INDP: InquirySpace: Technologies in Support of Student Experimentation

人们普遍认为，如果学生以与科学家建立新知识类似的方式学习科学，那么许多科学知识可以更有效地学习。然而，科学探究的课堂实施往往传达了对科学家学习方式的不准确理解，因为他们往往没有给学生机会将他们收集的数据作为证据与科学理论联系起来。此外，有效的学生探究的一个主要障碍是解释数据的固有困难，例如，在不同条件下进行的一系列实验中发现数据的模式。在这个项目中开发的平台名为InquirySpace，解决了这两个问题。它集成了三种经过验证的技术，这些技术共同具有支持真实的科学探究和数据模式发现的能力——NetLogo和Molecular Workbench的多功能建模环境，来自探针和传感器的实时数据收集，以及Fathom和TinkerPlots强大的视觉数据探索能力。它们正被整合到一个连贯的、基于网络的环境中，使丰富的、协作的科学探究成为可能。通过调整软件工具在浏览器内执行，inquryspace被设计成在学校中运行，防火墙和不灵活的技术设置通常是不可逾越的障碍，在学校使用的大多数计算机平台上运行，并在项目结束后扩展到移动平台，消除了跨年级使用查询的主要障碍，而不仅仅是在高绩效学校。但在资源不足的学校里，学生的表现往往低于年级，对他们来说，基于文本的教学是脱离语境的，而且很困难。研究将调查整合软件功能的教学实践，以使学生能够拥有科学家的经验，而不会被进行调查所需的大量工具以及整合这些工具的技术需求所淹没。产品将包括一套设计和使用原则，用于创造和整合支持科学探究的技术。探究空间项目为科学教学中最困难的问题之一提供了见解——以一种既促进深度科学学习又传达对科学实践的准确理解的方式支持真正的科学探究。该项目将展示如何集成支持科学探究的复杂软件功能，使初高中学生能够获得与科学家经验相似的复杂科学探究体验，但不会被大量工具、资源和可用的表示方式所淹没。这个项目的发现有可能加深我们对如何通过探究活动帮助学生学习科学概念和科学探究的理解，并引起人们对计算工具在支持这种学习中的重要性的关注。

It is widely recognized that much of science can more effectively be learned if students learn science in ways similar to the ways scientists build new knowledge. Yet classroom implementations of scientific inquiry often convey an inaccurate understanding of the ways scientists learn, as they often fail to give students opportunities to connect data they've collected as evidence to science theory. In addition, a major barrier to effective student inquiry has been inherent difficulties in interpreting data, e.g., finding patterns in data from series of experiments performed under varying conditions. The platform to be developed in this project, called InquirySpace, addresses both of those issues. It integrates three proven technologies that together have capabilities for supporting both authentic scientific inquiry and pattern finding in data -- the versatile modeling environments of NetLogo and the Molecular Workbench, real-time data collection from probes and sensors, and the powerful visual data exploration capabilities of Fathom and TinkerPlots. They are being integrated into a coherent, Web-based environment enabling rich, collaborative scientific inquiry. By adapting the software tools to execute inside browsers, InquirySpace is designed to function in schools where firewalls and inflexible technology setups are often insurmountable barriers, to run on most computer platforms used in schools, and to be extensible to mobile platforms following the project's end, removing major barriers to the use of inquiry across grades and not only in high-performing schools, but also in under-resourced schools in which students often are performing below grade and for whom text-based instruction is decontextualized and difficult. Research will investigate pedagogical practices for integrating software functions in ways that allow students to have the experiences of scientists without being overwhelmed by the proliferation of tools needed to carry out an investigation as well as technological needs in integrating such tools. Products will include a set of design and use principles for creating and integrating technology in support of scientific inquiry.The InquirySpace project provides insight into one of the most difficult problems in science instruction -- supporting authentic scientific inquiry in a way that both promotes deep science learning and conveys an accurate understanding of the practices of science. This project will show how to integrate sophisticated software functions that support science inquiry in ways that allow middle and high school students to have scientific inquiry experiences that have a sophistication similar to the experiences of scientists but without being overwhelmed by the multitude of tools, and resources, and representations available to support their work. Findings from this project have the potential to deepen our understanding of how to help students learn science concepts and scientific inquiry through inquiry activities, and draw attention to the importance of computational tools in supporting this learning.