(Web-based Inquiry Science Environment)(Technology-Enhanced Learning Experiences)
Process Questions:
- What broader questions about learning and technology have provoked WISE research?
- Describe the authors’ pedagogical design considerations that shaped the development of “What’s on your Plate?”
- How and where was WISE integrated into a larger sequence of activities?
- Analyze the evidence and author’s conclusions. Are the conclusions justified?
- In what ways does WISE support the processes commonly associated with “inquiry” in science? How might these processes be used to support math instruction?
- What might be the cognitive and social affordances of the WISE TELE for students? Use “What’s on your Plate?” or “Plants in Space” as an example to support your hypotheses.
One affordance for students in the “What’s on your Plate?” WISE design is the negotiated and shared knowledge constructed during the learning process. The communication with students in other schools (states!) requires technology skills, communication skills, discipline-specific skills, and interpersonal skills as well. The co-construction of knowledge and shared opinions builds an understanding that is deeper than a simple lecture. The prompts inherent in the WISE environment are designed to encourage thought and development in specific directions, construct scaffolds for further thought, and help students formulate knowledge and avenues of inquiry.
The difficulties of incorporating research-based curriculum into the classroom are at the root of the WISE design. I am not familiar at all with the curriculum for science at any grade level, but I assume that there is a learning outcome or strand that asks students to consider the value of research, or even a lab or experiment that requires students to do some research. However, Linn, Clark, and Slotta (2002) suggest that inquiry-based practices are not common in today’s classroom. Philosophically, if we are trying to teach students about science, we need to allow them to become scientists and emulate experts in the field (USBSE, 2000; Furtak, 2006). This was something that The Jasper Series offered us, and is one of the tenets underpinning the constructivist learning environment. The presence of a WISE design would seem to be the kind of tool that would address these needs. The use of technology is a further acknowledgement of the professional requirements of a scientist.
The authors designed an inquiry map system that allows students to work individually and independently without constant instruction. WISE also incorporates prompts, hints, and evidence to allow students to reflect and give them ideas on proceeding forward. The collaborative affordances of the WISE environment allow the creation of new inquiry projects, which the authors acknowledge is in keeping with the quest for recent research and projects. The Scaffolded Knowledge Integration framework and developed design principles (Linn & Hsi, 2000). The framework has four main tenets including (1) making thinking visible, (2) making science accessible,(3) helping students learn from each other, and (4) promoting lifelong learning.
The ‘What’s on Your Plate” unit was designed with two main pedagogical design considerations; making thinking visible, and helping students learn from one another. Both of these considerations were based on an inquiry-based framework. The classroom teacher who used the “What’s on your Plate” unit was able to embed her instruction within the WISE design, and students were able to benefit from materials she was able to develop, deliver, and assess from within the WISE environment. This was not a one-sided benefit however, the WISE technology also benefitted from the classroom teacher’s use.
The project began in 1996 at The University of California, Berkeley, and has grown with contributions from researchers, teachers and scientists from across North America, Europe, and Asia. Since its inception, the developers of the WISE TELE have improved WISE by incorporating the latest results from science education research, including from the findings from studies of curriculum and instruction carried out in numerous science classrooms. The developers have released a new open source version of the software that will enable researchers and other developers to adopt and adapt the WISE technology and curriculum materials for their own purposes.
The “What’s on Your Plate” unit was used with approximately 1100 middle school students from California and Massachusetts who collaborated on-line during the 2 week unit. Results for the author’s study were based on 360 students. (Gobert, Snyder& Houghton, 2002) Students were administered an identical pre- and post- test outside the WISE environment – with pencil and paper. In the WISE design, students constructed models and wrote explanations, and then read texts which forced them to analyze their work. They read other students work from partner classes, and revised and justified their work. Students visited websites and wrote reflection notes for themselves and their partner classes. They read text and viewed models and continued reflection.
It is far too easy for the classroom teacher to sit and lecture on a topic in depth and put students to sleep. In accordance with allowing students the opportunity to create their own knowledge, we need to provide them an environment that allows this. One of the goals behind the development of the WISE design was to provide a solid technology platform that allows teachers to adopt new forms of inquiry-based instruction. In the WISE TELE design, students collaborate in pairs or small groups to perform inquiry activities. These positions are fully justified in the constructivist model of learning. Gobert et al (2002) conclude that students did “achieve a deeper understanding of the nature of models through their interactions with the unit” (p.17). The authors defend their approach by citing new education standards and how the WISE design specifically addresses them.
The ability to contribute new projects to WISE is a benefit of the inquiry process. If a project is well designed and meets the requirements of the WISE design then it can be added. The collaborative element, as well as the built in “prompts” allows students to investigate with some guidance from WISE, peers, and teachers. For math instruction, this is a little different. One solution could be if the math was part of a larger project, requiring an inter-disciplinary approach. The Jasper Series also showed us this – basic math skills were required for scenarios that also needed mapping skills, and biological skills. The collaborative element with the Design environment, peers, and teacher would work with math. Math classes use peer collaboration and teacher assistance already, but the technological collaboration is not as commonly found.
Furtak, E. M. (2006). The problem with answers: An exploration of guided scientific inquiry teaching. Science Education, 90(3), 453-467. http://ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/login?url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/sce.20130
Gobert, J., Snyder, J., & Houghton, C. (2002, April). The influence of students’ understanding of models on model-based reasoning. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), New Orleans, Louisiana.
Linn, M., Clark, D., & Slotta, J. (2003). Wise design for knowledge integration. Science Education, 87(4), 517-538.
U.S. Board of Science Education, (2000). “1 Inquiry in Science and in Classrooms.” Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards: A Guide for Teaching and Learning. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press,