green.
Students: Green.
Tom: Green, okay. Now I put some, in the water. [Puts some universal
indicator in the water with an eye-dropperl
Student: Some?
Tom: Just so the, okay, the water's gone green, yes? Okay, so, what
that means is that the water, is neutral. Now what number
is neutral on the pH scale? Can anyone remember?
Student: Seven.
Tom: Seven, good, right. Seven is neutral. If it went an acid what
colour would the water go?
Student: Green.
Tom: Red. Suppose it went alkaline?
Student: Blue.
Tom: Blue. Okay, so we've got red at the acid end, blue, blue or
purple at the alkali end, green in the middle. So whatever I put
in there, if it changes the colour we'll be able to tell whether
it's going acid or alkali, won't we?
Further support is sought, not from experiment, but from a theoretical in-
terpretation which would make sense of the production of alkali. Here it is
the argument that the pair OH the signature of alkalis is 'stolen' from
water (HOH), leaving hydrogen to be evolved. And this interpretation is
further buttressed by the way it requires the giving off of hydrogen, to occur
as has just been 'shown to be the case'. Theory expects; demonstration
(hopefully) delivers.
expectations creates He once. at things different two achieve to enough) real
are (which demonstration the of aspects dangerous the on capitalizes Tom
quickly]
back steps and water the in sodium the [drops Ready! sodium. so,
right, All hand. other the on er, but reactive, that be to going
isn't see to going you're what that what that hope We screen]
safety the touches and out [reaches there, that's why that's very,
it's mean, I but bath, the around finger], a with gesture circling a
and sound buzzing [makes go just it'll times other at and dictable,
unpre- very very It's pieces. to jar the blew it and gesture] work
fire- [makes here up going sparks coloured know, you Coloured, Tom:
in? it put he as soon As Student:
pieces. to jar
the blew just it er, and now, in putting be gonna I'm lump the
of size the that of piece a got chap this and off, gone know,
you obviously, had stuff the and it, around crust black a a,
had it and years, 10 about for us with been had that jar, glass
a jar, a in this given was he and stuff, old some had we way,
the by stuff new is this had, we sodium the of some and ago,
years of couple a here teacher a had We story. a you tell I'll
you, tell I'll screen]. safety the [of side that on you're sure Make Tom:
expected. as quite out turn to have not
do things that fact the at contingent; the material, the actual, the at ected
dir- is demonstration the of course the in says Tom what of deal good A
founded. well be might anticipations
those that feeling the to credence lending anticipated, someone as
happening things of number considerable a seen had class the And relief. of
sense strong a felt doubt no he should', it as 'happened had everything and
thing, whole the of end the to got teacher the When it. about material and
actual the of element strong a have does demonstration this Nevertheless,
evidenced. be
to structure theoretical the is which table the embody actions patterned the
so evident', 'make to made is it theory the embodies apparatus physical as
Just change. colour indicator the notes and gas, the ignites water, in it puts
tarnish, and shine for it inspects it, cuts teacher the turn, in substance each
For behaviour. of patterning deliberate the in is argue, we artifice, The
indicator. and water matches, knife, a metal, of pellets just
equipment; elaborate no is There the is metals, alkali of properties
the of example this in then, Where, will. they say we because just happen to
have not do well very know students as which produce, they events real
of role the stressed also we But show'. to 'designed as artifice, as apparatus
demonstration and demonstrations discussed we chapter this in Earlier
us. of front in occurring
actually as events its exhibit to tries and story this from starts demonstration
The thing. predetermined their doing each story the in participants with
story, a like built is explanation an how clearly rather see here can We
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 86
 DEMONSTRATION: MEANING INTO MATTER 87

of possible danger and drama, thereby achieving one of the most basic forms
of difference (in the sense of Chapter 2) namely, excitement arising from
hope mingled with fear. The students are kept watching in hope of cata-
strophe. But at the same time, he creates a second difference, creating a dif-
ferent need to explain, out of his knowledge of how to avoid danger. What
follows shows his skilful manipulation of these factors, as he moves from
lithium to the more reactive sodium.
Tom: Let's have a look at the next one.
Student: Are you going to put that big chunk in?
Tom: No, I'm not, no. This is, again, chemicals are very unpredict-
able, you've got to be so so careful, it's not, it's not the sort of
thing you can, just mess about with. Right, sodium.
Student: Sir, is it expensive, lithium?
Tom: They are, they are fairly expensive, right. Next heading then,
Sodium.
Student: Who's book's this?
Tom: A bit like this here would blow the room up actually [holds a
sizeable lump of sodium up before the class, using tweezersl Ahh,
right, what colour is it?
Student: Silver-white.
Tom: It's a silver-white colour when it's oxidized, or tarnished.
Student: Put it all in.
Tom: No I won't. I wouldn't, I wouldn't be here tomorrow if I did.
Ahh, nor would you.
The timing of this has interest, too. By choosing this moment the passage

from the least reactive element to the next more reactive one, he builds the
tabular comparison of reactivity into the affective as well as the cognitive
structure of the demonstration. Tom checks whether they are expecting the
sequence to develop, and in doing so communicates that there should be
such expectations, that there is a developing structure, by asking for pre-
dictions of what may happen when the next element is tried.
Tom: Well, what do you predict? You tell me what you think is
going to happen now.
Student: It's going to, catch fire, and
Tom: I'm going to put potassium in there in a minute.
Student: change the colour of the water.
Tom: That's right, so let's, let's get rid of this, and er, get it back to
green again. Get some new water.
Student: It'll stay the same colour.
Tom: Okay, so we think it's going to turn the water purple. How
about, how about how violently reactive, you think it's going
to be more reactive?
Student: Oh yeah.
Tom: How about when I cut it?
Student: Softer, and it's going to be bright inside.
 out. turn things how
by supported something also but 'made', something into drama, into turned
been has table periodic the of structure the of bit A pattern. theoretical

underlying the to parallel exactly way a in patterning deep its exhibit they
event the enliven merely not do These tension. emotional of development

well-judged a and actions of pattern crafted carefully a by moment given
the at being into brought realized is structure that but order, numerical
in arranged elements of story unreal and desiccated a seems what by tated
dic- is structure whole Its presence. physical strong a has time same the at
and event theoretical conceptual, a once at is then, demonstration This
water. the hits it as soon as Burns Student:
up. screen safety a have to idea good a
always it's why That's screen] safety the at scratches [Tom There. Tom:
Where? Student:
plastic.
the burnt it's burned, it's Yes, [1 exploded then and [] water,
the hits it as soon as burns as, burns potassium, then, right
so, Erm, reaction. mild fairly a actually was that was, that Okay, Tom:
yeah. Oh Student:
ceiling? the on splodges green the
see You there. up and there ceiling the on see can you which
. .
efforts previous of results the it?. isn't unpredictable Very Tom:
giggling] and [Laughing
Right. Tom:
Jeez. Student:
Shit. Student:
explosionl small [A
gas. same the it's it, for word my Take gas. same The Tom:
smell? stuff that Does Student:
sir? fire on it set you Did Student:
shit. Oh Student:
fire] catchesIt water. the in potassium the drops [Teacher
god. Oh Student:
water.
the in this bung we when happens what see let's then, Right Tom:
start. the at casualness calculated Tom's Notice water. in dropped when
spontaneously fire catching it see they as strongly, react to prepared are dents
stu- the potassium, reactive very the reaches he when this, all of result a As
Softer. Students:
Softer. Student:
Harder. Student:
harder? or soft be to going is and fast, very
very tarnish to going it's very, be to going it's think you So Tom:
yeah. Yeah, Student:
quickly. very tarnish to going It's Student:
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 88
 DEMONSTRATION: PUTTING MEANING INTO MATTER 89

Expectation and counterexpectation

Demonstrations material events pressed in service of theory may be used
to attack or to reshape theoretical expectations. A simple example is the case
of making water boil by cooling it. A flask half full of water is boiled until
the remainder of the flask is full of water vapour, when it is taken off the
flame and sealed. If cold water is run over the outside of the flask, the vapour
condenses and the water boils under the reduced pressure. A teacher explains
below how and why he uses this demonstration:
I don't tell them what it's going to be before I start. I ask them to define
boiling. You can never tell exactly what they're going to say. In most
cases they'll say 'boiling is when you heat up a liquid and you give the
particles enough energy to become airborne'. . The key is that they
.

associate boiling with heating, and somehow or other I'll get that out of
them before we start.
He wants to put in question the common-sense account of boiling, using a
phenomenon which seems to defy that account. But just what needs to be
explained? Is it, 'How can water boil when the flask is cooled?,' or is it, 'If this
is "boiling" then what is "boiling"?' We incline to think that the real ques-
tion at issue is the second. The demonstration shows, not so much a sur-
prising effect, as a fracture in understanding. Further advance will be made,
not by investigating such phenomena in greater detail or variety, but by a
rethinking of explanatory schemes.
The explanation, in terms of vapour pressure in the liquid and in the space
above it, will transform what 'boiling' is. After that explanation, the demon-
stration becomes something different: no longer an unexpected event but
now an example of a new theoretical story. It now demonstrates what it
previously put in question, namely an account of what boiling is. Not only
is knowledge transformed; the demonstration is also transformed.
The teacher above will also tell stories of early expeditions to Mount
Everest, where the climbers found it impossible to boil eggs at the high
altitude because of the low air pressure, and also of people living a mile
above sea level, in Denver, Colorado, needing to use pressure cookers to cook
their food. Such anecdotes serve in effect as further demonstrations. A sim-
ilar function is served by film or videotape of phenomena. For example, the
teacher whom we saw explaining about alkali metals promises the class a
film of the same experiments with francium.
Tom: What do you think - how - what do you think rubidium
would be like, in terms of its hardness?
Student: It's soft, really soft.
Tom: Really very soft, yes. Okay, how about if you put a bit of it in
water. Would you want to be in the same room?
Students: No.
Tom: No, I wouldn't no. So this one francium? It's, I mean the
reason we don't do it, one it's violently reactive, two it's in-
credibly expensive. Er you'll see a film that we'll show you.
 progress. in knowledge
of transformation the and entities of construction the 4, and 3 Chapters in
as again, see We slower'. or faster moving molecules 'is to colder' or hotter
'feels meaning from transformation, a undergone have to also has perature'
'tern- it, do to And space. a filling bromine of one not moving, molecules
of one is history explanatory Her history. explanatory an into event an from
diffusion turning is she and boiling involve not need evaporating that here

'evaporating' and 'boiling' of notions the transforming also is She things.

two doing is Elaine point. main the not is diffuse to happens matter That
accountable. phenomena making of way a rehearsing is teacher the Here
good. faster, moved They Elaine:
faster. moved they Yeah, 2: Student
Vibrating. Student:
hot? got they when doing particles the were what and Right, Elaine:
[Inaudible] Student:
it? with do to got temperature has does What Temperature. Elaine:
temperature. The Student:
gas? a into
change it did Why gas. into changed liquid, The good. No, Elaine:
No. Students:
evaporate? to boil to have liquid a does So, Elaine:
No. Students:
boil? liquid the does evaporating in and Right, Elaine:
gas. a Into 2: Student
gas. a into turned It 1: Student
mean? evaporate does what and evaporated, liquid The Elaine:
evaporated. It Student:
do? liquid the did What jar.
gas the in liquid a was it liquid, a had we all of first but Yeah, Elaine:
purple. gone all had It Student:
liquid? the liquid the to happened what
hour, one after and colour, brown dark a is Bromine jar. gas
the of bottom the into bromine liquid some put You 54. page
on picture The yourself. remind to pictures the at look ally
actu- can you So, experiment. bromine the at looked we Then Elaine:
retrospect. in recalled experiment an is demonstration the time This matter.
of theory molecular a of terms in understood be to are which diffusion) of
(examples phenomena reviewing lesson 9 Year a from comes It evaporation.
and boiling of meaning the concern to again happens which following, the
is knowledge transform to used being demonstration of example further A
reaction. violent extremely an it's so and hydrogen, is which out,
comes gas of puff big this there's er and explode, jar the see you
away runs he as and runs, he and fallI drop a letting [mimes that
like goes he and liquid, thick of sort very very a actually it's
stuff, the of drip one got he's and pipette, a with man see You'll
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 90
 DEMONSTRATION: PUTTING MEANING INTO MATTER 91

What is involved in this last example is not counterexpectation leading

to explanation, but explanations used to create expectations. The context is
one of recalling several parallel demonstrations, all involving diffusion. The
idea is clearly to provide them all with a uniform account. The fact that the
demonstration is discussed in retrospect, as something to be recalled, sug-
gests how it is not mere brute fact, but that it stands for something. It means
that molecules move.

Meaning and material action

Throughout this chapter we have been challenging the familiar sharp dis-
tinction between words and things, meanings and brute fact, theory and
phenomena 'what we say' and 'what is so'. Our purpose is not at all to sug-
gest that everything is nothing other than just what it is said, or constructed,
to be. Our idea is that meanings are closely bound up with the material world
and especially with actions on it. Meanings are made from what things can
do, what can be done to them, and what they are made of. It is in looking
at demonstrations that we can see most clearly how meaning and material
action are closely entangled.
The next example concerns not a phenomenon but an instrument. The
teacher, Steve, has a microcomputer which can display a graph, and which
is connected to a pressure sensor and a temperature sensor. Near the begin-
ning Steve talks to the Year 7 group about the two sensors.
Steve: I've got two things here which can make scientific measurements...
One thing we've got here is a temperature probe. This measures
the temperature here [points at vicinity of probe], and it's got a little
bit of electronic stuff in here [points inside probe] and it sends
signals along this wire [gestures along the wire] into this box and
into the computer. So this thing is able to tell the computer how
hot this water is. . . This thing [holds up the second sensor] is con-
nected to this tube [holds up tube]. Now the only thing in the tube
is air, so all there is in the tube is air, and the air is connected up
to this thing up here which measures pressure.
All the talk is about what things do ('measures the temperature', 'sends
signals', 'measures pressure'), and about their parts ('connected to', 'all there
is in the tube is air'). What can be done to them is implied (for example, put
the temperature probe in the water).
The next thing Steve does is to show, again through action, what 'meas-
uring pressure' means. He connects the pressure sensor to the computer so
that its signal will move a cursor up or down on the computer screen.
Steve: . . . if I take this tube out of here, at the moment it's just con-
nected to the air so it's measuring the pressure of air in this room.
If I put it in my mouth, it will measure the pressure of the air in
my mouth. Now, I'm going to put it in my mouth and I'm going

quite. not but there got almost it's zero for line the here
line this see You line. zero the to up almost it's Well, left. moved

it's across back come it's so cold, quite temperature the made

just I've So 100. 50, 0, got we've bottom the along Celsius

degrees got we've scale temperature the on scale temperature
the because left, going It's screen]. the watches everybody and done is
[this water cold the into goes it when happens what watch Let's Steve:
Up. Omar:
go? will this
think you do way Which left? or right go will it think you do Or
up? or down go will it think you Do water. icy the into this put
. .
to going I'm Yes? temperature? understand you do think?. you
. .
do Omar, now. water iced got I've So water. of bit a and here
. .
ice some got. I've air. the of temperature the measuring just
it's and air the in sitting just It's room. the in air the of perature
tem- the measuring is sensor temperature the moment, the At Steve:
knit:
closer even get meaningful the and material the proceeds, lesson the As
meaning. their become actions those to responses their and objects
material the on actions His them. to done be can what and do they what see
to is them explain to does Steve What intertwined. fully here are meaningful
the and material The be. to it like would we what by decided wholly not is
behaviour whose thing material a also is sensors, temperature and pressure
the and it, But communicate. to used things of class the of member paid-up
fully a is computer the of screen display the And communication. of part
is It event. semiotic a meaningful, a is pressure' a recording and 'Measuring
top. the at is pressure high bottom, the at
is pressure low So, down. goes it suck I when so go, we There Steve:
tube] the on [Sucks out. that check just Let's down. go It'll Steve:
down. Go Farhan:
suck? I if happen
to going what's Farhan, class. the in Farhan one only There's
Farhan. name's your if up hand your put Fa called who's No, Steve:
answer] give to starts [Class suck? I if happen
to going what's Farhan, up. goes cross the increases, pressure,
lithe So, again.
down goes it blowing, stop I as soon as And Steve:
Up. Student:
tube] the into [Blows cross. the Watch
it. into blow I when happens what see just let's just, let's Well, Steve:
it. tries Steve then and guesses, some make students The
right? or left go to going it Is down? or up go to going cross
move
the Is move. to going is middle the in cross the to going
is cursor the it, into blow I If sensor. pressure the into blow to
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 92
 DEMONSTRATION: PUYFING MEANING INTO MATTER 93

The cursor goes left or right as the temperature changes, not for any physical
reason but for a conventional reason, namely that this was how it was de-
cided to make the display work. It is also a matter of convention to arrange
to plot lower values to the left and higher ones to the right. Even assigning
the value zero to the temperature of ice and water is conventional. But at
the same time, what the class sees is like a material phenomenon: a cross
on a screen moves in response to placing a sensor in iced water. What they
see differs distinctly from reading a thermometer and plotting a point on a
paper graph using a pencil. Communicating and material events are now
thoroughly mixed.
Steve then shows how the pressure of air in a tube increases as the
temperature of the air is increased. The class are led to note how the points
plotted on the screen fall on a rising line. After some time, however, the
display suddenly changes all by itself:
Steve: Did you see what the computer did then? I think the computer
has decided to swap things around a bit. It's still got all the same
readings it's just changed the scale a little bit.

