Building Theories About Plate Tectonics: Supporting Data Visualization as Epistemic Practice

Abstract

Proposing, testing, and refining explanations using data visualizations are central to geoscience, although difficult to orchestrate in settings of instruction. We analyze a case in which two 11th grade students engage in a spontaneous process of theory generation and testing using Seismic Explorer, a tool for visualizing information about earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Our interaction analysis identifies attributes and affordances of the learning environment that supported students’ process of constructing explanations.