Situating narratives

Data gathered in the lessons were used to produce case studies for each of the groups of students because such case studies yield rich descriptions of events that are presented in a chronological narrative that incorporates the researcher s observations. Due to the possible inclusion of such an interpretation of the data, case studies go beyond simple descriptions of the situation and support the analysis of the phenomenon being studied (Cohen, Manion, Morrison, 2000). In order to discuss the research questions, we browsed the original case studies to identify evidence of how the students dealt with the levels of representation. Whenever it is appropriate, such evidence is included in the later sections of this chapter. 

Ongoing access to directives and composing of narratives and situational reports... 

Some poems are narratives and contain a plot others, often referred to as lyrics, capture a scene, a series of images, an emotion, or a thought that has universal appeal. At this point, what action, situation, or ideas do you see presented in this poem Is there a dominant tone or point of view expressed Make some notes about your initial reactions to the poem s issues, themes, or ideas. As in fiction, poets often offer comments on the human condition or social values. 

It happens that the two structures that have proved most useful in shaping material for a short screenplay are those considered by scholars to be the very oldest of narrative forms the journey, and what we call the ritual occasion. If you have a main character clearly in mind, and a good idea of what that character s situation is and of what it is that he or she is after, you can often get a script off to a good start simply by choosing one or the other of these as a structure for your story line and seeing where it takes you. 

Scene is a word with many definitions. We will be using it primarily in the sense of an episode that presents the working out of a single dramatic situation. The scene is the basic building block of any narrative screenplay. Every scene in a short script should serve to forward the action. 

The premise here is that our main character is going to be a scapegoat. Why and how he becomes one is the thrust of the narrative of this particular short film. We have to choose a person and a situation—but not necessarily a situation that will telegraph the fate of the main character to the audience. Perhaps the most critical task here is to create a situation that will make the outcome (that the character will become the fall guy) logical and that will create a character with whose plight we can empathize. 

The best approach to the main character is to use the first-person position, in which the character is in the middle of the story. Events happen to the character. Barriers exist in the story that challenge the character s goals. In this classical situation, the position of the character best serves the narrative purpose of the film script, and the writer can take advantage of the mechanics of conflict, polarities, and a rising action in order to engage the viewer most effectively in the screen story. 

The key issue in writing melodrama in the short film is that there are classic commonalties between the long and short forms—the nature of the main character s struggle, his or her powerless against the power structure, the recognizability of character and situation, the characters living the lives that we do, and of course the narrative approach, which is essentially realist. 

Voice continues to be a critical element. Whether the filmmaker chooses to use a genre that highlights voice (the fable, the satire, the docudrama, the experimental narrative) or a more traditional melodrama or situation comedy where voice is more masked, the more natural fit of the short film to metaphor implies the greater potential of the short film for a stronger sense of voice. 

Half-Life, Conversion, and Volume Change Forms. At this point we are going to break into the narrative of rate forms to diseuss three particular aspects of kinetic formulations that pertain to most of the situations we discuss, at least for simple reactions. 

Learning takes place when a context is linked to a narrative in the life of an individual or in the lives of others. A physical situation that is most readily converted into a context has a close relationship to at least one existing narrative. 

An additional problem is that in chemistry we are concerned with the forging of links between specific types of narratives, situations, and the chemical substances that contribute to their explanation. The latter can be progressively considered at the macro level (e.g. as the white solid commonly called salt and, in its chemical context, sodium chloride ), at the sub-micro level (e.g. as a lattice of sodium and chloride ions), and at the corresponding symbolic representational level (e.g. (Na " Cl )s)- The depth of the understanding acquired will be related to the level of the explanation reached. 

It will thus be impossible to reconcile the traditional view of chemistry, usually portrayed as a series of chemical changes represented as chemical equations, with a narrative view of the subject that would seek to portray the hves and achievements of individuals within the times and contexts of events. Even the textbook chemical equations would have to be represented as the culmination of many failed and partially successful efforts at analysis and synthesis. Yet the effort to move on from the traditional view would be worthwhile, for chemistry would then, more faithfully, be portrayed as a human endeavour set within temporal and social circumstances. This portrayal would, we argue, enable the subject to be seen as set within the general warp and weft of human creativity. We will show that the notions of situation, context, and narrative are currently often poorly represented in opportunities for chemical education (see also Chapter 5). To do this, and then to see what might be done to increase their contribution to future provision, we look at the various ways in which opportunities for informal chemical education is provided, starting with books. 

So then, chemistry is present in the output of newspapers and magazines, but only in a heavily disguised form. That form consists of specific situations or themes that are thought to be of immediate appeal to readers. Any narrative provided is brief, perhaps inevitably, and tied to specific issues. 

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