Now the computer itself has become an actor in these events. Without being
asked it changed the scale and so the overall appearance of the plot.
Our point here is that this kind of explanatory episode cannot be under-
stood as meaningful talk about non-meaningful material events. The talk
makes meaning out of the events, through actions, and the actions and their
material consequences give meaning to the talk. To deal with this kind of
data, we are obliged to give up a notion of meaning residing solely in words,
in language, and to admit that it emerges from an interplay of language,
action and physical events. Where a common-sense view of language says
that meaning is carried by words, we have to say that pressure sensors and
computers are also objects loaded with meaning. And they get their mean-
ing through actions.
In the above example we have, however, made an easy choice of example.
The demonstration was, after all, about an instrument to be used to measure
and communicate. The next example, about students understanding sound
through action, suggests that making meaning through material action is
more general. In this example, the teacher (Leon) has just shown the Year
8 class that none of them can hear sounds of frequency (pitch) higher than
about 25 000 oscillations a second. They are looking at data about other
animals:
Leon: And how do we know that a dog can hear higher sounds than
us? Everybody knows this one. How do we know?. . Now .

come on there there are some what do we know about

dogs that people sometimes call them with?
Students: A whistle whistle whistle
Leon: And?
Student 1: Whistle
Student 2: They blow the whistle
 Frequency. 2: Student
Pitch. 1: Student
low? or high it makes what voices, our with even So Leon:
Higher. Students:
higher. was It Student:
lower? or high, note Lois's was And Leon:
sound. frequency highest the made who seeing and produce students sounds
the from patterns the of troughs and peaks the counting work follows There
brilliant. that's Oh, Leon:
'Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh' Student:
again. it do Now good. really That's Leon:
brilliant. that's Oh Student:
good. really That's Student:

oscilloscope] [adjusts um me let just OK, Leon:
'Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh' Student:

note. your hold Hold Leon:
note. the not laugh, that records It Leon:
go? a have I Can 2: Student
[Laughter] 'Ehhhhh' Student:
closer. bit a Come Leon:
'Ehhhhhhh' Student:
that. like Something Leon:
'Ehhhhhh' Student:
'Ehhhh' Like Leon:
'Ehhhh' Student:
note. any on up picture that get can we if See note. a holding
just are you if happens what see if see note a hold to Leon:
'Ho-o-o-h' Student:
try to you want I Leon:
this. Try on. go Well Leon:
long? For Student:
. .
note? a hold you Can not?. Or
something? or 'doh' go you When note? a like do you Can Leon:
'sound'. for meaning new making into
actions and bodies own students' the linking involves demonstration This
oscilloscope. an on produced pattern the watch others while microphone, a
into sing to students the gets later teacher The it'). hear can't you but noise
a made ('It's 'hearing' of meaning the changes dog a to done be can What
it. hear can't you but noise a There's Leon:
it. hear can't you but noise a made It's 4: Student
run they and 2: Student
they and 1: Student
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 94
 DEMONSTRATION: PUTTING MEANING INTO MATTER 95

Student 3: Frequencies.
Leon: The frequency, the number of vibrations.
Whereas in the example of the properties of alkali metals (see p. 82ff) the
students witnessed a demonstration (and from behind a safety screen), here
they are an integral part of it. It is their actions which are being shown to
have new meanings and new possibilities. Their actions produce new effects,
and new things are seen to be able to be done to their actions. And in this
work, what a student does is treated on a par with what the oscilloscope
does, or with what sounds do. All are events being given new meanings.

'What is demonstration, again?'

Apart from our first example, all the other cases of demonstration in this
chapter have been actual experiments in the classroom. Our analysis can
apply, however, not only to the 'imaginary' demonstration we cited, but
to other cases of invoking real events as having theoretical meaning. A
prime example of this is the use of narratives about real events. Thus when
(Chapter 4, p. 67) the teacher invites recall of food going mouldy, he is
doing something very like a demonstration. In the same lesson the teacher
(Leon) asked the class to imagine the effect of keeping one half of a cucum-
ber in the fridge for a week, and the other half outside. He again mimed the
actions to make the event seem as real as possible. Even more strikingly,
the story of Alexis St. Martin's open stomach (previewed in Chapter 2 and
given in full in Chapter 7) is, to all intents and purposes, a demonstration
in the form of a dramatic tale.
In demonstrations, the material world is made to display and comes to
be seen in terms of theoretically meaningful patterns. The material is made
into a carrier of meanings. But, in addition, these meanings are always in
some sense at risk. The material world can always fail to seem to mean what
human beings want to make it mean.
 turn. in influence of clusterings four these consider now will We
graphs. as such devices formal
and procedures, entities, and terms theoretical phenomena, invisible and
visible including explained, being content of kind the on depend tions
explana- way the matter: subject the of influence the to points fourth The
moment. the of needs
perceived the to relation in adjusted and modified produced, being text,
con- interactive live a in belong explanations way the interaction: ongoing
the of context the in seen be to have explanations that insists third The
resources. atory
explan- of stock teacher's the by and class, that with relationships vious
pre- by history, personal teacher's the by affected are explanations way the
teacher: the of characteristics the to attention draws these of second The
goals. short-term and long- reflecting structure a form and another one
within and alongside fit explanations way the structures: explanatory of part
as occur explanations that fact the to attention draws these of first The
influences. of kinds different quite of
clusters four around organized is discussion The chapter. this of subject the
are explanations constrain or generate which factors The factors. different of
number a on depend which answers get we now?', way this in given being
explanation this is 'Why question, the ask we lesson a in moment any at If
variation of Sources
ON EXPLANATI
OF DYNAMICS
6 Chapter
 DYNAMICS OF EXPLANATION 97

Explanatory structures
We suggested in Chapter 1 that explanations need to be thought of as fitting
into a larger explanatory structure. Any given instance of an explanation
may contain, and may be contained in, another explanation. Explanatory
structures have recognizable shape due to the effects of the three other clus-
terings of influence. Here we have given them names which point to an
organizing principle.

'Guess what teacher's thinking'

We start with five 'snapshot' extracts in sequence from one Year 8 lesson.
The subject is 'The Earth in Space'. The teacher is Alan. Our question is:
'What accounts for this sequence of explanations all being part of one les-
son, even taking the subject of the lesson as given?'
The five extracts deal, in order, with: planets in the solar system (Extract
1); the speed of light (Extract 2); freezing and evaporation of water (Extract
3); Alan warily deflecting the class from what they want to talk about (Ex-
tract 4); gravity (Extract 5). Given this variety, we can ask our question again,
more from the teacher's perspective this time: what accounts for these being
the things that Alan wants the class to focus on? What is the unifying
scheme here?

Extract 1
Alan: What do you call the collection of the planets that move around
our Sun?
Student: [inaudible]
Alan: You've got Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Mars, Neptune, Pluto,
Uranus.. . all the others. What do you call [?I You didn't put
your hand up. Is that what you were going to say? Yes?
Student: Solar system.
Alan: Yes, the solar system. OK? So the collection of all of the planets
that orbit around the Sun are referred to as the solar system.
What is our Sun? Yes?
Student: Big ball of er gas.
Alan: OK. A big ball of gases. Good. OK.

Extract 2
can you remember why we said you sometimes see light-
ning, and then a little bit later we hear the thunder? What was
the reason for that, again? Yes?
Student: Light travels faster than sound.
Alan: Because light travels much faster than sound. Can anybody just
off the top of their head remember just how fast light travels?
from planets of distances the gives which textbook students' the in table a
on exercise an set to is it plan: a has Alan simple. is out, turns it answer The
'gravity'. called something by place in held
they're because Sun the round spinning on keep planets The Alan:
orbits? little nice
those in stay they do Why themselves? by off go just they don't
Why round? going them keeps actually what So way? any in Alan:
No. Student:
Sun the onto
joined they Are Sun? the round going keep planets the do Why Alan:
5 Extract
moment? a in points those of few a to back come we Can Alan:
stage. some at on touch
to thing interesting an quite be might that time have we if Right, Alan:
stage.
some at in them bring and them mention certainly could We Alan:
are: get they answers The in. interested
are they things some include will lesson the if Alan ask students Three
4 Extract
water. need we but things other need we say I As OK. Water Alan:
Water. Student:
Yes? about? talking just was I what with connection in live,
to order in need we that something of think we Can saying.
been just I've what with connection in something after I'm OK, Alan:
warmth. need We Student:
Yes. Alan:
Air. Student:
need? all
we do What Earth? on life for essential is What OK. it? wouldn't
ice, be would It it. of out come would nothing down upside it
tip and off lid the get could you if Even solid. freeze would It Alan:
over. freeze would It Student:
water. of bottle a had we again and Pluto, on out were
. .
we imagine let's then. Now away. straight evaporate would It Alan:
Evaporate. Student:
water? the to happen would What out. water some poured
and whatever or flask your opened you But OK? up, burning
without there stand to you allowed that on suit special very a
had perhaps you that imagine Just water. some drink to trying
were you and Mercury, on survive could we that imagine Let's Alan:
3 Extract
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 98
 DYNAMICS OF EXPLANATION 99

the Sun, their times to orbit the Sun, their diameters and their surface tem-
peratures. He is directing the lesson to provide ways of relating these quant-
ities to one another. It is the data in the table yet to be seen by the class
which direct decisions about which questions, answers and explanations
will be treated as relevant. Given the role of the Sun as a hot star, surface
temperatures of the planets can be related to their distances from the Sun.
Their orbital periods also relate to these distances. The absolute scale of the
solar system (e.g. eight light-minutes from the Sun to the Earth) can also be
appreciated.
Alan's insistence on water, as opposed to other things needed for life
(Extract 3), is related to the fact that the table contains temperatures from
which one can infer the state of water on a given planet, and so something
about the possibility of life as it exists on Earth. The seemingly odd sequence
of Extract 3, in which the state of water on Mercury and Pluto is first dis-
cussed, followed by questions about living things' need for water, now makes
sense because this is the sequence of thought working from the table as
something given. In Extract 2, Alan hints at how one could read the scale
of the solar system from the table. In Extract 5 he suggests how to think
about the orbiting of the planets.
Alan's agenda explains his choice of topics, and why it is always he who
chooses the topic. He insists on one answer where another would do: 'Can
we think of something. . . in connection with what I was just talking about?'
The price is that the choice of topics, their sequence, and the explanatory
structure itself may seem arbitrary to the students in the class. They do not
yet have access to Alan's plan.
Some would be critical of this teacher's approach. But that is not here our
point. The point is that what explanations are offered and what is treated as
relevant are always functions of a larger structure, in this case the demands
of a task which is to come.

'Sophie's question'
Our second example shows how the characteristics of a single brief explanat-
ory moment in a lesson need to be accounted for by the much larger explan-
atory structure within which it fits. In this case, however, it is a structure
extending over a whole series of lessons. The example comes from the series
of Year 10 lessons on the periodic table given by Ruth, mentioned in Chapter
4. Ruth is explaining how, given the total number of electrons in an atom
of an element, one assigns different numbers of them to successive 'com-
pleted' or 'full' 'shells', ending with some number in the outermost 'shell'.
This last number plays a crucial role in deciding the chemical properties of
the element, groups of elements with the same number of electrons in the
outer 'shell' having a family resemblance in their properties. The groups are
labelled with this number (e.g. Group I elements have atoms with one elec-
tron in the outermost shell). Thus from pure counting one can predict some
chemical behaviour. The extract starts with Ruth summarizing what has been
said so far.
family the of so and number, group the of knowledge use to around this
turns explanation The electrons. counting from predicted be can properties
family chemical that is game counting this of idea The question. Sophie's
by prompted explanation, her in about-turn interesting an makes Ruth
number.
group the as same the be to has end the at number The Yeah. Sophie:
me? to it explain to like you Would Ruth:
[Confidently] Yeah. Student:
Sophie? okay that Is number. group the as same the is number,
last the that so circle, the in eighteen or eight use you So Right. Ruth:
one. top The Student:
use? you would arrangement which two these
of out And numbers] of list first the [Ticks correct. is arrangement
this So VII. Group For seven. be to has number last the So Right. Ruth:
Seventeen. Ruth:
Seventeen. Student:
five?
thirty- make to need you would number what and eighteen,
ten, be would it there, eight used you if But thirty-five. you
gives seven and eight twenty you gives eighteen and ten, That's Ruth:
shell] final the in seven has pattern one Only electrons. of numbers of patterns
two produce to class the gets and electrons, 35 with VII Group in bromine, of
example the takes she Then answer. one only is there again where cases other
takes then She shells. successive in one and eight two, placed be can which
electrons, eleven has sodium that table periodic the from establishes [Ruth
got? sodium has electrons many
How Na. sodium, take we'll so Right, number. group the On Ruth:
is. number the what on depends It Student:
her? tell to going Who's eighteen'.
or eight use to whether know, you do 'How asking, was Sophie
Right, table. periodic the do to going I'm question Sophie's done
I've after then and question, Sophie's over going I'm Right, Ruth:
later] minutes few [A
it. to back come definitely
I'll question. that to back come I'll you? have forgotten, You've Ruth:
forgotten. I've but know, I Sophie:
week.
last remember, you if on, earlier you for board the on it did I
today. doing we're what to back come we when that over go I'll Ruth:
eighteen? or eight use to when know you do how Miss, Sophie:
shell. fifth the in
thirty-two and shell, fourth the in Eighteen shell. third the in
eighteen or Eight shell. second the in Eight already. down it got
have you of Most shell. first the in electrons two got you've So Ruth:
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 100
 DYNAMICS OF EXPLANATION 101

properties, to find the right way to count electrons so as to place an atom

in the correct group. Sophie is told to use knowledge of what should be pre-
dicted to decide how to make the prediction. Why does this happen? The
answer is to be found in the large-scale explanatory context. Ruth has made,
consistently and from the start, a definite choice of how to explain the peri-
odic table. This choice is one of the possible didactic transformations which
can be made, and which we analysed in Chapter 4. Instead of discussing the
periodic table as a pattern of chemical properties, explained by patterns of
electrons in shells, Ruth (perhaps judging that her class does not know
enough about properties of chemical elements) offers the periodic table as a
given scheme for predicting these properties.
In these lessons, therefore, the periodic table is presented as a given rep-
resentation, from which one can work out aspects of the behaviour of real-
ity. The representation comes first, and reality second. The representation
is justified, not as a summary of what elements are like, but as based on a
scheme of numbers of electrons 'filling shells'. Unfortunately, this scheme,
more fully explained, is subtler than Ruth wants to admit. By a quirk of the
values of energies of electrons in atoms in the presence of electrons already
there, the third shell may be left 'partly complete' with eight electrons or
fully complete with eighteen. Since it seems too difficult to explain this to
this class, she is obliged to reverse the logic of the explanation: instead of
counting correctly to predict chemical properties, you use chemical proper-
ties to decide how to count correctly.
Against this background, what can we say about the explanatory context?
Sophie wants to know, and Ruth wants to teach her, how to get the right
answer to an examination question of the form, 'What is the electron con-
figuration of element X?' The scientific story behind that question is long
and complex. Given the contingencies of the pedagogic environment, Ruth
cannot (nor could any teacher) tell the whole story. Instead, the knowledge
it represents has had to be transformed into another form. Mendeleev's table,
with additions from which one can read off numbers of electrons, comes to
occupy pride of place. It is used as a representation, to be taken as given,
from which to read off chemistry. This makes it possible for Ruth to make
claims about the simplicity and logic of chemistry ('It really does help you
understand chemistry'). But it leaves Ruth and other teachers like her
with the difficulty that the basis of the representation cannot be properly
explained. That basis comes out as a story about 'filling shells'. This is where
Ruth used the analogy of filling chairs in rows, discussed in Chapter 4.

"You can't exactir magic it in'

In the first example above, there were issues arising from a plan hidden,
initially, from the class. This plan decided what would be proper answers to
be rehearsed before the questions got asked. In the second example the exist-
ence of answers shaped what questions had to be constructed. In our next
example, the explanatory structure is organized by a topic to be thought
 pieces? odd little
these with do you could What (molecule?). the of side one had
you if bits little the with do you could what Now right? around,
. . . . . .
lying just them of lots had you imagine little the bits
.
little the the.. up made that bits the know you but side,
. .
other the not of. side one just mean I yeah? chemicals
are there But head. your in picture of sort to hard it's this, get
to try just OK? chemicals are There it. magic can't you No, Leon:
in it magic exactly can't you Because Yes. Student:
started? Get Leon:
[]? first that it made whatever [] that does How Student:
itself. of
copies make to able just was It started. it where that's and itself,

of copies make to able was and developed of sort right?
organism little this where right? beginning the at been have
must there enough far stuff and microbes with back go you If Leon:

microbe one got you've If Student:
Yes? Leon:
Ijnaudiblel Student:
. .
what? with shell. egg an Like Leon:
egg. an Like Student:
two. in splits it is does it all itself, with mate doesn't it no Leon:
itself. with mates It Student:
do actually can microbe the What OK? before,
was it than now bigger it's OK, right? growing, and feeding

it's but like massively not larger gets it so yeah? grow to
starts and food that digest and on feed to starts now it food

of piece a on lands microbe one literally (food) of piece a on
land could microbe one have You right? you to say to going

I'm what this amazing it's do they what is this Palais the

to go don't they right? in it take just but amazing, sounds
It said. you what do actually incredible sounds it know I

enough strangely Nina, actually do microbes but problem,
no there's suppose I stuff? and female and male get you Could

they? Could there? are ones female and male little like of sort
have microbes either is choice the Now right? choose, we that
do We somebody. with whatever or married get usually you
and yes? one, pick You do. we what is This one'. that have I'll

something or (disco?) the go you wherever go we know,

you go of sort We reproduce. we because question, good a It's Leon:
that? do they do How one'. another have
"I'll say, just can't It reproduce? microbe a does How Student:
number. in increasing rapidly
microbes about talking been have class 7 Year his and Leon, teacher, The
students. from challenges sense
common- to respond to tasks teacher's the of one becomes it which in about,
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 102
 DYNAMICS OF EXPLANATION 103

Student: Attach them to

Leon: You could click them in yeah? you could click them in
yeah now you've got almost like a proper (molecule?). If
so
you could join all those little. . . now they're in a row if you
join them up you could pull the two apart and what have you
got now?
Student: Two halves.
Leon: Two halves. Now if you've got more of these little bits around
what could you now do?
Student: Make a bigger one.
Leon: Start all over again. So if you started off with one, and you're
able to make a copy what can you do now? Make a copy from
both of them.
Student: And make a copy.
Leon: And you could keep on going on and on, yeah? So you see what
I'm saying is, if you could get some chemicals that could copy
themselves and could eventually end up with a like a microbe.
Student: I've got a question. You know microbes attack

know like. Do they' go to the toilet?

