Going beyond textbooks: a study on seamless science inquiry in an upper primary class

This paper reports an initial study on investigating inquiry-based learning in science in an upper primary class guided by an inquiry-based learning model in a seamless learning environment. Two questions are addressed: (1) how students advanced their domain knowledge?; and (2) how students developed their inquiry skills? One teacher and 27 Grade-four students from a local primary school were involved in the study. Six inquiry-based learning lessons focusing on a scientific “rustproofing” learning unit were conducted in a seamless learning environment, initiated in a digital classroom and extended to online discussions on a social network platform. Qualitative data were collected and analysed over two weeks. The results show ways that the students advanced their domain knowledge and developed their inquiry skills.     

Effects of cooperative learning plus inquiry method on student learning and attitudes: a comparative study for engineering economic classrooms

In the Iranian higher education system, including engineering education, effective implementation of cooperative learning is difficult because classrooms are usually crowded and the students never had a formal group working background in their previous education. In order to achieve the benefits of cooperative learning in this condition, this paper proposes a combination of cooperative learning and inquiry method. The method is implemented by grouping students in a way that the learning procedure is done in non-official class sessions by each group, while the inquiry method is done in the regular programmed class sessions. The study is performed in Islamic Azad University and the methods are implemented in two engineering economic classes with different numbers of students in each working group. The results are compared with a control class in which traditional teaching style is implemented. The results of analysis show simultaneous improvement of learning and behavioural attitudes of the students with cooperative learning plus inquiry method in the classroom with a fewer number of students in each working group.     

Improving primary students’ collaborative problem solving competency in project-based science learning with productive failure instructional design in a seamless learning environment

The paper reports on an empirical study adopting a mixed research method, aiming at improving primary students’ collaborative problem solving competency in project-based learning with productive failure (PF) instructional design in a seamless learning environment. Two Grade Six classes participated in a project-based learning of “Plant Adaptations”. In Class 1 with 27 students, the project-based learning was conducted with PF instructional design; in Class 2 with 26 students, the project-based learning was conducted without PF instructional design. The learning activities spanned across farm, class, home and online spaces supported by mobile devices. Data collection includes various students’ created artifacts in groups in the inquiry process, student reflections, student focus group interviews and pre- and post-domain tests. Both qualitative and quantitative data analysis methods were employed. The research findings show that compared to Class 2, the students in Class 1 gained deeper understanding of conceptual knowledge and produced better group artifacts in collaborative problem-solving quality than those in Class 2; and the students in Class 1 were more positive in facing the challenges in their project-based learning process, and developed a sense of ownership of their learning. The findings imply that PF instructional design is conducive to developing primary students’ collaborative solving competency in science learning in a seamless learning environment.     

小组调查法在高职商务英语口语教学中的实践探究简

小组调查法是一种有别于传统的教学和学习理论的合作学习法,强调以学生为中心和合作意识的培养,注重发挥学生学习的自主性和探究性.本研究立足教学实践,探讨了小组调查法在商务英语口语教学中的应用价值,发现在商务英语口语课程中运用小组调查法进行教学是行之有效的.     

Inquiry learning behaviors captured through screencasts in problem-based learning

This study examined the types of learning behaviors students demonstrated while performing inquiry tasks. It also explored the relationship between the learning behaviors and students’ domain knowledge. We observed fourteen students in five groups during a ninth-grade biology course. Three types of learning behaviors (inquiry, collaborative, and minimally productive behaviors) were identified and time on each type was measured. The results suggest that students demonstrated different patterns according to the types of learning behaviors. Correlation analysis revealed that learning outcomes had a strong positive correlation with the inquiry behaviors but a strong negative correlation with the minimally productive behaviors. The results suggest that attention should be paid to facilitate the more meaningful inquiry behaviors while reducing minimally productive behaviors.     

