Initial thoughts:
Wise – (Web- Based Science Environment) was created to promote inquiry learning, integration of scientific knowledge and epistemic knowledge. It integrates modern technology to create materials that are flexible and can be edited/adapted to support different school contexts, students and standards. Wise is driven by knowledge integration and was founded on 2 central principles; learners have multiple conflicting understanding of scientific phenomenon based on context, experiences and tied to specific examples, 2.
Wise pedagogical framework:
• Make science accessible to all learners
• Make thinking visible
• Provide social support to enable peer to peer learning
• Promote lifelong learning
The technology enhanced environment is research based and enables teachers /researchers/teams to create and refine curriculum projects that are to educational outcomes. The intent of the projects is that students will work independently and for certain activities work with a peer. To support independent work the projects incorporate inquiry maps that can be customized to student prior knowledge. Reflective prompts/peer critiques are included to engage students in reflection on their own learning.
The pedagogical design of ‘What’s on your Plate?” was based on 2 of the design principles taken from the inquiry science framework; 1. Make thinking visible, 2. Help students learn from each other. The goals of the project were to improve student understanding of models and to have students critique peers work. Students were asked to work on activities that built on each other. Simulations were provided with explanation and students were able to revisit these as necessary. Models were presented to peers for critiquing and then students were asked to redo the models using their peer’s feedback. The WISE TELE promoted critical thinking and knowledge construction and enabled peer collaboration coast to coast. Models did generally improve however I have concerns with the quality of the peer critiques. I’m not sure how much value they added and whether improvement in models would have occurred without them.
Final thoughts:
WISE was deigned to engage students in science learning and connect science to the real world. It enables the designer to incorporate a variety of multimedia materials to engage different types of learners. The student view is easy to navigate and intuitive in its use.
Wise projects design:
- WISE projects were designed by teams of teachers and designers from Berkeley, field. tested on classes and changes made where necessary.
- Teachers can create a project and submit it to the WISE team for review. If it passes the review it can be added to the list of publicly shared projects.
- Criteria for projects dictate that they should be inquiry based provide opportunities for reflection and for students to make their thinking explicit
- Published WISE projects can be edited and adapted by teachers for their use.
WISE and Jasper are student centered in their design. Both encourage student critical thinking, self reflection and knowledge construction however I think Jasper series promoted more collaborative learning.
Some concerns I have around WISE :
- Teacher time it would take to learn how to author a project, ie. html code
- All students would require access to a computer or at least 1 for every 2 students
- Using the editing tools to adapt a project would also take time to learn
- Lack of student collaboration within WISE projects
Using WISE in the classroom would be interesting. I would like to use it in conjunction with face to face classroom activities, so a blended approach would fit. I think I would like to start with the plant unit in our science curriculum. It could be used to extend student learning and / or give students opportunities to consolidate their learning of topics covered. Being able to access it online would enable students to use it at home.
References
Linn, M., Clark, D., & Slotta, J. (2003). Wise design for knowledge integration. Science Education, 87(4), 517-538.
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.
Retrieved Saturday, October 29, 2005 from: http://mtv.concord.org/publications/epistimology_paper.pdf