In contrast with Alan and Ruth, we see Leon willing to construct, off the
cuff, explanations of things in which he has aroused interest: asexual repro-
duction and cell division, and of the origin of life in replicating molecules.
The pattern continues: the last question ('Do they go to the toilet?') gets
Leon to explain how the poisonous waste products of microbes can cause
illnesses.
This explanatory context, shaped by the students' interests and encour-
aged by the teacher's behaviour, produces a number of demands on the
teacher. There has to be a recognition of what it is the student may be
asking. There has to be a continual process of adapting the explanation
to the audience very evident in the frequent pausing and checking. And
there has to be a stock of background knowledge, both the students' and
the teacher's, ready to be drawn upon, and able to be transformed in real
time into forms which make sense to the audience.
The matters to be explained can be unpredictable. Leon could not have
known that the very profound issue, 'You can't exactly magic it in', was
going to be raised.
Just because of these features, it is in explanatory contexts of the kind
exemplified here that we most often see what one might have supposed
to be the normal form of explanation: a 'how' or 'why' question followed
by an account directed to that question. Yet more often than not we see
complex interlocking patterns of explanation produced not so much by re-
quests for explanations as by the need to produce explanations within some
previously worked out framework. Does this mean that Leon's classroom
proves an exception to our assumption about explanatory structures? We
think not. An oversimplified comparison suggests that in Alan's classroom
the structure of a pregiven object (e.g. a section of a textbook) organizes the
 Freeman. W.H.
Morrison, Phylis and Philip by Ten of Powers book, a to referring is Alan *
you. for it get can I if see I'll picture. previous
the than bigger times ten

of scale a 'On like something called it's think I Er fore.
be- lines those on something seen you've So Right. you? Have Alan:
class. maths our in that of picture a got We've Student:
system.
solar the of out right gets it until away further and further
gets it and there down Earth the of circle little a see just you
So OK? satellite by Earth the of taken are which photographs

those then and Earth the of size the of idea some get to begin

can you small quite be to appears person the that so aeroplane
an from taken that's person that of photograph a shows it Then
OK? field, a of middle the in standing person a shows then It
molecules at looking Ivirtually
off starts it and success any without morning this of hold get
to trying was I which school in have actually we which where
some- book a is there [] the start to going I'm OK? are. things
large phenomenally absolutely how is there out everything
large how just morning this you to across get and try to want I Alan:
8. Year from is class The time. the
at available fact in not was resource intended the because largely visible
is extract following the in happened what be) to going was (or is what is
this That out. tried being are and teachers, amongst shared and developed
being also are resources explanatory new time, the all Yet teachers. ence
sci- other to surprise no as come would characteristics whose explanations

explanations well-practised fairly see we part, most the For classroom. the
in minted newly explanations see rarely rather we that is it Thus A-level. to
or year-olds 14 (say) to suited combustion, of or respiration, of circuits,
electric of explanation an into notice moment's a at switch to able be will
teacher experienced An levels. appropriate at things explaining of ways of
variety a experience, professional their of result a as have, teachers Science
teacher The
teacher. the of shape
the in influences', of 'clustering second the consider to now move We
science. of conceptions to related tightly principles izing
organ- underlying on rest strategies pedagogic in differences and style teacher
as appear may what cases, these of each In knowledge. common-sense day,
every- and scientific between relations the about assumptions his is principle
guiding the case, Leon's In structures. explanatory organize to used is table,
periodic the representation, canonical a case Ruth's In sequence. explanatory
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 104
 DYNAMICS OF EXPLANATION 105

How a teacher explains also has a personal histoiy of previous attempts at

explaining with a variety of classes, experiencing what seems to work and
what seems not to work. Alan knows of a potentially valuable resource,
which he does not have to hand. His difficulty arises from the attempt to
describe, in language, information which is presented visually.
More often, explanations follow well-rehearsed paths, with the teacher
using ways of explaining that have previously worked well. An example
might be the following account of the formation of fossil fuels with a Year
7 group.
Elaine: OK. Burning fossil fuels and wood puts carbon dioxide into the
atmosphere.
Student: Can we [inaudible]?
Elaine: In a minute. How do how are fossil fuels actually produced?
Student: Over millions of years.
Elaine: Over millions and millions of years. From what?
Student: Dead animals.
Elaine: Right, dead animals and plants. What happens to them?
Student: They rot.
Elaine: They rot. Where do they disintegrate, do they rot?
Student: Under the ground.
Elaine: Under the ground. OK. sort of bacteria are we talking
about probably?
Student: Oxygen [] nitrogen?
Elaine: Oxygen-hating bacteria. OK. So the animals when they die,
over millions of years, turn into ?I
Student: Fossils.
Elaine: Fossil fuels. And then when we burn them, we release energy
and we release carbon dioxide.
Elaine has made a number of distinctive choices, for example not to distin-
guish types of fossil fuel such as petroleum or coal and so not to distinguish
plant or animal origins. For her present purpose, the broad picture may be
enough. This emphasis on the recognizability and 'normality' of many ex-
planations must not be taken too far. Like many teachers, Elaine can impro-
vise around a fixed theme, using material that comes from the class or that
she thinks of on the spur of the moment. An example comes from work on
the same topic, but with Year 9.
Elaine: We're adding to the carbon dioxide in the air every time we
breathe out. Something is going on in our bodies that's making
carbon dioxide? Mary?
Maiy: Food.
Elaine: It's something to do with food.
Student: [Inaudible]
Elaine: Good.
Student: Photosynthesis.
Elaine: That's what the plants do.
 students. of tions
collec- disposed differently to points classrooms Leon's and Ruth's, Alan's,
in happens what that so different, inherently are 'classes' that assumption
implied an is there hand, other the On experience. of histories of result a
are styles and strategies show, to attempting are we as style pedagogic a
have teachers that suggests it hand, one the On one-sided. too picture the
left That structures. explanatory of characteristics the and style, and egies
strat- pedagogic teacher's the of interrelation the earlier mentioned We
class the with relationship teacher's The
practised. and improvised simultaneously are explanations
such concerto, a in cadenzas virtuoso the Like occasion. the of needs the be
to judges she what to according way varied and flexible a in them on ing
draw- resources, explanatory of set substantial a with teacher a suggests us'
of part little every to 'gets oxygen how of evocation vivid rather Elaine's
energy. release to digested I've that food the with reacts
and cell every to round all goes oxygen The shoulders. my to up
back, my to round tips, finger my to down toe big my in cell
every cell, brain every cell, every us, of part little every to Gets
stream. blood the in bodies our round all goes oxygen The
oxy- the in breathing by eaten, we've that food the from ergy
en- release we where process the that's And good. Respiration, Elaine:
Respiration. Student:
[ res call we
that process the during dioxide carbon out breathe animals the
so OK, Right, ago. while little a in breathed I oxygen some from
is out breathing I'm dioxide carbon the and stream, blood my
in round going still probably is in breathed just I oxygen The Elaine:
lesson. same the in later little a following, the
in improvising be to seems also Elaine intended. first at have may she than
explanation deeper a improvises she mistake, a to then and question a to
responding in Thus, reverse. in other the like much very is process each that
out pointing deeper, even gone have might She respiration. through released
is and animals, for food in incorporated becomes which atmosphere, the
in dioxide carbon from carbon traps photosynthesis how explains next she
lesson this In explanation. of level general more a to shift to it uses Elaine
inappropriate, or wrong as 'photosynthesis' reply the rejecting of Instead
together? go they do How Elaine:
together. go They Student:
photosynthesis? and respiration between
connection the What's think. you as funny as not it's good, hey, Elaine:
Respiration. Student:
that funny, not it's Now, Elaine:
laughterl [Student
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 106
 DYNAMICS OF EXPLANATION 107

The reality is more likely that Leon's strategy, as much as Ruth's and
Alan's, make possible, foster, encourage, allow the students to develop par-
ticular forms of interaction. It needs a relatively close look at microstructures
of interaction to get at this. Take the example of how each teacher deals with
questions. In Leon's classroom students can initiate discourse:
Student: How does a microbe reproduce? It can't just say, 'I'll have
another one'. How do they do that?
Leon: It's a good question...
Student: How does that [1 whatever made it that first [1?
Leon: Get started?
Student: Yes. Because you can't exactly magic it in.
Leon: No, you can't magic it.
Questions are initiated by students; they are not just admitted, they are
'taken up' seriously, and taken as part of a dialogue; so, for instance, the
student's, 'Because you can't exactly magic it in', is not just a statement
(rather than a question), it is a very confidently and challengingly made
statement. Clearly, the members of a class will respond in particular ways
to this mode.
In Ruth's class the strategies are different. Students also initiate questions:
Sophie: Miss, how do you know when to use eight or eighteen?
Ruth: I'll go over that when we come back to what we're doing today.
I did it on the board for you earlier on, if you remember, last
week.
Sophie: I know, but I've forgotten.
Ruth: You've forgotten, have you? I'll come back to that question. I'll
definitely come back to it.
Here the teacher's strategy is to defer answering until the 'proper place' in
the explanation is reached. Whereas in Leon's classroom students are in-
volved in the developing organization of the sequence, here they are not.
Here, student questions, when they are answered, are answered in terms of
providing content within the structure.
In Alan's classroom students tend not to initiate questions. Their answers
are quite closely circumscribed by the demands of the schema which their
teacher has in mind; his questions tend to have the function of making
students the 'sayers' of already established content; thus, perhaps making
that knowledge theirs, or securing their participation in the sequence:
Alan: What is our Sun? Yes?
Student: Big ball of er gas.
Alan: OK. A big ball of gases. Good. OK.
As we saw, responses to student initiated questions look like this:
Alan: Right, if we have time that might be quite an interesting thing to
touch on at some stage.
ways subtler involves also but questioning, direct involve may This feedback.
provoke to and signals for look to then has teacher The can't. they times
some- and doubts or problems have they if say necessarily don't Students
all for explanation some, for Problem
them. of some
describe we section this In manage. can and encourages teacher the action
inter- of kind the on depend will needed is which explanation of kind the
and done, is explaining how affect All on. so and through, something think
to pupils getting misapprehension; a correcting ideas; pupils' eliciting tion;
informa- new giving issue; an crystallizing point; a clarifying issue; new a up
opening include: tasks Other ideas. those with something does teacher the
when phases other and ideas, produce pupils when phases have may lesson
The word. a explaining be may it aside brief a be may There continuously.
changes hand in job the of nature the lesson, a of course the During
manipulate. and control to and provoke or stimulate to time
same the at has teacher the something is and out, turn explanations way
the for crucial then is interaction ongoing the of nature The explanation.
an in this incorporate to and know, they what out draw to attempting
class, the with interaction in constructed often thus are Explanations
all. for and once them present
to attempting by than rather repetition by established be to seem often
Explanations them. correcting and elaborating and previously given tions
explana- partial over going of rehearsal, of nature the have classroom ence
sci- the in explanations many is, That account. correct and complete more
a out fill to answers to adding and rewording correcting, teacher the with
answer, and question of form some by conducted are explanations often,
Very around'. time first explanation 'complete of examples see to rare is It
teacher. the by used
strategies the by constrained are students how at looking means also It do.
students what on depends behaviour teacher's the how at looking means
This evolves. lesson a as produce students which feedback immediate of
effect the especially chosen, being resources explanatory particular to leads
classroom, the of interaction dynamic the in what, at look we section this In
interaction ongoing The
interaction. ongoing the influences, of clustering third our consider to
come we this With do. to meant is and is explanation an thinks teacher a
what into insight an us allows it focus, our for importantly and positions,
dis- social and personal their of aspects on stance, epistemological teacher's
a on but sequences, explanatory of kinds different of generation the on
only not light throws interaction classroom of aspect this general, In
bay. at questions student
keeps sequence explanatory pre-existing framed, strongly a speaking, Broadly
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 108
 DYNAMICS OF EXPLANATION 109

of reading students' behaviour in the light of one's knowledge of them. In

Chapter 2, we described a teacher Steve finding a student who thought

that the melted wax was water (a not uncommon idea). Here is how Steve
begins to get his Year 7 class as a whole to hear what each other thinks has
happened.
Steve: It melted into water? So, Daniel, have you got, in your tube
at the moment, have you got some wak, have you got some
water?
Daniel: Yes, sir.
Steve: There's water in the tube, says Daniel. Put your hand up if you
agree with Daniel that there is some water in the tube.
Student: No.
Steve: Now, if you agree with Daniel that there is water in the tube,
put your hand up. Okay, so some people think there may be
water in the tube. Kersuma, why do you think that there's
water in the tube?
Kersuma: I don't think so.
Steve: You don't think there's water in the tube. Okay, right, why do
you think Daniel thinks that there is water in the tube?
Kersuma: Because it looks like water.
This discussion of what is in the tube opens up a space for anybody who
might agree with Daniel that melted wax is water to join in, and Steve
creates a chance to explain not merely that an idea is wrong, but that there
may be a good reason why people get it wrong. Feedback from one student
has been converted into explanatory feedback for all.

Terms and meanings

In the same lesson Steve talks to a small group about how they would
describe 'the stuff inside the test tube'. They use the rather vivid and well-
motivated term 'see-through', a meaning directly linked to action. Steve
would like them to replace it by 'transparent'. Steve's justification for pre-
ferring one term to the other is that 'transparent' is 'scientific' which of
course it is by custom, not by merit.
Steve: In what ways is it similar to water?
Student: It's see-through.
Steve: It's see-through. What's another word for see-through? Another
word for see-through. We want a scientific word for see-
through?. . . we'll come up with it later. . . Apart from being
see-through, what about its, has it got the same colour as water?
Student: Yes.
Steve: What colour's that? Has it got a colour?
Student: No.
Steve: So it's colour ?j
Student: It's clear.
 table. Periodic Ruth:
table. periodic fewl [A Students:
from? number the tell you can table what And elements.
. .
. .
different and. particles of. elements different got They've Ruth:
[Inaudiblel Student:
groups? about different what's know
you Do particles? those of numbers different have they why
know you Do particles. those of numbers different have They Ruth:
[Inaudible] Student:
different? they are Why Ruth:
Yes. fewl [A Student:
different? atoms all are And Neutrons. Ruth:
Neutrons. Student:
?I [
and electrons Protons Ruth:
[Inaudiblel Student:
?j [ specific three of made were atoms that
said we 10 Year in course the of beginning the at and Atoms Ruth:
Atoms. Student:
about? know you that ticles
par- the of names the are What ideas. your expand to want I
now particles on work of amount small a did you 9 Year in Now Ruth:
work. to going is it
sure make to needs she but table the introduce to wants she how of idea an
has She class. 10 Year a to table periodic the introducing before particles on
9 Year from ideas revises Ruth example, next our In already. know students
what to tuned are explanations that so start, to best is it where of ment
assess- 'on-line' an as serve also may questions The questions. ask to is so do
to way One topic. new a of nature the signalling at looked we 2 Chapter In
know you what asking by do we'll what Telling
used. be should words these
contexts what in and when use, through explains, implicitly rehearsal of
process This cases. different in words learned newly the using start they and
whole a as class the to recapitulated is this on Later see-through'. for word
'a indeed is Transparent through'. 'appear is, that parare, trans is transparent
of root Latin the that 4 Chapter in metaphor discussing in remarked We
see-through. for word a That's
transparent. It's see-through. and colourless It's colourless. It's Steve:
[Inaudible] Student:
colourless. It's Colourless. ?] [ colour [ colour it's So, Steve:
No. Student:
colour? a got it has this,
what's So Yeah? colour. a got it's but clear, Lucozade's yeah?
it, couldn't see-through, mean could clear well oh, clear, It's Steve:
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 110
 DYNAMICS OF EXPLANATION 111

Such exchanges tell the class that they will be working on the periodic
table, and that protons, electrons and neutrons will be involved. And they
tell Ruth where she has to start.

Collecting and using ideas

Teachers often set themselves the goal of weaving explanations out of ideas
and contributions from the class, and furthermore to give most students a
chance of contributing. This is not necessarily easy. In the following extract
from a Year 7 lesson, Leon has to get students to listen carefully to each
other:
Nina: I wrote 'microbes are possibly the smallest, possibly, the
smallest cells, cells I think, which you can only see through a
microscope'.
Leon: Alright who agrees with that? Who agrees that you need a
microscope to see them?
Students: Yeah.

