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A qualifying paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Science Education. Abstract: This work explores how students learn and appropriate representations in the development of understanding. It is driven by four central questions that address: (1) the reasons for why representation is central to the development of thought; (2) a definition ... read moreof representation in a manner such that it becomes a useful construct for studying science learning; (3) the evolution of conventional systems of representation and how these attempts to "put the world on paper" have impacted domains of knowledge; and (4) the literature on representation in science specifically from the standpoint of children spontaneously externalizing knowledge across multiple systems. The integration of theoretical constructs with empirical evidence supports the argument that students must be given opportunities to express themselves in different ways in order to understand science. Researchers must attend to the relationships between specific systems of representation and conceptual aspects when children engage in scientific discovery. Finally, this work calls for future research into how spontaneous and idiosyncratic representations of knowledge help students refine explanations and construct scientific understanding.read less
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