Understanding Understanding: Summary of Project
Brought to you by Team More Techie Than You
as part of Michigan State University's Master of Arts in Education Technology (MAET)
What did we find out?
We found that most people that we interviewed were under the impression that the ocean reflects or refracts light from the sun, which gives it a bluish tint. Most of the interviewees did not go in depth about how this process works. Additionally, the words reflection and refraction were used interchangeably. When asked if the ocean had different shades, some participants made connections to water that they had seen on their travels. For example, one individual made connections to the color of the ocean in the Carribbean and even extended connections to the color of the lakes in Michigan. A participant who had done extensive traveling overseas also referred to what water looks like when you are flying over it, versus when you are standing on the shoreline. Thus our interviewees' perceptions of the color of the ocean seemed to depend upon their experiences, and where in their lives they had seen the ocean. Most participants also had an idea that the depth of the water, the elements that were in the water, and the amount of clouds would cause us to perceive water's color differently.
If you look closely at the answers to the second question, you will see that all of the answers are correct. In the first question, people's answers were somewhat correct, but the participant didn't articulate it well enough to make their answer understood. What we noticed is that as we asked the second question, "Why are there different shades of color in water," we believe that their minds were not focusing on the ocean, but they might have been focusing on other forms of water that they have seen (i.e. streams, rivers, ponds, lakes... etc.). This would allow them to use more of their knowledge about water and apply to it to the ocean, something that they might not have seen before.
We also had expected that there would be a major correlation between age and the amount of understanding about the color of the ocean. However, when looking over our small survey sample, our group noticed that there wasn't any major distinction in the understanding in the color of water. We also had thought that the amount of education would determine better responses, but there also was no correlation.
We found that most people that we interviewed were under the impression that the ocean reflects or refracts light from the sun, which gives it a bluish tint. Most of the interviewees did not go in depth about how this process works. Additionally, the words reflection and refraction were used interchangeably. When asked if the ocean had different shades, some participants made connections to water that they had seen on their travels. For example, one individual made connections to the color of the ocean in the Carribbean and even extended connections to the color of the lakes in Michigan. A participant who had done extensive traveling overseas also referred to what water looks like when you are flying over it, versus when you are standing on the shoreline. Thus our interviewees' perceptions of the color of the ocean seemed to depend upon their experiences, and where in their lives they had seen the ocean. Most participants also had an idea that the depth of the water, the elements that were in the water, and the amount of clouds would cause us to perceive water's color differently.
If you look closely at the answers to the second question, you will see that all of the answers are correct. In the first question, people's answers were somewhat correct, but the participant didn't articulate it well enough to make their answer understood. What we noticed is that as we asked the second question, "Why are there different shades of color in water," we believe that their minds were not focusing on the ocean, but they might have been focusing on other forms of water that they have seen (i.e. streams, rivers, ponds, lakes... etc.). This would allow them to use more of their knowledge about water and apply to it to the ocean, something that they might not have seen before.
We also had expected that there would be a major correlation between age and the amount of understanding about the color of the ocean. However, when looking over our small survey sample, our group noticed that there wasn't any major distinction in the understanding in the color of water. We also had thought that the amount of education would determine better responses, but there also was no correlation.