Constructing Knowledge & VFT

How is knowledge relevant to math or science constructed? How is it possibly generated in these networked communities? Provide examples to illustrate your points.

Learning science involves young people entering into a different way of thinking about and explaining the natural world; becoming socialized to a greater or lesser extent into a practice of the scientific community with its particular purposes, ways of seeing, and ways of supporting its knowledge claims (Driver, et al, 1994, p. 8)

Throughout our readings this term, we have been exposed to the constructivist position of knowledge acquisition.  Driver, et al. (1994) once again explain that “the core commitment of a constructivist position [is] that knowledge is not transmitted directly from one knower to another, but is actively build up by the learner” (p. 5).  They argue that there are three essential factors of this approach in learning science in the classroom: personal experiences, language/symbolism, and socialization.

Referencing both Vygotsky and Piaget, there is an emphasis on the social nature of learning in the classroom.  Students require the conversations with peers and adults as they develop a common language to represent scientific symbols, and common sense knowledge.  As students participate in active, physical experiences, and are exposed to everyday language and are able to evolve their understanding to make sense of the natural world. For example, students have a commonly help conception that a constant force is necessary to maintain an object in constant motion.  Experiences such as pushing a heavy object or pedaling a bicycle allow students to develop these informal, common sense ideas.

Following the ideas of the Jasper project, LfU, T-GEM, science educators are seen as facilitators who make the cultural tools of science available to learners and supports their construction of ideas through discourse about shared physical events.  As students work with hands-on experiments, educators pose questions, participate in shared discourse, introduce new ideas, and support and guide as the class participates in shared knowledge.

Another form of exposure to knowledge comes in the form of field trips.  With the development of multimedia projects, researchers investigate the use of virtual field trips as a replacement for traditional field trips (Spicer & Stratford, 2001).  Using a problem-based approach, researchers developed a hypermedia package, Tidepools’.  In one sitting, students spend 2-3 hours individually exploring how animals might respond to low oxygen during low tide periods.  When completed, students reported a positive reaction; stating that is was an enjoyable way to learn.  They were however, unanimous in their view that it was not a substitute for a real field experience.  They felt that it lacked the complexity of a real experience and the collaboration with peers.

Below are a few ways that VFT could be utilized in education:

• Prepare for Geography field trips.
• Complement and enhance a real field trips (enhance preparation and act as a revision tool after a field trip).
• Explore familiar territory at their own pace.
• Museums and other informal environments that are not local.
• Allow for multi-visiting opportunities (Yoon, Elinich & Wang, 2012).

Are there other ways that we could use VFT to enhance student learning experiences?

Driver, R., Asoko, H., Leach, J., Mortimer, E. & Scott, P. (1994). Constructing scientific knowledge in the classroom. Educational Researcher, 23(7), 5-12.

Spicer, J. I. & Stratford, J. (2001). Student perceptions of virtual field trip to replace a real field trip. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 17(1), 345-354.

Yoon, S., Elinich, K. & Wang, J. (2012). Using augmented reality and knowledge-building scaffolds to improve learning in a science museum. Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning, 7(1), 519-541.