ACTIVE ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES IN A WEB-INTEGRATED SCIENCE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

Paul KimAssistant Dean & CTOStanford University School of Education

SITE 2008SITE 2008

Abstract

A set of web-based technologies is used as a supplementary learning space and project assessment system to foster students’ active engagement and collaboration in science classes. In this presentation, we will discuss some of the learning and assessment strategies we shared with pre-service and in-service teachers through professional development sessions. Also, we present some in-class activities and data analysis results that show the improvement of student confidence in learning science.

Student Student Projects Projects

Student Student TrainingTraining

Teacher Teacher DemonstrationDemonstration

Teacher Teacher TrainingTraining

Implementation ProcessImplementation Process

Creating Inquiries

Creating Inquiries

Explain Scientific Phenomena

Explain Scientific Phenomena

Setting upHypotheses

Setting upHypotheses

Problems

Evidences

Models

Outcomes

Conducting Research &Collecting Evidences

Conducting Research &Collecting Evidences

Active Response

Learning StrategyLearning Strategy

Learning ProcessLearning Process

In the professional development sessions, we encouraged the teachers to use a web-integrated active response system to provide the students with opportunities to actively participate in the collaborative learning processes by setting up hypotheses for scientific inquiries, conducting own research, collecting and organizing digital artifacts to explain scientific phenomena.

WWeb-eb-IIntegrated ntegrated SScience cience LLearning earning EEnvironmentnvironment

This innovative learning environment is to: provide interactive group inquiry-based learning

and assessment space based on constructivist learning approaches.

provide modeling for active engagement. enable the students to build and share their

learning experiences with peers, parents, and significant others in both synchronous and asynchronous modes.

Enable the educators to capture and analyze student learning processes involving multimodal discourses.

Active Learning

In contrast to the passive reception of knowledge associated with conventional science learning, inquiry-based learning is active (Edelson, Gordin, & Pea, 1999).

In such process, students observe and investigate scientific phenomena and build meaningful experiences (Edelson et al., 1999; Linn, Songer, & Eylon, 1996).

Recent developments of high-powered computers have made it possible for curriculum developers to integrate more advanced visualization and learning support systems into classrooms (Steed, 2001).

Setting: Computer lab Grouping: 4 students in each groupSubjects: Solar system, Whether System, & Human Body System

Student Work

Qualitative Assessment

Interviewed - Randomly selected 16 students out of 95 5th grade students.

Students responded to paper-based surveys.

Only the readable portion of comments were recorded.

In following, the summary of comments for 8 students is provided.

Sample Survey Questions

Did you enjoy the activity? Why? Why not? What was the most interesting part of this activity?

Why? Do you like to learn other subjects using this type of

systems? Why? Would you like to show your work to your friends or

parents? Why? How did the system help you learn? Was this activity easy? Why? Why not? Can you remember the materials well without looking at

your work? Why? What part of this activity did you like the most? What did you dislike about this activity? Would you like to do this again? Why? Why not? How is this activity different from other activities?

Kenny

“You get to make your own work in a part of the blog in the internet.”

“I might show it to my dad. He will help to improve it.”

“Yes, concept maps fun, lines type and have some fun with friend. We show each other and brainstorm together.”

Oscar

“I'd say that you get to use computer and get to play around more, you can save what you have and can add images”

“You get to learn more than you know.”

“I have got to be more organized and get to memorize more things”

Satrick

“When you write in your notebook is harder. In this system, you can work and learn more anytime. And you can add as many pages as you want.”

“I like to work with technology and science is my favorite subject”

“It's interesting to me because I like the way everything connects”

“Doing this, it might help your brain doing the concept map.

“I learn it better when I type it” “When I type I revise my work and learn more…

it takes a lot of time and it's not easy work”

Vasu

“I can compare differences with my friends. I'll show it to my parents first because they have more experience. Learn from mistakes.”

“I have all the info for you, not pages like in a notebook. I have 5 or six pictures from the Internet for my project.”

“It makes studying easier. I can collect my info instead of looking at a thick book.”

Andrew

“It organizes the info to study and it makes it easy to read”

“I'd like it because my parents ask me what you'd been doing at school so we can see what you have done. My dad is good at computer. and they can learn more.”

“Improve our study skills and if you can't remember you can just go back to it”

“It is hands on. You do it by yourself.” “You can improve your typing, you can share

your info w/ people” “Sometimes for what we did on our notebook you

can loose your info, but in this, you do not have to worry about loosing anything.”

Rahul

“You get to spend time on the computer and it is pretty easy”

“you get to use the computer more and it'll be easier for your future”

“you can show what you did and people can check your work”

Sandy

“I get to put down all the info I know how good I'm in science.”

“I can go back to the website. I can always get back to it.”

“It improved my learning because occasionally go to the site and work on it. My mom is happy I'm able to learn a lot with this.”

“Putting all the info together so I can go back and review.”

“Sometimes the computers were went slow and wasted time”

“It helps me in learning and memorizing the stuff. It is fun adding all the colors. I enjoy seeing again and again.”

“Around the house I always have the computer open and at school I forget my notebook.”

Yessenia

“I learn more about science trying new thing and doing thing my parents have never done”

It's fun and you get to invite people and they can see your work.

Quantitative Assessment MeasuresComprehension* Interest in Science Confidence in Learning Science*

Self-Regulation

* Statistically significant

Data Analysis Result 1

65 students participated in the subject and survey pretests

and posttests.

*Confidence in science = Cronbach’s Alpha Score = .683

**There are a few missing cases

65 students participated in the subject and survey pretests

and posttests.

*Confidence in science = Cronbach’s Alpha Score = .683

**There are a few missing cases

Data Analysis Result 2

RegressionWith the posttest achievement score as the dependent variable, two models were selected and the F statistics of ANOVA for both models were significant (Model 1, F = 27.378, p <001 and Model 2, F =17.549, p <.001). The first model had STAR math score as the significant predictor and the second model had 3D ability as the significant predictor among other variables such as ELA and writing. The R-Sq for the first model was .513 and .584 for the second model, indicating achievement in science may be well explained by the models. The stepwise algorithm chose STAR math as the most significant predictor (Coefficient = 2.958, p<.001), indicating achievement in science may be most significantly affected by math skill among other variables. The second model with math and 3D ability had coefficients (math=2.836, p < .001 and 3D = .071, p < .05). The results indicate that math ability is the best predictor for the science achievement. Interestingly, the second model predicts that the students with higher 3D ability scores are likely to achieve better in science.