Computational Support for Authentic Science Inquiry

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Soloway 9555719 This effort aims to provide a compelling demonstration that a population of high school students, representative of the rich diversity served by public education, can-and indeed, will-engage, in the context of good authentic science problems, in the full-range of science inquiry activities, as advocated by the AAAS and the NRC, when they area supported by a comprehensive and scaffold computer and communications environment; and, in so doing, the students will develop a genuine understanding of science content and process. In this four year project, we will construct, classroom deploy, and evaluate the Investigators' Workshop (IWSHop), a computationally enhanced learning environment that houses and integrates the many tools needed to support the full-range of inquiry activities, e.g., data and information gathering, planning & Managing, modeling and visualizing, community debating. The IWShop will also serve as meeting place, available on the Internet through the University of Michigan's Digital Library. Learner-Centered Design will be used in the development of the IWShop; where appropriate, 3D photo-realistic interfaces will be used. The IWShop will be used on a routing, daily basis by students in two high schools in Ann Arbor and two in Omaha in addressing curriculum projects that cover a 10th grade year of integrated science. A multi-pronged, thorough evaluation will be carried out to assess the impact of the IWShop on students' understanding of and motivation toward science. ***