Leon: OK so but we did say an interess, you did say an important

thing about them, we just said they're living things. What did
she say that was extra to that?
Sally: They live in human bodies.
Leon: No, she didn't, Sally. Say it again and see if you can spot it.
Listen.
Nina: Microbes are something that are lit, tiny living cells in the
human body.
Leon: Did you spot it?
Sally: Cells.
Leon selects part of what Nina wrote about microbes ('that you can only
see microbes through a microscope') and follows that up with the rest of the
class. However, she has also mentioned other relevant information ('that
they are small cells') which he must not forget to address. Many explana-
tions require a complex of ideas to be collected. By listening not just to the
ways contributions are phrased but also by paying attention to what is miss-
ing, the teacher can get an indication of which points need to be reinforced
or which may not have been properly understood.
An insistence on involving students in at least the partial production of
explanations obviously leads to trouble if they do not know enough of what
the teacher wants them to contribute. In such cases teachers often resort to
verbal or intonational clues, for example leaving words unfinished, leaving
sentences incomplete but with strong structural hints as to the required
filler, and by playing with stress and intonation. We saw an example earlier
in this chapter:
Elaine: So the animals when they die, over millions of years, turn
into {?]
way the in both it does He class. 7 Year his for substantial and real fields
magnetic making into effort considerable puts (Alan) teacher the below,
discussed lesson the In space? that in curious anything is there that mean
that does but space, that in happen things curious sure, be To space. empty
like remarkably looks field' magnetic 'a called hear they what difficulty; ous
analog- an have Pupils fiction. mathematical a are fields magnetic that view:
opposite the held opinion of body substantial a time, the At substance. ial
mater- any as real as were fields magnetic that speculate to on went Faraday
3243) para Researches: Experimental Faraday, (Michael
.
force of lines the of character
physical the respecting speculations few a upon enter and time, a for
. .
reasoning of line strict the leave to about now am I force. magnetic
of lines the defining and describing in engaged been recently have I
question:
real a is this that clear was Faraday Michael occur? effects magnetic where
places about talking of way a just it is Or real? something field magnetic a Is
intangible the Explaining
things. intangible ently
inher- explaining about is here example The book. the in elsewhere found
be to others indicate briefly then and here example one give will We
are. they what and work things how on depends
something do to How account. the frame and organize to help which
terms new introducing by accompanied often is works something how of
account An are. things how of understanding an by motivated are but tions,
conven- pure ever if rarely are Conventions explained. be to thing of kinds
different for explanation of forms of cases pure find however, not, do We
conventions.
and terms explaining from differ Both phenomenon. a explaining as same
the not is something do to how Explaining graph. a as display its of form
artificial and conventional the and wave sound a of action invisible the both
explaining involves oscilloscope ray cathode a on sound a of display the of
meaning the Explaining molecules. of motion intangible and invisible the
involves evaporation explaining but touched, or seen be principle in cannot
that nothing needs work skeleton the in joints how Explaining explained.
be to is what on depends obviously needed is explanation of kind What
explained be to matter subject The
explained. be to matter subject the of influence the
interest, of clusterings our of fourth the discuss to come now we this With
fuels. Fossil Elaine:
Fossils. Student:
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 112
 DYNAMICS OF EXPLANATION 113

he talks, through the way he acts, and through the examples he brings into
focus. Here are all three at work, in a discussion which follows Alan having
reminded the class that he previously got them to feel how hard it was to
pull a piece of iron off of a large magnet:
Alan: Now then, I don't suppose this is the sort of place that you'd
go and hang out at weekends, but how many of you have been
to scrap yards before? You may have seen as cars as the old
crushed cars are being moved around the scrap yard
Student: Oh yeah that big like that big round magnet it goes and
drops on the thing and then it's crushed into a square [student
gestures a large round object in mid air]
Alan: OK, brilliant. Some of the scrap yards have on the bottom of
their cranes a great big magnet [Alan holds his hands out wide].
So all the crane driver does, is move the magnet over the top
of a car, lowers it and the car goes 'boing', sticks to the magnet,
and they can lift the magnet up on the end of the crane and up
comes the car as well, stuck to the magnet [Alan mimes all this
with vertical movements of his two hands]. And then they can
move it across if it's going in one of those crushers those car
crushers [crushing gesture]. Brilliant. If this magnet is strong
enough to lift a car, do you imagine that you have half a dozen
people going like that [Alan braces a foot against a table and
mimes a struggle to pull something towards himl trying to pull the
car back off the magnet when they've finished?
One thing Alan is doing is opening up the possibility that it must be pos-
sible to switch magnets on and off (the lesson is about electromagnets). But
another thing he is doing, through the very concrete and physical character
of the talk, through his bodily gesture, and through the choice of example
of lifting something very heavy, is to suggest the real physicality of magnetic
effects. 'What's big and strong must be real,' goes the rhetoric. Alan then
reminds the class of practical work they have just done looking at magnetic
fields visualized using iron filings:
Alan: One or two of you got as far as sprinkling iron filings over a
sheet of paper under which there was a bar magnet. OK, what
did you see if you did that?
Student: There was a the iron filings some of them stuck to the bar
magnet and you saw the shape of the bar magnet, and they like
made circle patterns round the outside.
Alan: OK brilliant, so in other words a little bit like this pattern up
here [points to a photograph of filing patterns in a book he holds up].
The curved nature of the filing patterns was salient for the student. For
Faraday, that was reason enough to think the field real:
It appears to me, that the outer forces at the poles can only have relation
to one another by curved lines of force through the surrounding space;
the at found be to is imagination theoretical of lot a involve to planations
ex- for calls matter subject the of nature the which in example Another
examples Other
talking. of way his use to begin themselves
students the to, them telling his Without end. this to together work all class,
the for imagined and real activities of choice his and powers impressive on
focus his body, his language, through work Alan's and entity, new a of tion
construc- the plainly very is here issue explanatory The accord. own its of
acts which present something a to happens, something where space empty
from students, these for transformed, being of process in are fields Magnetic
they? don't up, stick to start they pole the reach they When Student:
Yes? poles? the at do lines
field the what To lines? field to relation in is, that why see you
can OK, strangely? rather behave would compass your mag
your south magnetic the or north magnetic the over directly
standing were you if that saying were we remember you Can Alan:
him: answers who student
the for and Alan for both clauses, in role agent active the play to start lines
field field, magnetic Earth's the about talking later, little A act. to able agents
unseen as story Alan's in appear to started have lines' field 'magnetic how
also Notice 'stick'. can filings iron which to 'there' something are lines field
the that presumes that account an shapes; field reveal filings how of account
reputable than less a offers he that reality, of sense this to add to patterns
filings iron of effect visual the using in he is interested So real. the of stone
touch- the touch making students, in Thomas' 'Doubting the to appeals and
existence, material have fields magnetic that presupposes language Alan's
OK? them, see to you
enables that And are. lines field magnetic the where is field netic
mag- the where points the to stick filings iron the magnet a over
filings iron sprinkle you if However, it. see can't you but space
.
that in there something is there tell can you so apart]... then and
together pushed hands they? don't apart, other each push
to try and interact they same the poles two have you if because
there, be must lines field magnetic those tell can you together,
magnets two hold you if but lines, field magnetic these see can't You Alan:
fields: of
existence material the for concern a involves about on is he what that scious
con- plainly is Alan there'. 'out being as fields evoking implicitly patterns,
these of photographs at looking to over given is lesson Alan's of part A
3258) para Researches: Experimental Faraday, (Michael
space. intermediate that in existence physical
of conditions the without force of lines curved conceive cannot I and
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 114
 DYNAMICS OF EXPLANATION 115

end of Chapter 7, in a lesson on the movement of the continents. There the

issue is, rather than intangibility, the remoteness from any possible experi-
ence of what is being used in the explanation. As in the case of magnetic
fields above, the teacher there uses a large amount of gesture and body lan-
guage to evoke the events his explanation requires.
A rather different pair of examples is that of teaching density (Chapter 3)
and teaching graphs using a computer (Chapter 5). In both these cases,
much of the work goes into making abstractions and in the case of graphs,
conventions too seem very concrete.
Finally, earlier in this chapter and also in Chapter 4, we discussed work
on the chemical periodic table. This subject matter is a grand classification
scheme, which demands a rather complex approach to explanation. Is it to
be treated as an extensive classification of empirical facts about elements? Or
is it to be treated as the product of a theory of the structure of atoms, which
predicts patterns of facts about elements? Is it to be shown historically as
built up piece by piece though nevertheless under a large guiding vision,
or is it to be provided as something 'given', a familiar classificatory tool of
chemists to be used before being understood? Thus in this case, the nature
of the subject matter does not determine the form of explanation, but poses
difficult problems for it to solve.
 narrative. of devices the of some using subplots,
and plot with story, a like as offered is explanation an tales': of teller 'The
class. the from ideas reshaping and collecting teacher's
the through at arrived are explanations together': through it think 'Let's
include: observations, our from taken 'styles',
such of examples significant Some angle. particular a from explanation, of
job the approaching consistently of way a more is It habitual. become could
one though teacher, a of property personal a as of thought be to not is tion
explana- of 'style' A explanation. of 'styles' of number a identify will We
them. sustain to deployed be to have skills
what and used, are strategies what lies, emphasis the where together, put
are things how on be now will focus The performances. complete these at
look to as so transcripts, our of pieces longer somewhat use we this, do To
performance. complete a in together come things these all how show will we
chapter this In time. one the at all these, of all of performance mentation,
imple- deployment, simultaneous the on rest explanations course of But out.
turn explanations how on influences contextual important of number a at
looked we 6 Chapter In chapters. separate in each matter, on meaning of ing
impos- the and knowledge of transformation the entities, of construction the
'difference', of production the explanation: of components necessary the on
focused we So description'. of 'language our explanations, describing for work
frame- our of components the exemplified and out set we 5 to 2 Chapters In
performances Integrating
EXPLAINING
OF 'STYLES'
7 Chapter
 'STYLES' OF EXPLAINING 117

'Say it my way': explanatory forms of words are laid out by the teacher and
practised by the class.
'See it my way': starting from a given scientific theory, facts and phenom-
ena are rationalized in terms of that theory.
Thus in this chapter we present a rough taxonomy of some ways in
which explaining can be done, and discuss the consequences of each, for
what might be achieved and for how it positions pupils with respect to
knowledge.

'Let's think it through together'

One way to achieve explanations is by the teacher collecting and shaping
ideas offered by students. Clearly, students' contributions are crucial: they
are the actual material out of which explanations are going to be carved.
They also, of course, provide the ongoing interaction which the teacher has
to handle something we discussed in Chapter 6. Thus this way of work-
ing towards an explanation places great demands on the teacher's skill. The
teacher has to start students off, to stimulate further contributions, to feed
in additional ideas, and to make clear what status is being given to students'
ideas are they being welcomed, being clarified or modified, or are they now
being made part of the final account? This involves continuous movements
between, for example, opening up opportunities for contributions, and fram-
ing and 'making official' material which has been offered.
Our example, previewed in Chapter 1, is a Year 10 lesson about skeletal
joints. The fact that joints are places where bones move against each other
has already been established in previous lessons. The lesson as a whole starts
with a test, proceeds to discuss the design of a good joint, and then considers
how to categorize different types of joint. We will focus here on the second
stage, in which the teacher Leon gets the class to put together a picture

of what ought to go into an ideal joint. His initial questions suggest both
the problem the wearing away of bones and establish the exploratory
tone of what is to come. By starting from a rather wide definition of a joint
(two bone surfaces which move against each other), and asking in general
what can go wrong with them, he opens up a wide range of possibilities
for thinking.
Leon: Okay [} Let's just talk about it in first of all the principle of the
joints. What is the problem if you've got two bones that you
want to move against each other what's goin, what's the
what's going to be the big problem at the end where the?
imagine how many times
Student: They'll wear away.
Leon: you must move your elbow, yeah? So write it down. Okay? [Starts
dictation pace and intonation] Where [I two [1 bone [1 surfaces
[I where two bone surfaces [] move [] against [1 each other
II] the danger is [I they will wear away [stops dictating] . . it's
.
 [gestures].
that doing be weight'd your moving, be weight'd your But Student:
oil. Like Leon:
it. rubbing 'em stop They Student:
together] talking [All Student:
though? do fluids would what of, sort Some Leon:
yeah. fluids, like Fluids, Student:
they... but Yeah, Student:
thing? plastic like,
this, on rubbing they're other each on rubbing of instead So Leon:
other. each hitting them stop It'd Student:
? on rubbing of instead do, disc the would what And Leon:
something. or disc a 'em, between sheet, flat a No, Student:
band. elastic an Perhaps Student:
know. I Student:
[Inaudible]Student:
it. isn't rough That's Leon:
like, be that'd no, No, Student:
Tissues. Student:
sheet? of sort what Yeah Leon:
it. between something of sheet a Put Emma:
Yes? Leon:
Emma:
away? wearing the stop we can how Emma, away?
wearing the stop we can How away. wearing the stop and try Let's Leon:
use. future
for vocabulary and remembering', for 'knowledge now is It knowledge'.
'textbook communal into turned been has students some of idea' good sible
'pos- a ago moment a was What notebooks. their in insertion for class the
to back it dictate to deciding by status new lubricated) be must joints that
(namely reach they that idea the gives He gear. changes Leon conclusion,
possible a to brought and collected been have ideas once But, elaborated.
and up picked are mechanisms, familiar more to it comparing by joint a of
anatomy the in involved is what envisage them help which suggest, they
Analogies up. followed are ideas students' of Consequences entity). this of
potentials (the it to done have or do can joint a what around questioning
of means by done often is This students. the by presented ideas out teasing
and refocusing, rephrasing, skilfully teacher the with proceeds lesson The
it? reduce
to de to do, you can what something, away, wearing the Stop
think? you do what Charlene Yeah. they? aren't away, rub up- rub
gonna they're hard they're if but hard, be gotta yeah, heavy, and
big we're like, know, you 'cause, order, in hard be to got they've
away, wear gonna they're it, round get we can how surely, it,
round get we can how Charlene we do how How away? wear
. .
they'll or they, don't hard be to have They yeah. obvious,
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 118
 'STYLES' OF EXPLAINING 119

Leon: Like oil?

Student: Like oil, like they show it in the car advert.
Leon: In a car, what, what does the, what does the oil do in the car,
what's it for?
Student: Lubricate the car.
Leon: So in the car, think about it, your hard things are rubbing against
each other, but if you put oil in, a tiny thin layer, a bit like
molecule-like ball bearings, yeah, in-between the two, so instead
of rubbing against each other, what, they're just rolling on these
molecule size ball bearings yes. So do they get really hot and
wear away? No, because they're just rolling instead of scraping.
So what could you have in a joint?
Student: Oil.
Leon: Some sort of oil stuff. So let's write it down, right. So this is like
things we could do. Have some, write it down [starts speaking
with dictation speed and intonation] we could have something
like oil [ we could have something like oil to lubricate yeah
we could have something like oil to lubricate [1
Student: How do you spell that?
Leon: L U B R I C AT E [dictates again] to lubricate the joints [1 we could
have something like oil [Ito lubricate the joint [stops dictating]
[I Okay, that'll do, so that would make the movement a little
smoother wouldn't it?
Further problems, arising naturally as an outcome of the proposed solution
for the original problem at hand, are often suggested by the teacher, though
students are encouraged to have a go. But these suggestions are always made
to appear to arise naturally from the discussion; as consequences of what has
just been proposed. In this way the discussion, while skilfully led by the
teacher, has a feeling of continuity and of dialogue. Here is Leon introdu-
cing a difficulty with the idea of 'oily stuff':
Leon: Excuse me, how do you stop all that oil stuff just spilling out?
Student: Put something round it.
Students: [Several speak at once]
Leon: So like another layer around the whole thing to keep the oily
stuff in. Like seal it or something.
Student: Yes, seal it.
Leon: OK right then, then we could have er and it has to be like
a bit flexible [] a flexible seal should I saj' seal or cover
or what?
Student: Cover.
Leon: [Slowly with emphasis] Flexible cover around the whole joint
[I to keep the oily fluid in to keep the oily fluid in. []We're
well on the way to making a reasonable joint at the moment.
Leon has to decide what to follow up and what to skip, without, how-
ever, dismissing contributions in a way which will inhibit students from
 1. Chapter in earthworm the for effecting David saw we
transformation drastic a fluids; and walls tubes, of structure a becomes body
the of inside The structures. molecular complicated as re-imagined be will
turn in these and fat, and protein substances generic the become will butter
and steak Familiar body. the leaves and enters it as it to happens what and is,
food what rethink to students get to is do to has David things the Amongst
about.
talking we're that bits various the about stories, little you tell to
going I'm bits, these through going we're as you, tell me let Now David:
knowledge. of structures essential carry to
stories use to is chooses David strategy The sense. make to order in others
the needs Each interlocking. are food to happens what organs, of tures
struc- and functions the ideas new the all Furthermore, ways. novel quite
in themselves, body the of parts the at so and body, the in on goes what
at looking involves it process, biological a as But process. everyday familiar
entirely an level one at is digestion 3, Chapter in noted we As achieve. to
things several has (David) teacher The class. 10 Year mixed-ability a with
system, digestive the and digestion about lesson a is example Our along.
students carry to narrative of form seductive the uses tales' of 'teller The
tales' of teller 'The
joint. perfect a did I Wednesday on class in because 'me', say
can you dinner?' Sunday doing 'Who's says mum your when So
joint. perfect a done actually We've joint. perfect a built actually
we've but it did we how know don't I mean I actually we've So Leon:
achieved. been has what underline to joke punning a self
him- allows he that worked, has strategy his way the with Leon is pleased So
identified. been have joint a of features essential the all until continues This
or nick or
break might It tube? the to happen might what joint the bend
you when - it about think - in coming tube a had you if but

in coming tube a either there in get somehow to need You Leon:

tube. a need we there in getting of how some need We Student:
objection: common-sense equally
an offers Leon oil. more in feed to tube a suggests student a car, a with
joint the Comparing out. seep might stuff' 'oily the that out points Leon
example, For fit. might they if see to mechanisms and entities known various
with mentally playing generally and questions, if?' 'what asking sequences,
con- imagining ideas, out trying involves It work. metaphorical much through
done is together' through it 'thinking of task the Indeed seal). (oil, phors
. .
meta- as offered are contributions students' the of Many ?'). say. I ('should
them to back dictate to what class the asking Leon Notice others. making
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 120
 'STYLES' OF EXPLAINING 121

