Throughout my exploration of WISE, I entertained thoughts about how it could be integrated into the classroom. The animations and simulations embedded within the projects definitely have the potential to the enrich learning environment for students, but its promise of helping educators “create sustainable classroom inquiry instruction across the varied contexts learning takes place” (Linn, M., Clark, D. & Slotta, J., 2003) was not substantive based on the activities I had the chance to explore; however, I’m not ruling out that I have yet to tap into existing projects whose pedagogy would in fact impress me. I believe WISE has the potential to motivate students and facilitate knowledge integration, but as a constructivist portal for inquiry-based instruction, this platform leaves too much room for educators to copy and revise projects without staying committed to the pedagogy that WISE developers set out to promote with its design. Discovering examples such as this has made me skeptic of its universal benefits in classrooms and its potential role in developing inquiry skills if educators are not guided and scaffolded themselves in learning how to create and refine inquiry-based pedagogy. As Edelson (2001) points out that “the constructivist theories of learning apply to teachers and designers as well … [so] if they are to learn to use it successfully, they must go through a learning process themselves.” The effectiveness of technology integration is always determined by the hands who wield it. If WISE had more influence on teachers’ professional development to better ensure it was used in accordance with robust inquiry principles, it could do more to reform science education.
As it stands, I think WISE is best integrated with other means of instruction with or without additional technology, face to face interactions in classrooms or within a distributed learning context. From my observations, I question the strength of the Scaffolded Knowledge Integration framework tenet, “helping students learn from each other” within the WISE context. Facilitating social opportunities that promote collaboration, peer feedback, and perspective taking are noticeably minimal in the projects I perused – another reason to integrate it within a larger body of instruction so students can take advantage of the social nature of learning. WISE, as I see it, should not be implemented by educators as a stand-alone unit. It must be supplemented in the best interests of learning.
image: IMG_4950 by bionic released under a CC Attribuition – Noncommecial license
References
Linn, M. Clark, D. & Slotta, J. (2003). WISE design for Knowledge Integration. Science Education, 87(4), 517-538.
Nicaise, M., Gibney, T. & Crane, M. (2000). Toward an understanding of authentic learning: student perception of an authentic classroom. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 9(1), 79-94, doi: 10.1023/A:1009477008671