Collaborative Research: Improving Science Learning in Inquiry-based Programs

“合作研究：在探究式课程中提高科学学习”提高了那些在高质量探究式课程中没有发挥潜力的学生的科学学习。虽然FOSS、STC和Insights等项目在提高学区内和跨学区的科学成绩方面很有效，但许多参加这些项目的儿童，特别是代表性不足的少数民族和英语学习者，未能在科学成绩的标准化测试中表现出熟练程度。该项目旨在通过开发一个计算机程序来实现其目标，我的科学导师，学生将在课堂科学调查后立即使用该程序来加强和扩展调查中嵌入的概念。该计划使用一个逼真的动画角色，让学生参与引导学习活动和指导对话，刺激科学推理。对话是基于一个行之有效的技术，质疑作者，这挑战学生学习整合新概念与先验知识，构建丰富的心理模型，可用于解释和预测科学现象。为了评估干预措施，学习收益进行了比较科学成绩的标准化测试，由四年级和五年级的学生在四个科学领域的学生随机分配到三组：计算机处理，人类辅导或继续课堂教学。形成性评估分析学生和教师的经验，并通过分析学生的科学笔记本中的条目来学习概念和科学推理。

"Collaborative Research: Improving Science Learning in Inquiry-Based Programs" improves science learning by students who are not achieving their potential in high quality inquiry-based programs. While programs like FOSS, STC and Insights are effective in improving science achievement within and across school districts, many children enrolled in these programs, especially underrepresented minorities and English language learners, fail to demonstrate proficiency on standardized tests of science achievement. This project aims to achieve its goal by developing a computer program, My Science Tutor, which students will use immediately following classroom science investigations to reinforce and extend concepts embedded in the investigations. The program uses a lifelike animated character to engage students in guided learning activities and tutorial dialogs that stimulate scientific reasoning. Tutorial dialogs are based on a proven technique, Questioning the Author, which challenges students to learn to integrate new concepts with prior knowledge to construct enriched mental models that can be used to explain and predict scientific phenomena. To evaluate the intervention, learning gains are compared on standardized tests of science achievement by fourth and fifth grade students in four areas of science by students randomly assigned to three groups: the computer treatment, human tutoring or continued classroom instruction. Formative assessments analyze student and teacher experiences, and learning of concepts and scientific reasoning through analysis of entries in students' science notebooks.