David: This gut, the hole that goes through the gut, is a hole going
through the middle of the animal, and in the same way the tube
that goes through you starts at the mouth and ends with the
anus is just a hole going through the middle. Now you're putting
food into this hole, right, and the earthworm is putting food into
this hole. Somehow the food has got to get out of the hole and
into the worm.
Now, these bits here, the the leaves and and all the other bits
that the earthworm's eating, and all the bits you're eating, are
made up of proteins and fats and carbohydrates and so on. The
problem is that the molecules, the molecules that make up the
food are co, are long and complicated. For example, we said
that. . . if you look at a starch molecule for example, which is
what you get in potatoes, and what you get in in pasta, and
what you get in starch food, is made up of more than twenty-
four bits, joined together like this, and the walls of this tube,
okay, is like a piece of netting is like a piece of netting, okay,
these long tubes sorry, these long molecules are so big that
they won't fit through the net to get to blood on the other
side.. . The food has to get out of the tube, through the wall of
the gut, into the blood circuit and be taken around the body,
okay. But these molecules are so big that they won't fit through.
So what the body has to do is to break them down into small bits
break them down into small bits.. so that we finish up with
.

small simple little molecules and the small simple little molecules
can go though the tube, through the wall of the gut into the
blood and be then taken off to your cells and your muscles so the
food can actually be used, yes?
What David has done is to strip digestion down to the barest essentials: a
tube through which food goes and in which it must be broken down. This
provides a theoretical backbone, so to speak, which will as he tells the
stories which follow hold the argument together. Further, the narrative
form can, as we pointed out in Chapter 4, 'carry' knowledge in the very
structure of the story and in its use of analogy and metaphor (as in 'netting'
above).
In his first story, David, having established the crucial role of the stomach
in digesting protein, is about to make sure this specific function is not for-
gotten. He does so through a surprising suggestion:
David: Most of the food that gets digested in your stomach is protein,
so the meat and fish and that kind of stuff gets digested in your
stomach. But would you believe that you can actually survive
without your stomach?
The story which he is about to tell does several jobs at the same time. It
functions as evidence. It is highly memorable, providing a ready reminder of
 muscle new get I muscle a damage I if cells, skin new get I skin

the damage I if happen, should what that's cells new make
to divide cells other but dies, cell the then yourself, cut you
if know, you cells new make to dividing, just of instead and
mad, goes of sort reason, some for cell, one just cell, a where is David:
Cysts. Student:
is cancer what see let's all, of first well,
Oh, way best the ways, three in cancers cure can you Well,
ways. three in cancers cure can you Well, do? you can what
case, this in umm, stomach, the of cancer got you've if Now, David:
information. extra provide
to off break to opts here David But stomach. Wayne's of removal surgical
the about be to going is story The else. something explaining for space
make to decide may teacher the Or contributions. with or questions with
either in, join students often how on depending down slowed or up speeded
be may It vary. may pace The level. in changes and asides many with plots,
complicated of track keeping involves often storytelling through Explaining
stomach. the of cancer was got Wayne John which cancer
the and cancer, of died eventually day, that set film that on
working was who person single every and cancers, causes ally
eventu- which something is know, all probably you as ation,
radi- atomic So right. years, thirty or twenty next the within
cancer, of died set film that on worked who person single every
know, you but happens, just it radiation,' atomic of cloud big
a look, 'Oh go, suddenly don't you radiation, atomic see don't
you know, didn't they and working, were people these where
to arr, across, blown was and bombs the off came it ation,
radi- atomic of load whole a but time the at know didn't they
and direction, this in blowing was wind the day that happened
just it and bombs, atomic testing were they were, they away
miles five about and here, valley a in forth, so and on so and
stars, other the all and cameramen the all with with, filming

of kind was Wayne John and, and West, Wild the know, you
in, film a be would it so film, western a making were they
one, the to next valley the in bombs atomic the testing were
they forties, nineteen the in film the making was he when and
forties, nineteen the in film a making was Wayne, John story.
long a it's down, settle story, long a is This Wayne. John Yeah? David:
Yeah. Students:
Wayne? John called star film the know all you Do David:
space. of plenty lesson, whole the of

narrative the of subplot a only really is which story his gives he reasons,
these For biology. of and life of view wider much a to linked is digestion
about fact small A cancer. and damage radiation as such concern, of matters
other to fact this connects it And protein'. digests stomach 'the fact the
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 122
 'STYLES' OF EXPLAINING 123

cells, if I damage a stomach I get new stomach cells. But in a

cancer, one cell divides, it just goes mad, it doesn't make the
right cells, it just makes more, and more, and more cells, and
you get a lump, or a cyst. Now one way to live, to to to deal
with a cancer if it's small enough, early enough, is to cut it
out and throw it away. Later on, you can try and attack the
bad cells, with, with chemicals, called drugs, or [I with atomic
radiation [] but stomach cancers, because the stomach's got no
nerves in it, you don't really notice you've got stomach cancer
until sometimes it's too late, to do anything about it.
It is clear that explaining through story-telling follows no simple linear
form. Here, within the 'story of digestion', another story is embedded (John
Wayne), within which there are further stories (a radiation accident). Also,
different modes of explaining may co-exist. So far, in our example, part of
the explaining can be done in a straightforward factual way (cancers are the
result of uncontrolled replication) and partly through the telling of stories.
The resolution of the story again relies on the conceptual 'backbone'
(digestive system as a tube) and recruits everyday knowledge ('connect it
up to the rest of the tubing'):
David: What they did with John Wayne, was to cut his whole stomach
out. And he lived for another ten years after that, he died when
he was kind of eighty or something like that, he, you know,
he was an old man when he died, but he'd had his stomach,
his whole stomach removed, and they took just that bit of the
tubing there
Student: But
David: connected it up to the rest of the tubing, and [] the job of the
stomach is to digest, mainly is to digest protein, and the rest
of the system could manage without the stomach. John was
vegetarian when, you know, really a vegetarian, yeah, so, so
basically, he survived.
The overall message carried by the story (stomachs digest proteins) is pre-
served despite the detours into other matters. Stories have a robust structure
and yet are flexible enough to accommodate additions or omissions.
Later in the same lesson, David tells another story. It is the story of the
fur-trapper who accidentally shot a hole in his stomach, a part of which we
used in Chapter 2 when thinking about creating difference. Here we repro-
duce it in full, because we are interested, precisely, in showing the whole
'performance'. So, it is the story of an accident, followed by a surprisingly
unexpected course of events which led to an increase in scientific know-
ledge. As a teaching device, it is not only an example of producing differ-
ence through surprise, but also one of 'insinuating knowledge' on the back
of a truly gripping if macabre story. Contained in it are messages about the
origin and nature of scientific knowledge, as well as knowledge about how
the stomach functions.
 he then and ho-ho,' you, haven't have, you yes, oh awa, get
'Oh said, doctor the and myself,' through hole big a shot have
I doctor, 'Look said, and fort, the in doctor the to the, to uh,
went, he and fort, the to back went he yes, story true a is This David:
true? this Is Student:
credible? even yarn this is factor:
that on focus students the all of first that ways, many so in however, vast so
is here produced difference The constructed. be to meanings new in result
will which information new integrate to difference necessary the creating
and body human the about understanding and knowledge current their with
students confronting is He surprise. of element an producing merely not is
teacher the developments, counterintuitive providing by However, memorable.
story the makes and attention catches events of sequence unexpected The
fort. the to back went he and up, himself
wrapped he conscious, was he and up, himself wrapped he
Anyway, here. through way the all hole big a a left and well,
as away back his of bit a took back, the out went bullet the
and stomach, his through hole, big great a blew stomach,
the through here, right himself shoot to managed he and David:
[Laughter] Students:
himself, shot he beaver a shooting of instead and gun, his
with out went he day one because trapper, useless a of bit a
been have must Martin St. Alexis Now Martin. St. Alexis called
Frenchman a was trappers the of one and ago, years hundred
two Canada in trade, fur massive a had They right. furs, the
selling and them, skinning animals, trapping by money its all
make to used Canada ago years hundred two make, to used
to used Canada place, big really really a is Canada trapper
a was there was, happened what see You right. Canada, in
fort a in worked who Beaumont, Doctor called doctor a was
stomach, the inside happening was what about lot a such
ever discovered who blokes these of one and stomach], own
his [pats things these arr, these, in on going was what ing
discover- all of first were people when ago years hundred two
. .
maybe on going was research this know, you meat. over out
it wringing stomach, the of contents the the, taking by that
found he and out, it wringing and sponge the collecting was
he and so, sponge, of bits himself feeding was who I?, didn't
man, Italian the about week, last you told I right. stomach,
the inside happens what learnt people how is this people,
how is this this, to listen okay, Right, one. good a that's Oh, David:
No. Students:
yet? Martin St. Alexis about you told I haven't Ohhh, David:
No. 2: Student
Mmm. 1: Student
I? haven't trapper the about story the you told I've David:
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 124
 'STYLES' OF EXPLAINING 125

said, err, he must have said to his assistant, 'This bloke ain't
gonna survive, look how much, he's blown half his gut away
here.' So he he put him to bed, and he wrapped him up, and
he left him to die, and the next morning he came back and
Alexis St. Martin was still alive. So he must have changed the
bandages and looked through this big hole, and thought, 'Oh
blimey,' you know, 'What next?.' Anyway, he left this bloke
without trying to stitch him up, 'cause he thought, well, the
bloke was going to die. Then he realised the bloke was actually
going to live, so, after a couple of days, the doctor started to
try and stitch him up, but he'd left it so long, that the hole,
where the bloke'd blown through the skin, and through the
stomach here, the hole, had had, started to heal, it hadn't
healed properly, and, and the skin had stuck to the hole in the
in the stomach, so he tried to stitch it up, but as much as
he tried he couldn't, he left a hole there. So he he bandaged
it up, and after about a week or so the bloke was still alive, and
he had this big hole that poked through into his stomach, so
the doctor, must have said to him, 'I'm sorry about this, you
know, I didn't expect you to live, a bit unfortunate, you've got
this big hole there, haven't y, but you'll be alright won't you,
you can just walk around with a big bandage stuck on here,
and just, you know, don't lean forward when you eat your
breakfast, 'cause it'll all fall out, you'll be alright.' And then
suddenly the doctor thought, 'Wait a minute, this means I could
look through that hole, and see what's happening to the food
while it's being digested.'
Student: Oh, and he could see.

What follows next is an explanation of a systematic, controlled (though

unorthodox) 'scientific' procedure, given through an account which is clearly
meant to fit in with similar descriptions or personal experiences of students
when carrying out tests in science.

David: That's right, so he said to this bloke, he said, 'Look, why don't
why don't you just stay here for a few days, and you know
just have free breakfasts now and again, and I'll just have a look

thr look through this hole, and see what happened to your
breakfast as you're eating it?' So they did this, and the doctor
wrote these great long diaries of what was happening, he took
bits of he took bits of boiled egg, for example, and tied the bit
of boiled egg onto a bit of string, stuck it through the hole, and
then he st took the time, 'Eight o'clock', 'ni-', you know, 'nine
o'clock', stuck a boiled egg through, [mimes waitingj 'five past
nine', pulled it out, had a look, to see what was happening, wrote
down what was happening, stuck it back in. And he did this for
day after day after day, with all sorts of different foods, sticking
 meaning. with fact material invest they
picture; theoretical a serve events material make They 5. Chapter in them
discussed we as demonstration, of functions the essentially have surprisingly,
perhaps this, like narratives that account above the from clear also is It
narratives.
into worked functions and parts these just of account dynamic a with tem
sys- digestive the of functions and parts of list a been have might what
replaces thing whole The way. integrated an in emerges system digestive
the of processes and entities of understanding the which in lesson a creates
structure explanation whole The cancers. about example for explanations,
extra find we them alongside and Within it. about know we how and does
system digestive the of part what explain then stories The hole). this through
goes it as food to happens (what terms simplified in problem the framing
with starts lesson The explanation. of structures juxtaposed of and nested of
example another have we Here scales. different at existing explanation about
before, made have we point general a illustrates entirety its in story The
digestion. of process the and components its system, ive
digest- the about story main the to back attention call remarks last teacher's
The out. dropping from knowledge of set this stop to bandage sufficient is
story This fashion. riveting truly a in and introduced, been have structures
and elements relevant of number large very A not. believe we though ing,
teach- of way uneconomical an seem may story this form, this in Displayed
duodenum. the called is which
intestine, small the of bit little first the into goes it and on, food
liquid the squirts, and squeezes, stomach the then and liquid,
to turned it's hours eight about for stomach the in been it's
time the by hours, eight about for stomach the in stays stomach,
the into gullet, the through down goes up, chewed gets food said
I've far, so said I what've so got you've When stomach. the
inside happening was what discovered they how that's Anyway, David:
mode. information-giving direct a to returning and story, the of
peculiarities the from away and hand in topic biological the to back focus
the bringing said, been has what of summary the signals and mode telling
story the from transition the with helps end the at touch humorous The
out. dropping breakfast
his stop to bandage his with that, after presumably, lived, bloke
The so. or months six about know, don't I for, this did they so
experiments,' more some do and come to money more you pay
I'll on, come look, no, 'Oh said, and cities, main the of one in
know, you down, went and him, after chased he that subject, his
lost having err, his lost having about worried so was Beaumont
Doctor er, and away, ran he and it with up fed got Martin St.
Alexis that was happened what eventually was this And on.
going was what see to looking out, it pulling hole, the through it
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 126
 OF EXPLAINING 127

'Say it my way'
Another style of explaining is to focus on 'the right way to talk about
things'. We have chosen an example concerning the right way to talk about
sound waves an example already discussed in Chapter 4, as an instance of
'didactic transposition'. It comes from a Year 8 class in an all-girls school.
The teacher (Alan) has shown the students different sounds associated
with different images on the screen of a cathode-ray oscilloscope. Now, at
this stage something new happens: the transformation of sound into a new
entity. A space for new meanings is opened up, when sound is transformed
into something to be seen, not heard. Alan's efforts concentrate on making
the students talk about what they hear in terms of what they see.
Alan: Now then, the cathode-ray oscilloscope can't display them like
that, so how does it try to display the different types of sound.
Yes?
Student: . . by making different lines and different shapes.
.

Alan: Okay different lines different shapes. You should see if we get
a nice pure note you should see a nice s smooth wave like that
[gesture of sinusoidal wavel going across the screen.
A further level of complexity is to be added, however. Changes in what is
heard become changes in what is seen, but these are also to be described in
a new language. The next stage involves paying attention to selected aspects
of the images seen on the screen and describing what you see in a particular
way. Changes like those in the pitch of the sound and in the corresponding
shape of the trace on the screen, are given linguistic forms which link them.
Alan: Now then, if the sound gets louder, what happens to the trace
that we see on the screen? Yes?
Student: It gets higher.
Alan: Okay. The trace gets higher. Okay? Now then, technically speak-
ing using the correct words, what happens to the amplitude of
the sound? Yes?
Student: It increases.
Alan: It increases. Brilliant.

Alan: If the sound became quieter what would happen to the ampli-
tude? Yes?
Student: It would decrease.
Alan: It would decrease. Good.
The language is one in which what is seen is not sound, but 'the trace', but
in which the sound makes the trace. So the trace is described in simple
observational terms ('It gets higher'). Then this is translated into another
more theoretical language, to do with 'amplitude'. The trace getting higher
is not merely a trace getting higher; it has meaning that an amplitude
has increased. Next a linguistic form to link sound directly to amplitude is
worked on. The language being developed here derives from a culture which
 decreasing?
or increasing it Is length? wave the to happening actually is
what so together, closer squashed, get to going are waves the
that said already we've higher get to going is sound the If
lines. wavy the on points corresponding two any or troughs
two or peaks two between distance the wavelength The Alan:
wavelength. [Inaudible] Student:
Yes. is? name that what
remember anyone Can name. certain a had trough a and
trough a between or peak a and peak a between distance the
that said You OK? wave. a out drew You way. different a in
it put me let actually we can What waves? those on make
we can measurement what then, Now out. spread get They Alan:
wider. get They Student:
happens?
what lower, voice] pitch low a in [speaking goes sound the As Alan:
definition-statement. a alds
her- signal explicit the Here way'). different a in it put me ('let change a
signals explicitly he sometimes but out'), spread get 'they wider', get ('they
said is something how changes just Alan Sometimes points'). responding
. .
cor- two any between 'distance. to peak' a and peak a between 'distance
(from complexity or elaboration greater of direction the in sometimes
tried, is another way, one something said having ground; linguistic the

shifts continually He ways. various in them use to students getting and
them using by terms for meanings up building into work of lot a puts Alan
sound. about talking of way new the of part as introduced being terms new
the of explanation the in part crucial a play rewording and Rephrasing
Rephrasing
experience. auditory everyday an for constructed been has meaning
visualabstract A screen. the on see students his which trace' the of 'height
the of meaning the way dramatic quite a in modifying is Alan changes,
ex- of sequence same the in term either using by However, understanding.
students' the for changed has little very that seem may it surface, the On

OK? frequency the is changing is that all frequency
the ischanging is that All changing. not is loudness the No, Alan:
No. Student:
[] there? changing amplitude the Is Alan:
other:
the of terms in one about sentence a rephrases it, about remark any making
without Alan, Thus alternatives. as them treating to shifts it connected, are
two the that directly saying language the of Instead interchangeably. them
using starts simply Alan time, a after But lesson. the in point this at times
several rehearsed and practised are amplitude, and loudness between that
including links, Such .'. sounds.. amplitude 'Large like, things says routinely
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 128
 STYLES' OF EXPLAINING 129

Student 1: They're increasing.

