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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 February 2011
The present paper discusses the outcomes of research exploring the formation of knowledge in one area of materials science, that of the ‘interface’ in composite materials. A series of interviews have been conducted with researchers from eight different countries, all involved in investigating a similar issue. Questions were aimed at exploring their understanding of certain key concepts. The interviews were transcribed and data analysed using a phenomenographic approach. Having a better understanding of the way in which the knowledge is understood by different researchers gives us a new way of helping students to approach their own understanding of the concepts. Students can see the concepts from many perspectives and realise that there is not one way to understand a scientific ‘fact’. This paper discusses the possibilities that this approach holds for Materials Science Education.