32 J: Play it!
33 P: Test! Test! See. 34 J: Watch!
35 N: Let's have a look at this ...
36 N: Oh alright, well she stands up again, so
that can go like that. Referring to his own sketch.
37 P: Look.
38 N: Let's see her do her little jump! 39 IP: She starts off running. Look there! 40 IN: Oh! I thought...
41 IP: She runs along. Jumps up. 42 IJ: Aargh!
43 IN: I thought it was from when she starts to move. Eh up!
44 IN: I thought that when she starts to move she Tracing the path out on the blank screen. does a little hop and then carries on
moving.
45 IJ: Rubbish. Told you! All laugh.
Neil's question at line 31 of "Why does she do a jump?" is interpreted by Jonathan as doubting the validity of part of his analysis at line 30. His response is to "Play it!" at line 32 and Philip takes his turn at line 33 to be even more emphatic in his demand to "Test! Test!" and to "See". Jonathan continues the exhortation with his command to Neil at line 34 to "Watch!". Neil's good humoured response, "Let's have a look at this ...", at line 35 seems to suggest a willingness to reconsider. He appears to make a concession to the others at line 36, but clearly Philip is not satisfied and again exhorts Neil to "Look", at line 37, with reference to the feedback from the system. Neil's response at line 38 of "Let's see her do her little jump!" is said scathingly and it is clear that Neil is not at all convinced. This
challenge sparks off a quite intense and excited exchange, which Philip begins with a commentary on the video of the motion as it plays. At line 39, he observes that "She starts off running" and Neil is exhorted to "Look there!". Neil seems to begin to climb down at line 40, but is interrupted by Philip's continuing commentary. At line 41 Philip makes the crucial
explains why he thought that she did not "do a jump" at lines 43 and 44. His reasons seem to be associated with his recall of the actual motion, rather than being based upon any analysis of what the graph displayed. There is further triumphalism from Jonathan, at line 45, in response to Neil's
explanation of "Rubbish. Told you!" This is received with good humour, in the spirit that seemed intended, and they all laugh.
The third episode to be considered, involving this group, is concerned with the sequence showing the aeroplane landing:
Group 3: Philip B, Neil and Jon'n Episode 4: Aeroplane (0.58.18)
1 P: It doesn't start o ff...
Watch this. Height against time. 2 N: Speed against time that.
3 P: Yes but no. We've got to choose which height against time is the right one. 4 J: Let's have a look.
5 N: Yah!
Oh! How come it does all the wavy lines?
It goes straight down.
It doesn't go up and down does it? 6 I J: Well change it! Have a look... 7 I P: No but the nose goes up, doesn't it? 8 IN: No! That's not it!
9 IJ: That’s not it!
10 N: It's taking off that, isn't it?
Philip is very much in control at the start of this episode. At line 1, he is identifying the problem as being about height against time. However Neil takes his turn by responding to the video with the observation at line 2 that it is "Speed against time that". Philip's response at line 3 is interesting, because initially it appears to be contradictory. He replies "Yes but no". By this he may have been indicating that, "yes", the graph showing is the
Philip runs the video.
The axes are set on height against time. Trying to clarify the task.
Referring to graph option 1.
Making a diagonal downward wavy motion. Making a diagonal downward smooth motion.
iiifflffS iw U F s l
Referring to graph option 2.
W A A W V V A A W A W W AAV VAAV M1A1U V VAAA1V/ M ^X V U U U i> 11V J II, AO 11V/U
addressing the current problem which is "to choose which height against time is the right one." In doing so, Philip is attempting to clarify the task, i.e. to establish the JPS. Jonathan takes his turn to try to move progress with the task itself, when he suggests at line 4 "Let's have a look".
Neil's response to the video sequence at line 5 would seem to be based upon an expectation of a smooth line, which probably reflects the more simple models from his past experience. However Philip does show considerable insight, ability to analyse the motion and to interpret the graph, in his observation at line 7 about the nose of the aeroplane going up on landing. The final comment in this section from Neil, at line 10, displays evident confusion between what he interprets from the graph and what he observes by watching the video sequence, which is clearly of the plane landing. The fact that the graph is rising from left to right suggests to Neil that this is the flight path of the aeroplane taking off. This confusion in his thinking was apparent earlier during episode 2, when in response to a question about what was happening to the distance covered, Neil's reply was:
' It's going up. Higher.
This was in contrast to Philip who answered:
It's getting greater.
It would seem that Neil's misconception is related to the fact that he is describing the picture that he sees on the page i.e. "It (the line) is going up
(the page). Higher (up the page)". The inability, at this time, to distinguish between the representation of the motion pictorially and the motion itself would explain why Neil interpreted graph 2 as showing the aeroplane taking off.
The next section is a later part of the same episode when the group is considering distance against time.