Student 2: [Inaudiblel decreasing.
Alan: The distance between two peaks?
Student 1: Decreasing.
Alan: OK. Good. I thought you knew the answer to that. So the wave-
length is decreasing as the frequency or pitch is increasing.
Typically of the style 'Say it my way', after a period of such successive
rephrasings, Alan moves to crystallize them into an 'official' version which
is dictated to the whole class or written on the blackboard to be recorded
in the students' books.
Alan: We basically were wanting to finish with a few sentences that
will say [starts speaking with a slow impressive tonel when a sound
becomes louder, the amplitude increases; when the sound become
quieter, the amplitude decreases; the sound becomes higher, the
wavelength decreases; the sound becomes lower, the wavelength
increases. [Speech returns to normal I OK. Has anybody got all of
those down?

Is this just a word-game?

In 'Say it my way' the task necessarily involves explaining new terms. But
it cannot be merely a word-game using new words to label new ideas; no
such game could work. Work has to be done grounding new terms, often in
action or in metaphor. In the present case, the new terms can be grounded
in the visual representation of sounds on the screen, and their associated
metaphors (see Chapter 4). Work has also always to be done relating new
terms one to another. Indeed this is the essential part of the work to be
done, because a specific 'way of talking' is such just by virtue of making ideas
hang together in certain specific ways. The sentence, 'The amplitude has a
high pitch' makes no sense because its ideas are disconnected. Its English
grammar is fine; its 'scientific grammar' is hopeless. Learning the 'scientific
grammar' is learning to 'Say it my way'.
In this final extract we seem to see Alan going through a rather mechan-
ical exercise in sentence construction (text in SMALL CAPITALS corresponds to
the word written on the board as well as spoken):
Alan: [Speaking aloud, making long pauses, as he writes on the whiteboard]
As A SOUND [] BECOMES LOUDER, []THE AMPLITUDE remind me
what the amplitude does? [I
Student: Gets higher.
Alan: Higher or how could we? what word would fit into that
sentence? [I
Student: Increases.
Alan: It increases, good. So the amplitude [] INCREASES, good. Number
2 []AS A SOUND BECOMES [I QUIETER [] sh shhhh [I THE AMPLITUDE
[I What does the amplitude do? The word that will fit into that
sentence. DECREASES.
 move: to continents the for call to seems
explanation whose fact curious a with begins He way. different a in things
see to students his get to has he So feet. one's under moving and active
as but home permanent stable a as not Earth, the of view unsettling and
new whole a reaching on depends It all. at easy not is explain to has he what
Actually, schooling. to relation in utility 2: Chapter in considered we which
difference creating of forms cruder and simpler the of one uses David Here
straightforward. so it's because business in
. .
you're then exam, the in questions are there if this. understand
you if hand, other the on ten, level for simple too it's because
ten, level on on, this put to error an committed has government
the know, you like, of, kind it's and simple, dead it's think I . .
said, I as today, this understand and try to you want I simple.
. . .
quite really is which something there's that you to said I've David:
promise: a with
starts David tectonics. plate about is 10) Year (in lesson This styles. personal
particular not and explaining doing of ways are here describing are we what
that point the make to helps which - David by lesson another on focus we
it, illustrate To way'. my it 'See called have we which this is It world. the
of vision special a enforce to somehow need explaining of kinds Some
way' my it 'See
that. exactly than more no as it see will way' my it 'Say style
the to subjected students that danger real a is there So experienced. are they
before seen be cannot advantages The it. has one before thinking, of so and
talking, of way new a having envisage to difficult very is it because them,
tell easily cannot He headed. is way' his it 'saying where of vision this to
party be, cannot and not, are students Alan's pay. to price a is there But
lesson. of kind this motivates end the in which right', it 'say to students
getting just than rather this, is It formalization. abstract of one to perception
immediate of world a from transformation, massive a though part-way are
hears' one sounds 'The graphs. and equations with starting systems, formal
further yet in represented be will relationships whose and waves, describe
values whose variables into transformed be to destined are etc. 'wavelength',

'frequency', 'amplitude', terms The aware. well be will students the yet
not if Alan which of power, latent much has knowledge new This
saying. of
way new a as well as seeing of way new a for kind new a of word new a
for but word, suitable a for merely not asks sentence?' that into fit would
word 'What question, The 'increasing'). is ('amplitude' doing is entity
abstract an what describing verbs become ('louder') perceptions describing
adjectives Correspondingly, increases'). ('amplitude concepts to louder')
becomes ('sound percepts relate They job. important an do sentences These
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 130
 'STYLES' OF EXPLAINING 131

David: And I think people began to realise, during the course of this
century, that when they looked at the map of the Earth, it looked
pretty obviously, as if, kind of, bits fitted together.
David shows them a map a rather unusual one in which mountains and
valleys under the sea are as prominent as those on land. It is not even too
easy to see the familiar forms of continents, and David spends time point-
ing them out. Why is he doing this? In the style 'See it my way' there is
generally an explanation waiting to be given, which is what decides what
phenomena are counted as interesting. And David has such an explanation
the moving of continental plates over the Earth's surface. Thus in the next

extract he concentrates on one phenomenon for which that explanation will

be able to account.
David: So the map is quite complex. . . First let's look at the spots of
land in the middles of all this mess. Here's America in the middle
[teacher shapes out the Americas with his finger]. [] Over here is
Britain, a bit of Europe here, a bit of Africa down there. Now, all
the different colours [ ] on the Earth's surface, are what kind of
rocks are being formed where. [1 But what I just wanted to show
you, huh, it's very difficult to show you, is this bit down here,
where this bit sticks out here [the teacher shapes out a bit of South
America], can you see this bit of South America sticks, sticks out
here, and just here, look, there's this sort of bit of Africa that's
got this kind of armpit, and if you look at these two, you can
think to yourself, well look, that bit fits in there, that's conveni-
ent, isn't it, how come there's just, you know, a thousand miles
of ocean in the middle, but that bit looks like it fits in there?
Here then we illustrate again a point made first in Chapter 1, that what
gets explained depends on what explanations are ready and waiting. If in sci-
ence itself, phenomena can be envisaged as in need of explanation, in teach-
ing science it is almost the other way round. The existence of explanations
decides what questions get asked. The existence of an answer is the reason
for posing the question. David makes the question more real by describing
how the ideas evolved, starting with the now discredited idea that moun-
tains formed by the folding of the crust of a cooling and shrinking Earth.
David: Now, through the course of the nineteen twenties people thought
what was going on, was, as the planet is cooling down, it was
forming a skin on the surface, and as it cooled down more, and it
cooled down more, and it cooled down more, it started to shrink
[holds his hands in a ball and 'shrinks' it] and as it started to shrink,
the skin on the surface, started to form itself up into, into, into
folds, and bends, and contours, and that's the way, they believed,
in which the mountains were formed. They were cooling down
and then crinkling up and forming this, this cold crinkled lump,
OK? Basically, through the nineteen twenties people began to
 5. Chapter in demonstration 'failed'
his described We doesn't. it and works it if care much doesn't he that but
Earth, the of interior the in convection illustrate to show to demonstration
a has he that fact the by shown is imagination the to basically is appeal
David's That volcanoes. making and rising rock molten represent to hand
upper the of fingers through up hand lower the of fingers pushing then and
other the below hand one sliding by another under dives plate one when
happens what symbolizes David vivid. more even are gestures the Later
ironically]. [said movements' conservative 'little these
of one by destroyed was Francisco San of whole the 1906 in
again] hands [moves earthquakes cause other each, against move just
plates the when plates, these of movements little So world. the
over all earthquakes cause which things are shifting, occasionally
just and again] edge to edge hands [puts that like against plates
of pair A all. at conservative too was it think wouldn't you plates
these of one on lived you if Although term]. technical a solemnly
and slowly [said margins' 'conservative called are These other].
the beside along hand one [slides this like shift they again, and now
every and, edge] to edge hands two [puts together sitting are which
plates the is One ways. possible different three in move They'll
hands] the [moves moving are rock of plates those and handi other
the out [holds here plate a and hand] one out [holds here rock of
plate cool a there's So plates. individual of series a formed They
lump. single one formed haven't they but yes?, cooled, has has
planet the of surface the on formed that's rock of skin the of of
lumps these down cooled planet the As this. is on going is What
around. moving Earth the of chunks great about talking are we
because it, understand to difficult quite is it that massive so It's
massive. very is hand, other the on but simple, pretty is on going
is what And on. going is what realize to begun have people years
twenty to ten last of sort the of course the over gradually And David:
continents. of
movements possible the mimic to hands his using gesture, of lot a use to is
does he What real. it make to can he resource every use and imagination,
to appeal must He argument. logical to or demonstration, to fact, observed
to appeal cannot He drift. and move plates enormous which in way, new
another yet in Earth the see to them get to needs now David them. about
questions new and phenomena new to pointing explained, be to world the
change may above, suggested we as theory, this And theory. a of terms in
rationalized are facts way', my it 'See In custard. on skin wrinkled as Alps
the see to easy not is it be: to needs it And active. and concrete vivid, very
is language The way. one in Earth the see to them get to tried has David
forth. so and on so and oceans
have you come how and continents have you come how explain
really not did it because satisfactory very wasn't really this realise
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 132
 'STYLES' OF EXPLAINING 133

This is, perhaps, a rather special case of the style 'See it my way'. At least
what has to be seen in a special new way the Earth is and remains a
concrete object. Seeing in a new way becomes even more important in other
areas of science in which entities have their basic nature altered. Obvious
examples include matter being made mostly of empty space, or diseases
being caused not by circumstances but by germs. When it comes in much
later learning to gravity being just curved space, the need to see things in
someone else's way becomes the heart and whole of the problem.
teachers what time the of some If described. be to needs each of contribution
the and things, these of all do do they But events. material to meaning new
a gives which account an reaching finally purpose, the for transformed ledge
know- scientific using job, the do to entities the construct then explanation,
an for need a establish first sequence simple some in not do teachers So
7. Chapter in suggested we as time, the all together happen all they trary,
con- the On other'. the after 'one happen these that suppose not do we ful,
meaning- matter making and knowledge, transforming entities, constructing
difference, up opening of tasks, main four the identify we therefore, When,
working. tions
explana- of account our of parts component the see we how is This once. at
dimensions several on described be to has explanation any that is sequence
con- The polyphony. of kind a in time, same the at all happen things other
and These done. be to communication the of organizing and structuring
some and others, to respect with taken be to position some say, to something
least) (at is there communicates, one whenever generally, Quite works. tion
communica- how just is That once. at on going necessarily are things many
that is communication) of kind any matter that for (or classroom science the
in explanations describe to trying in faced be to problem fundamental A
next. come to need might
what to forward looking and make, to wish we claims what explaining tions,
assump- underlying our summarizing done, have we thihk we what describing
together, book the of threads the draw to try will we chapter, final this In
forward looking and Concluding
NEXT? WHAT
AND NOW, WHAT
8 Chapter
 WHAT NOW, AND WHAT NEXT? 135

do looks more like one of these dimensions than like the others, the others
are always there in the background.
It was for this reason that, when introducing these ideas in Chapter 1, we
could draw so heavily on a very few examples. If that seemed forced at a first
reading, it may be useful to reconsider the issue now. We could, for example,
treat the case of explaining the gut of an earthworm as opening up a differ-
ent way of seeing things, as work towards constructing the entity 'digestive
system', and as transforming a biological structure into a piece of topology,
using devices such as analogy. All were there to be seen, in a few minutes of
speech and a diagram, and all working together as opposed to being strung
in a chain.
In broad terms, then, what we believe we have done is to identify from
a particular semiotic point of view some main aspects of what must be
involved in any act of explaining science in the classroom, and then to
illustrate in considerable detail how these very general aspects can be seen
and described in particular cases and how they can then be used to compare
and contrast cases. Further, in Chapters 6 and 7, we have sought to show
how in different contexts, with different people, explaining different things,
the dynamics of the situation issue in a variety of ways of doing the job of
explaining different strategies or styles. Despite their differences, however,
each style still has an account at the same general level the level of what
any kind of explaining has to do.

Assumptions
In all this work, we have started from a number of broad assumptions about
the nature of communication and of scientific explanations. These were
outlined in Chapter 1, but it may be helpful to summarize them again here.
We take communication to be continuously active, transformative or con-
structive. We do not accept a view of communication as using fixed terms
to refer to fixed realities. For us, each meaning made is in some measure a
new meaning, not an old one reshuffled in a repetitious game of saying the
same things over again. Those with something to say are necessarily always
saying something new, sometimes radically, often only slightly. Those with
something to understand have necessarily to make that understanding anew
for themselves, again only sometimes radically but always to some extent.
It is from this that communication gets its dynamism and the source of its
continuous transformation and change.
We also take communication to be integrated and multimodal. In the past
and still in many respects today, our Western culture takes language to be
the dominant mode of communication, and within that gives pride of place
to writing over speaking. Other modes of communication, especially graphic
and pictorial modes, are generally thought of as adjuncts to the 'real thing'
as members of a supporting cast. Much evidence, from the dominance of
television to the widespread use of images in advertising and in signs, points
in the opposite direction. At least, we believe, full attention has to be paid
 examples real of number large a
to applied classroom, science the in explanations describing for language a
kinds: two of therefore are results Our
knowledge. scientific and
knowledge students' between distance conceptual the and reality, material to
ideas and talk of relation the both notably science, of characteristics special
the of because with, deal to communication of theories current for case ficult
dif- a as important also is problem The anecdote. and intuition experience,
from wholly work to have teachers science advise or train who Those room.
class- the in science explain to is it what of account principled no exists
there science, in learning to and classroom, the in language to past the in
paid attention research much despite because, important is problem The
achieved. fact in have we believe we what
is This teachers. science by usable and to intelligible be also should It basis.
theoretical coherent and clear a have to and data empirical good on based
firmly be to needed language that And explanations. such describe to guage
lan- a develop to us required This classrooms. science in teachers by given
explanations describing of way a find to was ourselves set we problem The
Results
enriched. further
became themselves they process the in that and fruitful, and productive
us, for least at proved, they that more say can we Perhaps strain. the under
crack not did they work, present the of course the in that say can we least at
But prejudices. our doubt no and understandings, theoretical initial our lize
crystal- They out'. 'found we things course, of not, are assumptions These
them. to done be can what
and do can things what on actions on end the in rest must it then words
to pointing words of circle the escape to is meaning If meaning. constitutes
what about assumptions our with consistent also is entities of notion our
But 'entities'. of notion our draw we that conception this from part in is It
explained.
be to phenomenon the produce to together acted have can entities these of
some how tells explanation An them. to done have and do can they what on
and reality of constituents the be to taken are what on views; world entific
sci- on rest explanations scientific that is view our words, few a in marized
Sum- seriously. take to difficult is view this physics, of parts theoretical more
the Outside laws. scientific from deductions like as seen best were they that
was explanations scientific of view general the recently, Until book. the out
through- repeatedly used and 1 Chapter in out set position a explanation;
scientific of nature the about assumptions of set a from start also We
role. significant and
special a performing each together, integrated modes, such several involves
communication that is assumption Our actions. and gesture communication
of modes other these in include we And language. with par a on them to
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 136
 WHAT NOW, AND WHAT NEXT? 137

issues and problems for theories of communication more generally which

arise out of the distinctive character of science and science classrooms
We will comment on each of these in what follows.

