Memory and Meaning-Making about Chemical Substance: an Analysis from Remembering Theory

ABSTRACT:

The aim of this article is to present the results obtained from an analysis of the beginning of the process of constructing meanings of the concept of chemical substance by a pair of elementary school students using the remembering theory. To achieve this, through qualitative research and ideographic analysis, we adapted Bartlett's description method, and the student pair answered a questionnaire, explored three educational materials on the concept of chemical substance, and then answered three questions about the concept in intervals of thirty minutes, seven days, and fifteen days. The dialogue between the pair was recorded in audio and video during the resolution of the questions, for subsequent transcription and analysis. In the analysis, we observed some mnemonic modifications, such as elaborations, transformations, transfers, and importation. These modifications can express the emergence of new meanings through the re-signification of prior knowledge in light of the new information.

Key words:
Remembering; Memory; Meaning Making