在课堂教学中发展学生能力

新课改要求教师把课堂还给学生,让学生在教师指导下通过自主学习、合作探究的方式构建高效课堂。那么在课堂教学中如何发展学生能力呢?从发展学生创新思维、合作学习、语言表达能力等方面来阐述。     

Fostering personalized learning in science inquiry supported by mobile technologies

In this paper, we present a mobile technology-assisted seamless learning process design where students were facilitated to develop their personalized and diversified understanding in a primary school??s science topic of the life cycles of various living things. A goal-based approach to experiential learning model was adopted as the pedagogical design to support the student??s personalized learning process. We chose to report the student??s inquiry into the life cycles of the spinach plant and the butterfly to pinpoint the how the student??s personalized learning was fostered in the experiential learning. The learning process consisted of (a) in-class enculturation and question posing; (b) out-of-class field trip observation; (c) on site reflection after observation; (c) data collection and conceptualization of life cycles in the field trip; (d) the hands-on experimentation of growing the spinach plant and rearing a butterfly after the trip at home; (e) creation of animations and composition based on the hands-on experience individually either at home or in class to re-conceptualize the life cycles of the spinach plant and the butterfly, and (f) sharing and evaluation of their work in class. Each student was assigned a smartphone on a 1:1, 24?×?7 basis, which was used by individuals to mediate their seamless learning experience across multiple contexts. Through our analysis of the learning content, processes and products, we illuminate how the goal-based approach applied to mobile-assisted experiential learning facilitates students?? personalized learning and helps them to fulfill their agency in such learning experiences.     

Presenting domain information or self-exploration to foster hypothesis generation in simulation-based inquiry learning

This study investigated the effects of presenting domain information (basic information about the domain) either together with or instead of offering exploratory practice (an exploratory opportunity in a simulation-based representation of the learning domain) prior to inquiry learning for facilitating students' hypothesis generation and subsequent inquiry processes and their knowledge acquisition. Secondary school students (n = 118) completed a simulation-based inquiry task on force and motion. They were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: the D + E condition (n = 29), in which domain information and exploratory practice were available; the D condition (n = 30), in which only domain information was available; the E condition (n = 32), in which only exploratory practice was available; or the C condition (n = 27), with no support at all. Students' knowledge was measured with a pre- and posttest and a test on knowledge of variables. Inquiry processes were inferred from information students entered in a Hypothesis Scratchpad and an Observation tool, and from a final summary that they had to write. Results indicated that providing students with domain information alone helps to foster their knowledge of variables before generating hypotheses and leads to knowledge acquisition. The results also showed that the opportunity to explore before experimenting does not affect students' inquiry behavior or learning performance, even when combined with providing students with domain information.     

大学英语课堂危机引发的思考及对策研究

触屏信息时代下的90后大学生对课堂里来自教师有限的“口头信息”和来自课本静态的“纸质知识”乃至“众随一人”的师生关系,从不满足发展到软抵制,课堂危机由此产生。本文依据“有效教学”的相关理念,针对当下大学英语的教学模式、课堂形态、师生关系、评价体系进行了反思。只有彻底地把课堂还给学生,在教材、教法、评价、角色、任务等各个环节保障实现学生真正自主、合作、探究式学习,才是解决课堂危机最根本的出路 。     

Assessing learning in a sociology department: what do students say that they learn?

Assessment plays a central role in evaluating and strengthening student learning in higher education, and sociology departments, in particular, have increasingly become interested in engaging in assessment activities to better understand students’ learning. This qualitative study builds on previous research on assessment by asking what students in one American university department see themselves learning in the sociology major. Rather than asking students to reflect on what we think they are learning, we asked open-ended questions about skills, topics and modes of education they considered most significant to their learning. The 25 sociology majors in our study included second-year students, graduating fourth-year students and alumni who had graduated five years prior, enabling us to compare what students have learned or are learning across cohorts. Our findings demonstrate that students emphasise a common collection of skills, topics and – especially – modes of learning in the major, despite their various course selections and interests within the discipline, and also that majors’ orientations to sociology vary as they move through, and beyond, the undergraduate curriculum.     

