#631: When Code Shapes Scientific Language: Speaking Photosynthesis in Code

Helping students reason about mechanisms in biology is a persistent challenge in science education. This study examines a sixth-grade curricular unit where students engaged in multiple representational practices: natural language, visual model drawings, and block-based coding. Students created drawings and explanations before and after using a computational modeling environment. Analyses of students’ drawings and their descriptions revealed a shift from everyday terms to disciplinary vocabulary, as students incorporated molecular-level entities (CO₂, glucose) and mechanistic processes. These changes suggest that coding created a new commognitive space, blending computational and scientific discourse with code serving as a representational scaffold and a medium for scientific reasoning.