Supporting Learners to Conceptualize the Vast Range of Imperceptible Smallness with Temporal-aural-visual Representations

Abstract

Teaching and learning about the sizes of the objects that are too small to see with human eyes (called imperceptible sizes) have been a difficult issue in science education. Because representations are the only external input that learners use to make sense of imperceptible phenomena, the design of the representations becomes critical. However, studies imply that commonly used conventional visual representations tend to direct learners to overestimate imperceptible sizes and underestimate the difference between them. Hence, the need for a novel representation that can provide the way learners an alternative experience with the imperceptible sizes emerges. To address this issue, we designed a multimodal representation that incorporates temporal sense to transmit imperceptible sizes. In this paper, we introduce our recent research that explored the different effects of the compressed and extended form of temporal experience on student learning of the range of imperceptible sizes.