The Learning Benefits of Being Willing and Able to Engage in Scientific Argumentation

Engaging in science as an argumentative practice can promote students’ critical thinking, reflection, and evaluation of evidence. However, many do not approach science in this way. Furthermore, the presumed confrontational nature of argumentation may run against cultural norms particularly during the sensitive time of early adolescence. This paper explores whether middle-school students’ ability to engage in critical components of argumentation in science impacts science classroom learning. It also examines whether students’ willingness to do so attenuates or moderates that benefit. In other words, does one need to be both willing and able to engage critically with the discursive nature of science to receive benefits to learning? This study of middle-school students participating in four months of inquiry science shows a positive impact of argumentative sensemaking ability on learning, as well as instances of a moderating effect of one's willingness to engage in argumentative discourse. Possible mechanisms and the potential impacts to educational practices are discussed.     

混合学习教学模式下发展学生学习能力的探究简

混合学习理论是一种有效的学习理论,强调现代教学与传统教学理论的融合、多种教学媒介的综合、多种教学内容的整合,以及多种教学方式的混合。文章针对在混合学习教学模式下学生自主学习能力、合作学习能力以及探究学习能力的形成和发展进行了探讨。     

高中英语探究性学习存在的问题及策略研究——以四川省渠县二中为例

高中学生英语学习方式的转变是高中英语新课程改革的重要目标之一,提倡让学生采用自主学习、合作学习和探究学习等学习方式,培养学生学会学习,形成一种科学的思维习惯和能力,具备创新能力,为学生终身学习做好准备。学生学习方式的转变涉及到学生的学和教师的教,而且教师教学方式的转变是学生学习方式转变的关键。作为高中英语教师,在新课程教学中积极开展探究性英语教学研究既是新课程改革的需要,也是每一位高中英语教师应该认真面对的教育课题。通过本课题的研究,了解并分析当前学生在英语学习过程中实施探究性学习所存在的问题及原因,进而提出相应的改进对策。     

Transitioning to learning outcomes at the coalface: An academic’s quantitative evaluation at the course level

Implementation of learning outcomes in Universities has not been seamless – their alignment with assessments requires faculty to specify learning outcomes and show transparent evaluation of this alignment. Difficulties arise transitioning from grading within a range of pre-existing assessment formats to grading common learning outcomes across those different formats. Experiencing this, we performed a quantitative evaluation of students completing an academic literacy course. We aimed to see if student achievement was determined by assessment format or by learning outcomes, and then to identify whether achievement of a learning outcome was equivalent across assessment formats. A twostep cluster analysis identified three clusters of students: high, medium, and low achievers. Strongest predictors of cluster-membership were learning outcomes assessed in the written essay, however scores for each learning outcome when assessed across assessment formats correlated poorly. Faculty should ensure consistent standards in learning outcomes achievement when assessed across different formats, or clearly separate learning outcomes.     

Personal inquiry learning trajectories in geography: technological support across contexts

Student engagement in the design and implementation of inquiries is an effective way for them to learn about the inquiry process and the domain being studied. However, inquiry learning in geography can be challenging for teachers and students due to the complexity of scientific inquiry and the diversity of pupils' and teachers' knowledge and abilities. To address this, the Personal Inquiry project has designed a tool kit that includes nQuire, a Web-based tool to support students through the inquiry process. Here, we identify when, across five lessons comprising an inquiry into microclimates, nQuire was used by a teacher and a case study group of her 12 to 13-year-old students, and the ways in which they adopted nQuire as a tool to facilitate the creation of a coherent and cumulative inquiry learning experience over time. We found that students' use of nQuire supported them in capturing and representing their evolving understanding of inquiry, in defining and supporting their progression through the process of inquiry and in resourcing their cognitive engagement in data interpretation and representation. nQuire supported the students in accumulating and integrating new understandings across contexts and over time. In this way, nQuire successfully resourced and supported the students' learning journeys or trajectories. We conclude that nQuire can be an effective tool for supporting teachers' and students' understanding of the nature of inquiry and how to design and implement inquiries of their own.     

