Peeking into students’ mental imagery: the Report Aloud technique in Science Education research

Espiando suas imagens mentais: a técnica Report Aloud na pesquisa em Ensino de Ciências

Abstract:

The goal of this article is to present a qualitative methodological proposal for researching Science teaching. We produced the article based on premises of the Think-Aloud method and Depictive Gesture Analysis. Here, we report on the structuring of the Think-Aloud technique, a novelty within the scope of research in education and applications in the teaching of Chemistry and Physics. The main advantages of this approach is its potential to establish a link between verbal and body language, which is produced by the participants during data production through the dialogues proposed within this research. Therefore, the procedures in the study allow for a more accurate analysis because of the pieces of evidence obtained from speaking, writing, and the gestures for the identification of mental images formed by the students about the scientific concepts they have studied.

Keywords:
Science teaching; Research methods; Depictive gesture analysis; Think-aloud technique; Think-aloud method