Metarepresentation: Native Competence and Targets for Instruction

TLDR

Representation research is crucial for math and science education, emphasizing that students should learn beyond standard graphs and tables to grasp general principles and design strategies applicable to any scientific representation. The article investigates students’ existing knowledge of representation, defines what constitutes understanding, and identifies instructional goals and challenges to guide effective teaching.

Abstract

Abstract The premise of this article is that the study of representation is valuable and important for mathematics and science students. Learning about representation should go beyond learning specific, sanctioned representations emphasized in standard curricula (graphs, tables, etc.) to include principles and design strategies that apply to any scientific representation, including novel variations and even completely new representations. The article explores what it means to understand representation, what we believe students already know about the topic, and what they can profitably learn about it. The discussion includes learning difficulties-goals for instruction that appear challenging for students and may need particular attention.