Investigating the Effectiveness of Inquiry Instruction on the Motivation of Different Learning Styles Students

The purpose of this study was to investigate 8th graders with different learning styles their motivation outcomes after implementing 10 weeks (40 hours) inquiry-based teaching. Two hundreds and fifty four 8th graders were involved in experimental group, this group of students experienced inquiry instruction. Two hundreds and thirty two 8th graders were involved in control group, they were taught by traditional science teaching. Students' motivation toward science learning questionnaire (SMTSL) (Tuan, Chin & Shieh, 2005) were implemented in both groups in the beginning and at the end of the study. Students in the experimental group filled out learning preference questionnaire (Lumsdaine & Lumsdaine, 1995) in the beginning of the study. Forty students which represent different learning styles were chosen from five experimental classes to conduct post-test interview. Paired t-test, MANOVA, analytic inductive methods were used for analyzing both qualitative and quantitative data. Findings indicated that after inquiry instruction students' motivation increased significantly (p<.001) than students who enrolled in traditional teaching. Four different learning styles of students increased significantly (p<.005) in SMTSL scales: self-efficacy, active learning strategies, science learning value, performance goal and achievement goal. No significant difference was found among four learning styles of students' motivation after inquiry teaching. Interview data supported that most of students with different learning styles were willing to participate in the inquiry learning activities, while they hold different reasons for their engagement. Findings confirm inquiry-based science teaching can motivate students with different learning styles in science learning. An erratum to this article is available at .     

Constructing knowledge with an agent-based instructional program: A comparison of cooperative and individual meaning making

Participants in the present study were 87 college students who learned about botany using an agent-based instructional program with three different learning approaches: individual, jigsaw, or cooperative learning. Results showed no differences among learning approaches on retention. Students in jigsaw groups reported higher cognitive load during learning than students who learned individually; scored lower on a problem-solving transfer test than students in individual and cooperative learning groups; and were less likely to produce elaborated explanations and co-construct knowledge with their peers than students in cooperative groups. Students in cooperative groups reported higher situational interest than their counterparts. Implications for cooperative and individual meaning making in agent-based instructional programs are discussed and future research directions are suggested.     

Constructivism-informed variation theory lesson designs in enriching and elevating science learning: Case studies of seamless learning design

The constructivist paradigm opens abundant opportunities for effective knowledge construction in which student build knowledge and continually evaluated and improved their knowledge. The teaching mode under constructivist pedagogy redefines the role of students and the teachers and their interrelationships by creating a nurturing environment. By adapting constructivist framework, this article demonstrates how the variation of learning practices was critical in facilitating Primary 4 students in Singapore to carry out seamless science learning. The variation of learning practices enables the students to explore a particular scientific concept through various learning experience across the contexts. The study adapted the framework of the Objects of Constructivist Learning Model for the improvement of the seamless science learning design. When redesigning the lesson, a conscious effort was made by the teacher to create relevant patterns of variation, that is, varying certain critical aspect(s) while keeping other aspects of the object of learning invariant in order to help students discern those critical aspects. The findings contribute knowledge to how the Theory of Variation can be used in analyzing seamless learning as well as designing for constructivist learning experiences. The findings have also demonstrated that the complementary practice of constructivist pedagogy with variation theory as a viable and effective approach in seamless science learning, at which it deepened students' understanding through constructing the critical aspects of a phenomenon. Engagement with primary school students in experiencing the variations allowed the translation of theory into practice.     

Inquiry and groups: student interactions in cooperative inquiry-based science

Science education research has recommended cooperative inquiry based science in the primary science context for more than two decades but after more than 20 years, student achievement in science has not substantially improved. This study, through direct observation and analysis, investigated content-related student interactions in an authentic inquiry based primary science class setting. Thirty-one upper primary students were videotaped working in cooperative inquiry based science activities. Cooperative talk and negotiation of the science content was analysed to identify any high-level group interactions. The data show that while all groups have incidences of high-level content-related group interactions, the frequency and duration of these interactions were limited. No specific pattern of preceding events was identified and no episodes of high-level content-related group interactions were immediately preceded by the teacher’s interactions with the groups. This in situ study demonstrated that even without any kind of scaffolding, specific skills in knowing how to implement cooperative inquiry based science, high-level content-related group interactions did occur very briefly. Support for teachers to develop their knowledge and skills in facilitating cooperative inquiry based science learning is warranted to ensure that high-level content-related group interactions and the associated conceptual learning are not left to chance in science classrooms.