The aim of the present study was to explore teachers’ professional development when using the tool Content Representations (CoRe) to plan a learning study in chemistry, which they also implemented and analysed. The work of six experienced science teachers, all teaching at the 6th to 9th year (age 13 to 16 years), was followed at eight group meetings during one year. The teachers’ discussions during the group meetings were audio and/or video recorded. Recordings were transcribed and a thematic analysis was performed. The results show that two main approaches to teaching emerged in the teachers’ discussions, a pragmatic and a reflective approach, respectively. During the investigation period, the focus of the teachers’ discussions changed, from a predominantly pragmatic approach to a predominantly reflective approach. The results indicate that the work with CoRe and learning study stimulated the teachers to express and discuss their knowledge, beliefs and attitudes towards teaching, i.e. promoted their professional development.

Syftet med studien är att klargöra hur lärares professionella utveckling stimuleras då de planerar och genomför en Learning Study (LS) kombinerad med verktyget Content Representation (CoRe). Data består av sex erfarna lärares inspelade diskus-sioner under åtta träffar då de planerar och analyserar en LS bestående av två lektioner i årkurs 6 inom kemi, samt tre CoRe som lärarna skriver. I början av studien talar lärarna mest om undervisning som att fakta ska förmedlas till eleverna. När de sedan planerar första lektionen övergår deras diskussioner till hur de kan stimulera eleverna till diskussion och reflektion. Lärarna planerar både lektion 1 och 2 utifrån ett variationsteoretiskt perspektiv, men lektion 1 genomförs inte i enlighet med vad de planerat. Det är först i lektion 2 som läraren behåller fokus på lärandeobjektet och dess kritiska aspekter. Resultatet av studien visar även att en Learning Study kombinerad med CoRe stimulerar lärares professionella utveckling och ämnesdidaktiska kompetens i form av lärande nätverk enligt Clarkes och Hollingsworths (2002) modell ”interconnected model of professional growth.”

The aim of this study is to explore science teachers’ professional development when they perform a Learning Study (LS), using the tool Content Representations (CoRe). The empirical data consists of six experienced teachers’ audio recorded discussions during eight meetings when they plan and analyse two lectures in chemistry for year 6 (age 12–13 years), and three written CoRe. In the beginning of the study, the teachers talk about teaching and learning mainly as transformation of facts. However, when they plan the first lecture, they discuss how to stimulate students’ discussions and reflections. The teachers planned both lectures according to variation theory. However, only the second lecture is also implemented according to their plan, with a focus on the object of learning. The results show that the com-bination of CoRe and LS stimulate also experienced teachers’ professional development, through growth networks according to the model "interconnected model of professional growth" (Clarke and Hollingsworth, 2002).

In science education research, there is a growing body of studies focusing on the role of multiple representations in pupils’ learning. This study is based on a social semiotic perspective and in the analysis, there is a special focus on how the content is conveyed and how relations are created through interaction between teachers/pupils and the infrared camera and between teachers and pupils. We report the results from a pilot study involving one teacher’s work with thermal phenomena in grade 6. A class of 45 primary pupils, divided in 4 groups. Overall, we describe findings from three lessons involving experiments situated in pupils’ everyday experiences of thermal phenomena. In the analysis, we focus on two groups of pupils (N = 25) and data are generated from three lessons by video and audio recordings. With the help of the infrared camera, the pupils manage to represent heat as a process. The infrared camera provides a visual interface for a shared point of reference and is an important semiotic resource for stimulating verbal communication between pupils and between pupils and teachers.