written by Benedikt W. Harrer, Virginia J. Flood, and Michael C. Wittmann

We examine the types of emergent language eighth grade students in rural Maine middle schools use when they discuss energy in their first experiences with Project-Based Inquiry Science: Energy, a research-based curriculum that uses a specific language for talking about energy. By comparative analysis of the language used by the curriculum materials to students' language, we find that students' talk is at times more aligned with a Stores and Transfer model of energy than the Forms model supported by the curriculum.

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Published January 24, 2013
Last Modified June 26, 2013