New Materialist Network Approaches in Science Education: A Method to Construct Network Data from Video

Abstract

Lately, new materialism has been proposed as a theoretical framework to better understand material-dialogic relationships in learning, and concurrently network analysis has emerged as a method in science education research. This paper explores how to include materiality in network analysis and reports the development of a method to construct network data from video. The approaches, 1) information flow, 2) material semantic and 3) material engagement, were identified based on the literature on network analysis and new materialism in science education. The method was applied and further improved with a video segment from an upper secondary school physics lesson. The example networks from the video segment show that network analysis is a potential research method within the materialist framework and that the method allows studies into the material and dialogic relationships that emerge when students are engaged in investigations in school.