Describing explanations in science

We repeat below from Chapter 1 the main components of our language for
describing explanations, and then discuss each briefly:
scientific explanations understood as analogous to 'stories'
an account of meaning-making in explanation, itself with four parts:
creating differences
constructing entities
transforming knowledge
putting meaning into matter
variation and styles of explanation
We see in scientific explanations an underlying structure analogous to that of
a 'story'. There is a world of protagonists (electrons, genes, etc.) which have
their proper powers of action. They enact a sequence of events (a current
flows, proteins are made). This sequence has an outcome, namely the phe-
nomenon to be explained (a lamp glows, a cell develops). The point of the
analogy is that none of these three components can, in science, be taken for
granted. Much explanation has to concern the protagonists and the events
they enact. Nor may the phenomenon to be explained be at all obvious (e.g.
motion of the continents).
For these reasons, we need an account of how teachers create a need for
explanation in communication terms, a difference to be bridged or resolved.
Ways of doing so include promises of clarification, eliciting differences of
opinion, using stories to suggest ideas, showing counterintuitive results and
creating expectations.
Unlike everyday stories, scientific explanations have protagonists unknown
to students. Electron, genes and other scientific entities have therefore to be
'talked into existence' for students. This requires explaining what they can do,
have done to them and what they are made of. And they will persist, turning
up again and again in new and often unexpected contexts, as real things
tend to do.
School science is necessarily a carefully versioned form of scientific know-
ledge, transformed rather than merely 'simplified'. One of our examples ana-
lyses the way sound is transformed to become visible in an oscilloscope.
Essential to such transformations are analogy and metaphor: the eye as a
camera; atomic orbitals as spaces to fill up.
Demonstrations are essential to scientific explanation. Whilst they are
usually thought of as 'showing how things are', we show instead that their
main function is to invest physical events with special kinds of meaning.
They press matter into the service of theory.
Explanations are of many kinds, done in many ways. The features which
explana- 'an to corresponds that unit formal fixed no found we contrast, By
explanation'.
of 'genres of speak indeed does schools secondary of genres textual on work
Some terms. clear relatively in described be can example, for report, scientific
a of form the genre: of concept the through sense common this reinforced
has form, textual on work related and discourse, scientific on work recent
Some you'. thank 'no, or please' 'yes, is offer an to response a form; rogative
inter- an has question a meaning: and form between correspondences clear
relatively are there that been generally has linguistics of sense common The
forms of meanings and explanation of Forms
interest. special of be to proves which done, being is what adjust to continually
has teacher/communicator the way the and situation, this of structure clear
relatively the is it theory communication of view of point the From together.
this all bring to is it task whose teacher the and science; into inducted be
to is who student, the curricula; into knowledge this turn which 'education'
of institution social the knowledge; of kinds various its with science, of line
discip- the these: least at are difference of determinants situational The
curriculum. that of aims the achieving
for timetable set a with curriculum, clear a is there as form, sharp in appears
issue this particular, in education science in and education, In there. visible
less much but interactions, everyday of phenomenon a also is 'Difference'
interesting. science make to
parlance, ordinary in them: to relevant all, above and them, by understood
students, to known difference that make to part, large a in is, teaching of
task The student. the by not but teacher, the by understood is difference
this of relevance The science. of knowledge namely difference, of area ous
obvi- one exists student science the and teacher science the Between field.
a such into brought be can competence, practical and technical theoretical
of fields to outsiders how is view of point communication a from issue The
difference Creating
generally. more communication
in importance of issues to pointing as it seeing view, of point wider rather
a from explanations describing for framework our at look to now turn We
communication as Explaining
explanation. the
to appropriate language the using practising and are', things 'how of vision
new a enforcing stories; in explanations encapsulating ideas; and knowledge
students' using and activating explanation: of styles distinctive of number
a identify We matter. subject the of nature the and evolves, work classroom
the way the teacher, the of experience and resources knowledge, the tions,
explana- other on dependence their include them between differences generate
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 138
 WHAT NOW, AND WHAT NEXT? 139

tion', whether at the level of the clause; or of the sentence or of a sequence

of sentences; or in the form of a text with clearly identifiable boundaries. On
the contrary, we find that explanations may stretch across whole texts, series
of whole texts (as explanatory sequences), or across smaller parts of texts.
We therefore see the unity of explanation not as deriving from the form
of texts or of units of texts, but from patterns of factors which influence
explanatory contexts. The textual units which express or realise explana-
tions are quite diverse. Their diversity is to be accounted for in terms of the
social and institutional structures of explanatory contexts. Thus we have not
arrived at a taxonomy of explanatory forms; but have instead developed a
means of describing characteristics of explanatory contexts.

Styles of explanation
One remarkable result is the recognition of a variety of 'styles of explana-
tion'. These 'styles' have their origin in a number of factors. First, there are
undeniable differences between teachers, which seem to be the result of
personal histories and experience, the effect of the disciplinary issue dealt
with, and broad pedagogical and epistemological dispositions training and
traditions. All of these interact with and may be triggered by charac-
teristics of the class collectively or of individuals in it. So for instance, the
use of narrative, 'telling a story', can simultaneously have the multiple func-
tions of establishing rapport, introducing a new topic, and insinuating relev-
ant new knowledge thus opening the essential difference which prepares
for the coming explanatory sequence. Or, eliciting what seems like ordinary,
common-sense knowledge from pupils and turning it successively more and
more into the form of scientific knowledge, may depend on the suitability
of the subject matter, on the teacher's confidence in managing the process,
and on an established history of rapport between class and teacher.
'Styles,' however, are not just static, fixed dispositions of individual teachers.
In the course of a lesson, there are constant adjustment, changes, shifts, in
the form of interaction. So while we can sometimes see a relative stability of
style with a particular teacher, and in particular of that teacher with a given
class, this stability is not in the least anything like rigidity. We expand on
this in the next section.

The dynamics of a multiple communicational environment

Teachers use a range of modes of communication. A sequence may, typic-
ally, involve: speech, including the spoken delivery of written language (or
'language for writing down', as in the dictation of bits of curricular know-
ledge); drawing on the blackboard of diagrams of various levels of complex-
ity; prepared objects used in demonstrating; images from books; gestural
forms of delivering information.
It is quite clear from our video-recordings that one has to speak of a multi-
semiotic environment, in which language is clearly important, but not solely
so or even at times predominantly so. Consequently, there is not only constant
thought usually are what together bring to us enables which generality,
and power certain a it for claim do we But classroom. science the in tion
explana- at looking of way only the is ours that claim course of not do We
claim? we do What
process. semiotic the be to taken usually is what of reversal a theory; resent
rep- to made is Reality issue. at is which reality material the of elements by
'encoded' is reality theoretical of aspect an demonstration a in contrary, the
On reality. material of aspect an 'encodes' representation the that is which
assumed, generally that to direction opposite the in works sign-making the
Here environment. multisemiotic this of elements all of connectedness the
shows itself in demonstration the of phenomenon The representation. its to
world material from way, one not is processes these of directionality The
remaking. constant of one is process the used: being merely or simply
representation of resources stable these with systems representational stable
of one from removed far is picture the Again, transformations. these cing
produ- and managing of means the as used is system semiotic complex the
education: science of domain the for as communication of systems the for
much as consequences has This transformed. constantly are elements its of
and environment explanatory the of aspects all teaching, of process the In
like'). 'they give', ('they
entities active into world that of enlivening an to there), out world objective
. .
the in .' are ('there position distanced objectively an via elements) and
electrons, our have' ('we proximity personal from movement a completed
. . . . . .
has she .', like. 'they .', give. they '. to .' are. 'there a to .' have.
. .
we here '. a From table. periodic the of elements the towards class a of
members of perception the repositions time) class of so or minute a barely
takes sequence the (though gradually teacher a when as students, or teachers
either to certain, feel we invisible, ways, minute most slightest, the in pen
hap- may these All knowledge. towards students of positioning the of and
knowledge; of transformation of communication; of modes between shifts of
tactics; of change of dynamic: constant a of one is emerges that picture The
processes and mechanisms conceptual and Semiotic
description. written a than effectively more or effectively as system',
'digestive entities of structure larger the in 'intestine', entity the establishes
blackboard the on diagram A description. spoken a than tellingly more or
as 'subduction', entity theoretical the build helps other the below hand one
of teacher the by movement pushing slow The entities. of construction the
in part their play each modes various the that insist to important is It
time. a at one than more with harmonies playing
usually are they And effects. own its with each instruments, several playing
were, it as are, Teachers communication. of mode the of salience relative the
in adjustments constant also are there but mode, of terms in adjustment
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 140
 WHAT NOW, AND WHAT NEXT? 141

of as rather disparate parts of the activity of teaching science. Our claim is

that our new language of description provides a framework within which
we can give accounts of many different ways of explaining; accounts which
can bring out similarities and differences between them. We do not claim to
have identified every possible kind of explanation. But we do claim that this
framework will prove workable and valuable in looking for other ways of
explaining, and we can already describe a large number of examples.
The framework we offer is not one from which one can 'read off' how an
explanation is going. It does not provide checklists of features. What it does
provide are the basic sets of questions which need to be asked in each case,
together with a collection of examples of answers on which others can build.
We hope that the framework will prove to be of value in helping teachers
and those engaged in their professional development to recognize and reflect
on cases of explanation. Simply possessing terms with which to try to de-
scribe what one is doing is a big step forward. Naming is half-way to recog-
nizing, and recognizing is half-way to thinking again.

New perspectives in science education

We also claim to have done something new in research in science education.
For almost two decades, the main focus of research has been on students'
personal understandings. It has yielded valuable and important results. But
it has tended to work from an assumption (a particular reading of 'con-
structivism') that knowledge cannot be 'transmitted' from teacher to student,
so that what has to be attended to is the student's own personal construc-
tion of knowledge. Our view, stated elsewhere in the book but worth repeat-
ing here, is that communication is action: that to teach is to act on other minds,
which act in response. This makes it worth looking at teaching again, asking
what teachers are doing and how they are doing it. We have sought to make
teaching a topic of research.
Our work is also relatively unusual in combining detailed observation and
video-recording of science classrooms, together with a close attention to the
subject matter being taught. Many studies have been done using checklists
of kinds of interactions; typically these do not record the variety of modes
of communication, nor often do they attend much to the subject matter.
Many other studies of the language of the classroom have, with exceptions,
studied mainly verbal forms of interaction, excluding the many others we
have found to be important. They have also been primarily interested, again
with some exceptions, not in what is being taught but in the structure and
form of relationships in the classroom.

What next?
We conclude the book with some thoughts about what might need to be
done next, in research in science education and in research in communica-
tion more generally, to follow up the work described here.
white of part a is 'Red' 'part-of'. as relations semantic basic such reconsider
to need a be may there both In discussed. just kinds the of typology or lysis
ana- an need too They entities. substance-like or object-like of treatment our
than weaker perhaps is processes and events of treatment our Secondly,
places. or spaces like
are which entities from different radically are these all And action. bodied
disem- a or object passive a either from meaning of package different very
a like looks object physical acting autonomously an like is which entity an
Thus involve. they which relations meaning of kinds different the of analysis
further much have yet not do we classes, and clusters of membership their
and parts their them, to done be can what do, can they what from derived
meaning of packages having as terms general in 'entities' characterize can
we although that is One attention. need which limits important some has it
fruitful, and useful is explanation of analysis our that believe we Although
communication? of studies in next What
science. in communication graphic on progress in now work new to us
led has finding second The form. graphic in was content explanatory their of
much that second, and classrooms, science in used little rather were books
that first things: two found we on early very because work, present the in
line that pursue not did We explanation. in role a play books from material
and books ways the at looking to classroom, the in interaction personal
from analysis the extending of ways for look to important be also will It
purposes. main its of one served have will work the ance,
perform- their from missing be may which elements recognize to and ives,
alternat- consider to doing, are they what recognize to teachers help can it
If training. in-service or pre-service of process the in teachers, by used and
understood be can explanations of description of language our extent what
to see to be would value, considerable of one but task, immediate more A
explanations. their explain to then and themselves, explanations struct
con- to students asking be would here pursue to direction obvious An duce.
pro- to helped have may explanations different understandings of kind the

of indications obtain to will you what them call resources tasks, probes,
tests, of construction the involve will question a such answering things,
other Amongst whom?' for and when well, work explanations 'What tion,
ques- obvious seemingly the answer to possible be it will kinds these all of
results given Only explanations. effective of attributes the as see they what
and explanation, an as students for counts what better understand to need
We explanations. receives student the how us tell not do descriptions the
still, important More intentions. their matches behaviour teachers' well how
see to is inquiry of line important one so did, they what only but do, to ing
intend- were teachers what us tell not do They ways. of variety a in use to
put be to need and can descriptions these then classroom, science the
in explanations describing of way effective an claim, we as have, we If
education? science in next What
CLASSROOM THE IN SCIENCE EXPLAINING 142
 WHAT NOW, AND WHAT NEXT? 143

light, and the liver is part of the body, but not obviously in the same sense
of 'part-of'.
Our point here is that the field of science education provides an excep-
tionally fruitful field for the extension of, and challenges to, existing under-
standings of semiotic theories. In the everyday task of science education,
the resources of communication used are wide and varied. The dynamics of
that complex environment lead to a constant reshaping of these very same
resources of communication: science shapes communication as well as the
other way around. That in itself is a challenge to current understandings of
communication. A further issue which emerges is the exploration and descrip-
tion of the part played by different modes of communication, and their effects
on the production of disciplinary knowledge.
Much of the book has focused on questions of knowledge and understand-
ing. But looked at from another point of view, what is going on in the sci-
ence classroom changes or can change who students are. To understand
science may change one's subjectivity. We have seen in the book several
challenges to students' ideas of themselves here let the objectification of
digestion, in which a comfortable known social process is reconstructed as
a biochemical machine, stand for the others.
Finally, science is challenging to theories of meaning-making because
of its crucial relation to the material, the physical, the ungainsayable brute
material world. Semiotics, with its roots in linguistics, has for good reasons
tended to concentrate on meaning-making in language between persons.
The actions it grounds meaning in are communicative actions. But science
has in addition a component of making sense of physical reality. The stu-
dent certainly learns science in interaction with a teacher. But the student
also constructs explanations in interaction with the physical world (and, of
course, began to do this as a baby). We might label this 'material semiosis',
as a placeholder for something yet to be understood.
To conclude an anecdote. Early in the research we observed a class in
which a student took off his shoe, put it on a table, tied it to a spring bal-
ance, and tried using the spring balance to pull the shoe along the table. At
the time we saw but did not record this event, since student and teacher did
not communicate, and we assumed there would therefore be little relevance
to explanation. But a theory of communication clearly needs to embrace
acting so as to build an explanation for oneself. So this example points to
yet more work to do.
show to practices, and structures social into everywhere, in, tied as diverse, more as
autonomous, not as language show to been has work this of effort collective The
Semiotic. Social as Language
book seminal Halliday's Michael in announced itself semiotics, social in and lysis,
ana- discourse critical as known strand that particularly including analysis, discourse
of and eminently stand Labov William and Hymes Dell Bernstein, Basil of names
the which in socio-linguistics of forms many in work prior on depends It ication.
commun- social in language revaluing of history long a on builds approach Our
language. of effects simply
not are which meaning of structures produces world, material the of meanings the
with grappling in Science, English. history, geography, in classrooms to world semiotic
different a ways, fundamental in is, classroom science the that think We teachers.
science of activities and objects practices, the of import semiotic the of enough ful
respect- been not has work previous that think we and classrooms; science in icate
commun- to is there all is language that think not do we respects: essential two least
at in it beyond gone have we think We classroom. science the in language on work
existing of use our acknowledged gratefully 1, Chapter in have, We time?' another at
done been have this 'Could ask: to is enterprise intellectual an locating of way One
communication of study the from perspective A
now?
sources. of bibliography annotated an provides section second A context. its in
based is book the which on research the situate we appendix the of section first this In
Context
SOURCES
AND CONTEXT
Appendix
 APPENDIX 145

language itself as just one social practice, and to point forcefully to the fact that
other social practices are used to communicate and to make meaning.

A perspective from science education

The past two decades of work in science education have been dominated by
two strong traditions: a tradition of emphasizing direct learning of science through
practical activity, and the constructivist tradition emphasizing the student's personal
construction of knowledge. Whatever their merits and they have many these two
traditions have combined to draw attention away from the teacher, except as a pro-
vider of productive 'learning situations'. Constructivists have rightly been concerned
to eradicate the belief that knowledge can be piped from mind to mind. But that does
not mean that there is nothing for the teacher to do; no scope for the teacher to seek
to act on students' minds. Our focus is thus a shift away from these traditions, bring-
ing attention back to how teachers explain back in effect to a neglected aspect of
rhetoric in the science classroom.
In doing so, we have taken account of many different ways of thinking about
'explanation', ranging from the philosophical to the psychological, taking in on the
way explorations of the concept in cognitive science. But we have not tried to add
to the number of such interpretations. Rather, we have drawn on them to construct
a language for reflecting on explanation in an applied setting the science classroom.

