Expanding the Languages of Science and How They Are Learnt

While the multimodal nature of the languages of science is now broadly recognised, the role of affect and aesthetics in these languages, and the potential for this aesthetic focus to add to these languages, has tended to be ignored. Research into these languages has mainly focused on a codification of their functions, an approach to which aesthetics study would seem not broadly suited because of its ephemeral, complex, relatively unpredictable and affective nature. However, there is a growing awareness of its importance in learning. In this paper, we analyse a case study of art-science integration on the topic of optics to (a) put a case for the value of an explicit focus on aesthetics in science learning and (b) to clarify how teachers might integrate conceptual learning and aesthetic experiences into a broadened account of the languages of science. We argue that this focus on aesthetic responses needs to be included in accounts of productive science classroom discourse because such responses (a) enhance student motivation to learn, (b) enact generative sign-making in this discourse, (c) enrich student habits of perception in inquiry-based-learning and (d) licence more creative learning processes and outcomes. These effects are consistent with widespread policy advocacy of the need for students to find learning in science more meaningful.