ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the relationship between the multimodal literacy infused science pedagogy framework and the chemist’s (Johnstone) triangle is explored. The cases described cover two topics: (a) the literacies involved in calculating concentrations in solutions chemistry and (b) the topic of the mole, and the explicit links with the notions of chemical equivalence, relative molar mass, stoichiometric combinations and the Law of Multiple Proportions. In both cases, the focus is on transduction, which involves relating the representation of phenomena in one mode, such as an image, to their representation in another mode, such as speech or writing. Because representational resources of modes differ, the representation of phenomena in any mode is partial. Hence, transduction from one mode to another can never mediate full understanding, and what is required is an ensemble of representations leveraging the affordances of different modes to optimize understanding. Both of the topics discussed involve the introduction of a pedagogic bridging model that exposes the nature of construction and transduction across modes in the chemist’s triangle and addresses student representation competence from the depiction of visible phenomena, to invisible entities, to transduction across representations as a key focus within disciplinary literacy development in chemistry.