The work of the project

The data on which the book is based come from an ESRC funded research project
'Explanation in the Science Classroom' (R000234916), undertaken between April 1994
and September 1995 at the University of London Institute of Education.
We began by surveying existing data on classroom talk, examining video-tapes of
secondary school science lessons, video-tapes of teacher training sessions, and audio-
tapes and transcripts of teachers' discussions of scientific ideas. A small scale survey
of currently used secondary school science textbooks was also undertaken. We con-
sidered the relationships between diagrams, images and explanation in these books.
We first noted here a feature that remained important: that explanations exist on
all scales from the whole chapter to a line of text. We used these materials to reach
common agreement on what we were looking for and what approaches to use in
analysing data.
Having made contact with ten secondary schools in the London area, four were
selected and a pilot study was organized and carried out in July 1994 in two of them.
Following this, the main study involved 12 teachers in four schools: Swakeley's School
for Girls (grant-maintained all-girls comprehensive), North Westminster School (LEA
mixed comprehensive), Riddlesdown High School (grant-maintained mixed compre-
hensive), Harris City Technology College (CTC). The decision to video-record lessons
was made as a result of the pilot study: we very quickly found that the teacher's words
were by no means the only mode of communication, and sometimes by no means the
most important. We found that essential features such as gesture, body movement,
pointing, as well as references to blackboard diagrams, computer screens, experimental
apparatus, posters and other visual displays, required video rather than the originally
planned audio-recording.
The data derive from 52 hours of video tape, of lessons involving all the natural
sciences including some earth science. Lessons were recorded from the secondary
Years 7 to 10, with one or two from Year 11. The recordings concentrated mainly on
from distinguished be to this in and power, of asymmetries on founded and
ideological as process educational the represent They images. and action
language, of interaction the to attentive are arguments, and transcripts,
Their science. school on primarily focus not do so and subjects, school of
variety wide a consider They student. and teacher between occurring ledge
know- common towards movement a as teaching of process the terpret
in- Mercer and Edwards psychology, social of background a from Coming
Methuen. London: Classroom. the in ing
Understand- of Development The Knowledge: Common (1987) N. Mercer, and D. Edwards,
know. we what to reducible is exists what that fallacy':
epistemic 'the calls he what of identification the is contribution important
One science. of philosophy the in realism of defence a here provides Bhaskar
Wheatsheaf. Harvester London: Science. of Theory Realist A (1978) R. Bhaskar,
action. as
understood is discourse which in psychology' 'discursive of standpoint the
from seen argument, and explanation everyday with is here concern The
Sage.
London: Accounts. of Organisation Social The Arguing: and Explaining (1994) C. Antaki,
Draper). by chapter the especially (see
discourse in explanations identify to 'because') as (such markers linguistic of
unreliability the of evidence and causality, expressing statements about is tion
explana- that idea the to challenge a are offered insights many the Amongst
intelligence. artificial and analysis discourse linguistics, psychology, social ing
includ- backgrounds, disciplinary of number a on draws settings social various
in explanation for account to ways different of studies of collection This
Sage. London: Explanation. Everyday Analysing (1988) (ed.) C. Antaki,
ideas. the
up follow to wish who readers guide to and work, our to relationship its indicate to
text each on notes provided have We perspectives. complementary or alternative vide
pro- which or thinking, and ideas our of sources main the as regarded be may which
others with together book, the in to referred works of bibliography a here provide We
Sources
data. the all analysing exhaustively to not data, describe
to which with categories 'good' finding to directed was effort The them. revising and
reconsidering then and up these writing them, analyse to which from perspectives ing
develop- transcripts, and tapes the discussing and viewing by proceeded Analysis
data. as used or recorded not were conversations These lesson. the
in on gone had thought they what about teachers with discussions informal had we
session, a recording after Typically, interest. of something doing be to about teacher
a found we when moment, the of spur the on others few a collected we occasions,
planned these to addition In sciences. the across topics of range balanced a covering
lessons of sample a offered they what from selected and explaining, of amount stantial
sub- a involving lessons, of sequence a or lesson, a giving be to likely were they when
colleagues teacher our with discussed we explanations, in interested were we Because
done. be normally would they as done lessons, routine ordinary see to asked We
camera!). the of presence the to reactions
their (including pupils from reactions some capture to able also were but teacher, the
APPENDIX 146
 APPENDIX 147

non-educational communication. They provide a forceful discussion of the

specific features of classroom interaction, the relationship of those features
to social relations, and their sometimes harmful impact on learning. Their
position leans more to Vygotsky than to Piaget.
Halliday, M.A.K. (1978) Language as Social Semiotic. London: Edward Arnold.
This seminal work is now old, but not at all outdated. Although challenging
to linguists it is not technical in nature and is accessible to the non-linguist
reader. It in several places has an explicit focus on education, but its main
merit is its wide but deeply thought-through perspective on language as one
aspect of what it is to be a social being.
Halliday, M.A.K. (1985) An Introduction to Functional Grammar. London: Edward Arnold.
Our work in this project has been fundamentally shaped by systemic func-
tional linguistics, which is a functionally oriented linguistics linking gram-
matical forms to social situations. That theory has provided much of the
backdrop to our analysis. The book is fundamentally a handbook of lin-
guistic analysis, and not readily accessible to non-linguists. It offers a com-
prehensive account of language, with many essential insights into the
multiple tasks which language performs simultaneously.
Halliday, M.A.K. and Martin, JR. (1993) Writing Science. London: Falmer Press.
Writing Science is a collection of articles on science texts from a systemic func-
tional linguistics perspective. The focus is on language in written texts. The
analyses identify features of the language of science proper and of science
textbooks, and characterize some significant text-types (genres) of science,
providing considerable insights into the language of science, the language
of science classrooms, and how language works generally. A number of the
articles contrast science language with the language of other subject areas.
Harr, R. (1985) Varieties of Realism. Oxford: Blackwell.
Harr promotes a view of the scientific enterprise as a cluster of material and
cognitive practices whose participants are bound by moral commitments.
Important contributions of the book include the account of analogical ex-
planations in science, the idea of 'policy realism', and the analysis of the
different roles played by entities in explanations according to their degree of
accessibility to experience.
Hempel, C.G. (1965) Aspects of Scientific Explanation. London: The Free Press.
We include this text as representative of philosophical accounts of explana-
tion. Hempel develops the logical positivist philosophy of science to gener-
ate a 'logic of scientific explanation'. An explanation is seen as a deduction
of phenomena from axioms which include at least one general law. Such
accounts mainly aim to formulate logically necessary and sufficient condi-
tions for something to be an explanation. See also Lipton (1991).
Hodge, R. and Kress, G. (1988) Language as (2nd edn). London: Routledge.
The book, first published in 1979, attempts to relate the grammar of English
to the social, economical and cultural organizations of society at a particular
time. It is set within the functional theory of language of Michael Halliday,
but uses linguistic concepts from other theories, notably the concept of trans-
formation. It provides detailed analyses of a variety of texts.
Hodge, R. and Kress, G. (1989) Social Semiotics. Cambridge: Polity Press.
This book extends functional theories of language and communication to
a wide range of modes and media of communication: images, sculpture, fam-
ily structures and narratives, language, spatial organizations, fashion, comics,
films, advertisement, and so on. It provides detailed descriptions of the organ-
ization, effects, and social uses of these forms.
founded science, in realism of defence stout a offers paper review long This
338. pp. 25, Vol. Education, Science in Studies reality'. 'Recovering (1995) J. Ogborn,
analyses. our informed have which of ults
res- world, physical the about reasoning common-sense of dimensions basic
the of studies empirical addition in includes work The here. found be to is
book our in used explanation about theorizing the of account extended An
London. of University thesis, PhD Knowledge. Common-sense and
Scientific of Nature the of Investigations Empirical and Theoretical (1994) J. Ogborn,
framework. linguistics
systemic a within situations, social and features language between tionships
rela- specific the of discussion detailed and careful a with along discourse, of
passages extended of analysis the for techniques of set a presents Text English
Benjamin. Amsterdam: Structure. and System Text: English (1992) JR. Martin,
further. read to wanting those for bibliography date to up but
select a provides and explanation, and inference scientific of accounts ical
philosoph- main the of descriptions offers text wide-ranging but short This
Routledge. London: Explanation. Best the to Inference (1991) P. Lipton,
authority.
of relations social within located is learning science and theory, social by
informed is Science Talking thinking. of way student's the of transformation
a as than rather teacher, the by produced as talking' of way 'science the
to approximating student the as construed largely is learning of process The
talk. classroom from extracted be may content science how show analyses
The patterns'. 'thematic calls he which science, school-subject the of tions
rela- semantic the of discussion strong particularly a with transcript, analysed
carefully of passages long on based orientation, linguistic a have analyses The
classroom. science secondary the into research on based is Science Talking
Ablex. Jersey:
New Norwood, Values. and Learning Language, Science: Talking (1990) J.L. Lemke,
rejects. he which views sical
clas- of analysis critical a with up taken is book the of Much metaphor. on
founded as language of view Lakoff's defends and elaborates book long This
Press.
University Chicago Chicago: Things. Dangerous and Fire Women, (1987) G. Lakoff,
book. the throughout examples of wealth a by illustrated are
experience, bodily in grounding their as well as communication, and nition
cog- both in character pervasive Their world. the of understanding and tion
conceptualiza- our of roots the at lie metaphors that argue Johnson and Lakoff
Press.
Chicago of University Chicago: By. Live We Metaphors (1980) M. Johnson, and G. Lakoff,
development. for potential with but limited, is images science to attention
the so and broad, is book the of scope The change. technological and social
cultural, to images of relationship the and characteristics, communicational
their considers also images of classification and description The interact. and
other each complement may images and language how of understanding an
offers It images. of analysis oriented semantically a provides Images Reading
Routledge. London:
Design. Visual of Grammar A Images: Reading (1996) T. Leeuwen, van and G. Kress,
experience. bodily and actions human in them grounds which
rationality of and meaning of theory a construct to attempt ambitious An
Press. Chicago of University Chicago: Reason.
and Imagination Meaning, of Basis Bodily The Mind: the in Body The (1987) M. Johnson,
APPENDIX 148
 APPENDIX 149

on the notion of a scientific ontology of entities, which participate in explana-

tion. It attacks those who draw anti-realist conclusions from recent work in
the sociology of scientific knowledge.
Ortony, A. (1979) Mefaplzor and Thoughf. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
This old, but recently reprinted collection is still useful. It offers a variety
of perspectives on metaphor from philosophical, linguistic and other points
of view.
Piaget, J. and Garcia, R. (1987) Vers une Logique des Significations. Geneva: Murionde.
(Translated 1991, Toward a Logic of Meaning. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum.)
Together with Piaget's earlier work, which develops the idea that thoughts
have origin in internalized actions and reality is constructed, not given, this
posthumously published book has been a valuable source for our work. The
book offers an account of how meanings of entities are constructed through
action, through what they can do, what you can do to them and what they
are made of.
Rosch, E. and Lloyd, B.B. (1978) Cognition and Categorization. New Jersey: Lawrence
Erlbaum.
This book is important as an early source of the idea that human categories
of physical things are based on prototypes rather than on necessary and
sufficient conditions. This makes space for reasoning by similarity, analogy
and metaphor.
Schank, R. (1986) Explanation Patterns. New Jersey: Lawrence Eribaum Associates.
From a cognitive science perspective, Schank attempts to see how the creat-
ive making of an explanation could be done mechanically, and in the process
furnishes a variety of concepts which are useful in analysing explanations.
He offers useful ideas about different levels of need for explanation, and a
point of view in which explanation and memory are linked as driven by
failures of expectation.
Sinclair, J. Mc.H. and Coulthard, R.M. (1975) Towards an Analysis of Discourse. London:
Oxford University Press.
An early and influential example of analysis of classroom discourse, which
happened to be based substantially on lessons in science. It introduces the
'questionresponseevaluation' triad.
Sutton, C. (1992) Words, Science and Learning. Buckingham: Open University Press.
In this book, Clive Sutton continues and develops his previous work on
language in science. He chooses to focus on words, and at this simple level,
brings out the rich and imaginative substructure that scientific terms carry.
The book pleads for a much stronger focus in science education on imagina-
tion and interpretation.
Vosniadou, S. and Ortony, A. (1989) Similarity and Analogical Reasoning, Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
This collection of articles on metaphor and analogy ranges widely over the
cognitive disciplines, and offers a variety of interesting, often incompatible,
points of view.
 66 DNA, 45 14, definition,
138 14, scientific, 72 C., Darwin,
144 analysis,
discourse 145 tradition, constructivist
3942 3, system, digestive 59 learning, and
1206 39, 24, digestion, 103 explanations, of
90 diffusion, 140
138 of, determinants situational 137, 134, 44, 43, 39, 14, entities, of
83 similarity, and construction
8 semiotic, 91 30, computer,
22 power, of 134 polyphony, as
202 opinion, of 1356 multi-modal, as
138 22, knowledge, of 143 13940, of, modes
22 interest, of 136 gesture, and
137 136 of, theories current
130, 36, 35, 303, 11, 8, creating, 135 transformative, active, as
134 141 action, as
124, 2038, 17, 1113, 4, difference, communication
101 71, 616, transposition, didactic 56 change, chemical
14 describing,
425 144 B., Bernstein,
89 transformed, 79 F., Bacon,
89 88, 845, theory, and
88 actions, of pattern and 137 135,
81 signs, meaningful and 118, 726, 701, 58, 43, 15, 7, 4, analogy,
78 imaginary, 828 75, metals, alkali
86 of, aspects dangerous 46 43, activities,
84 wrong, go cannot 7 by, played role
81 apparatus, and 93 15, meaning, and
87 of, structure affective 129 in, terms new grounding
140 137, 141 communication, and
132, 7795, 67, 29, 1517, demonstration, action
INDEX
 INDEX 151

Edwards, D., 8 scientific, 9, 10, 11, 13, 58, 136

entities, 14, 17, 3957 structures of, 5, 967, 99, 126
and change, 45 subsidiary, 4
classes of, 55 and teacher, 96
co-constructed, 50 uniform account of, 46
conceptual, 53 of weathering, 55
constructing, 8, 13, 17, 48, 90 working towards, 117
construction of, 14, 39, 43, 44, 49, 134 explanatory
construction of meaning for, 52 contexts, 139
existence of, 44 iceberg, 65
formal, 11 resources, 106, 108
general class of, 55 structures, 967, 101, 1034, 106
imagined, 11 eye, 32, 74
material and abstract, 49
meanings of, 7, 136 Faraday, M., 77, 112, 114
modified, 42
and 'ontological zoo', 49 Garcia, R., 7, 8
physical, 53 graphs, 30
as resources, 51
theoretical, 83 Halliday, M., 7, 8, 144
unfamiliar, 13 hormones, 50, 73
evolution, theory of, 72 Hymes, D., 144
expectations, 33, 37, 137
counter, 301, 89, 91 ideology, 68, 70
students', 30 interaction, 18
theoretical, 89 interest
experiment bodily functions, 24
and demonstration, 80 and motivated metaphor, 74
explaining 'natural', 28
acts of, 17
art of, 2 joints, 5, 31, 11720
common language for, 2
intangible things, 11214 knowledge
a phenomenon, 48, 112 background, 103
and science teacher, 2, 1048 common-sense, 58
scientific explanations, 37 embedded in stories, 66
as special vision of the world, 130 everyday, 12
styles of, 8, 18, 11633, 137 'school', 58
explanation(s) scientific, 12, 14, 58
of carbon dioxide, 54, 106 and teaching, 59
complete, 108 transformed, 59, 89, 103
of concepts, 45 transformation of, 4, 14, 140
and content, 96 transforming, 9, 14, 5861, 64, 134, 137
and conversations, 12 versioned form of, 61, 137
create the need for, 4
everyday, 12, 13, 40 Labov, W., 144
language for describing, 8, 136 language
large scale, 4, 101 in classroom, 13
of light, 36, 53 and communicating, 144
of material things, 45 constancy and change, 59
motivating, 35 to describe explaining, 3, 136
nature of, 40 of description, 141
need for, 134 scientific, 71
and on-going interaction, 96 studies of, 1
orchestrating, 16, 17 for talking about explaining, 2
partial, 50, 108 Lemke, J., 8
plan, 17 liquid, 49, 52, 71
publicly available, 72
and questions asked, 131 magnetic fields, 11214
recognizability of, 105 magnetism, 29
scales of, 126 Martin, J., 7, 8
 77 625, waves, 1423 141, education, science in
1412 communication, in
24 concern, of objects research
134 8990, 64, 5861, 15, knowledge, 101 4, representations,
transforming 1289 rephrasing,
130 127, 61, 17, 4, transformation,
7980 J., Thomson, 547 explanations, prototypical
845 81, 15, theory, 91 pressure,
129 terms, 1303 80, tectonics, plate
32 30, 22, 12, 8, 4, tension, 41 Piagetian,
61 change, technological 8 7, J., Piaget,
9 a, as counts what
72 71, 15, 7, C., Sutton, 131 explanation, of need in
143 subjectivity, 90 accountable, making
96 of, influence phenomenon
18 explain, to how and what on effect 110 99101, 30, 4, table, periodic
matter subject 6870 parables,
1206 116, 18, tales', of 'teller
1303 117, 18, way', my it 'see 75 6870, 267, chemistry, organic
12730 117, 18, way', my it 'say 49 zoo', 'ontological
11720
116, 18, together', through it think 'let's 68 science, of nature
138 137, explanation, of styles 1206 66, 15, narrative,
1223 24, telling, story
13 10, protagonists, 67 microbes,
121 66, carrier, knowledge as 734 overt,
10 9, story, 74 motivated,
137 86, 11, 9, explanations, and 7 implicit,
67 demonstrations, and 129 in, terms new grounding
66 15, stories, 7 grammatical,
12730 945, 67, 625, sound, 11 formal,
97 system, solar 15 dormant,
46 skeleton, 746 covert,
81 65, 59, sign, 137 726, 701, 58, 15, 7, 4, metaphor,
41 viewpoint, 8 N., Mercer,
12 tension, 59 made, newly
140 systems, 81 demonstration, and
140 of, reversal process, sign meaningful
65 objects, 32 -tension,
144 109 terms, and
teachers, science of practices of import 137 9, matter, into put
56 friction, 95 world, material and
semiotic 913 action, material and
16 'seeing-as', 82 matter, with -making
7 writing, 137 3, -making,
15 theories, 16 matter, on imposing
71 language, 46 created,
59 12, knowledge, 7 of, construction
scientific 128 up, building
2 teacher, science meaning
1education, science 16 world,
143 semiosis,
106 respiration, 15 reality,
51 thinking, 134 95, 912, meaning, and
104 explanatory, 92 communicating, and events
106 4851, 42, 13, explanations, and 46 activities,
51 as, entities 49 abstract, and
resources material
INDEX 152
H[SDLQLQJVFLHQFHFODVVURRPLQGG