Making the failure more productive: scaffolding the invention process to improve inquiry behaviors and outcomes in invention activities

Invention activities are Productive Failure activities in which students attempt (and often fail) to invent methods that capture deep properties of a construct before being taught expert solutions. The current study evaluates the effect of scaffolding on the invention processes and outcomes, given that students are not expected to succeed in their inquiry and that all students receive subsequent instruction. While socio-cognitive theories of learning advocate for scaffolding in inquiry activities, reducing students’ agency, and possibly their failure rate, may be counter-productive in this context. Two Invention activities related to data analysis concepts were given to 87 undergraduate students in a first-year physics lab course using an interactive learning environment. Guided Invention students outperformed Unguided Invention students on measures of conceptual understanding of the structures of the constructs in an assessment two months after the learning period. There was no effect, however, on measures of procedural knowledge or conceptual understanding of the overall goals of the constructs. In addition, Guided Invention students were more likely to invent multiple methods during the Invention process. These results suggest that the domain-general scaffolding in Invention activities, when followed by instruction, can help students encode deep features of the domain and build on their failures during Productive Failure. These results further suggest not all failures are equally productive, and that some forms of support help students learn form their failed attempts.     

Effects of explicit instruction on the acquisition of students’ science inquiry skills in grades 5 and 6 of primary education

In most primary science classes, students are taught science inquiry skills by way of learning by doing. Research shows that explicit instruction may be more effective. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of explicit instruction on the acquisition of inquiry skills. Participants included 705 Dutch fifth and sixth graders. Students in an explicit instruction condition received an eight-week intervention of explicit instruction on inquiry skills. In the lessons of the implicit condition, all aspects of explicit instruction were absent. Students in the baseline condition followed their regular science curriculum. In a quasi-experimental pre-test–post-test design, two paper-and-pencil tests and three performance assessments were used to examine the acquisition and transfer of inquiry skills. Additionally, questionnaires were used to measure metacognitive skills. The results of a multilevel analysis controlling for pre-tests, general cognitive ability, age, gender and grade level indicated that explicit instruction facilitates the acquisition of science inquiry skills. Specifically on the performance assessment with an unfamiliar topic, students in the explicit condition outperformed students of both the implicit and baseline condition. Therefore, this study provides a strong argument for including an explicit teaching method for developing inquiry skills in primary science education.     

Patterns of scaffolding in computer‐mediated collaborative inquiry

There is wide agreement on the importance of scaffolding for student learning. Yet, models of individual and face‐to‐face scaffolding are not necessarily applicable to educational settings in which a group of learners is pursuing a process of inquiry mediated by technology. The scaffolding needed for such a process may be examined from three perspectives: the organization of activities, the affordances of tools, and process‐level guidance. The purpose of the present study was to assess three tutors’ contributions to university students’ computer‐mediated discourse organized as a question‐driven inquiry process. In all, 17 students participated in the discourse as part of their studies in a cognitive psychology course. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were conducted to investigate critical patterns and possible effects of the tutors’ process‐level scaffolding. During the process, the more experienced tutors acted as meta‐level commentators, whereas the less experienced tutor participated in the inquiry as a co‐inquirer who also produced inquiry questions. More elaborate scaffolding to foster students’ metacognitive awareness of the inquiry strategies was generally lacking in all three tutors’ data. Implications for pedagogical improvement in collaborative, computer‐supported educational settings are discussed.     

Metacognitive scaffolding during collaborative learning: a promising combination

This article explores the effect of computerized scaffolding with different scaffolds (structuring vs. problematizing) on intra-group metacognitive interaction. In this study, we investigate 4 types of intra-group social metacognitive activities; namely ignored, accepted, shared and co-constructed metacognitive activities in 18 triads (6 control groups; no scaffolds and 12 experimental groups; 6 structuring scaffolds and 6 problematizing scaffolds). We found that groups receiving scaffolding showed significantly more intra-group interactions in which the group members co-construct social metacognitive activities. Groups receiving problematizing scaffolds showed significantly less ignored and more co-constructed social metacognitive interaction compared to groups receiving structuring scaffolds. These findings indicate that scaffolding positively influenced the group members’ intra-group social metacognitive interaction. We also found a significant relation between students’ participation in intra-group social metacognitive interaction and students’ metacognitive knowledge. Twelve percent of the variance in students’ metacognitive knowledge was explained by their participation in intra-group shared social metacognitive interaction. Therefore, future research should consider how to design scaffolds that elicit intra-group social metacognitive interaction among group members to enhance the development of students’ metacognitive knowledge.     

Do Different Levels of Inquiry Lead to Different Learning Outcomes? A comparison between guided and structured inquiry

Although the effects of open inquiry vs. more didactic approaches have been studied extensively, the effects of different types of inquiry have not received as much attention. We examined the effects of guided vs. structured inquiry on secondary students' learning of science. Students from three schools in north-eastern Thailand participated (N?=?239, Grades 7 and 10). Two classes in each school were randomly assigned to either the guided or the structured-inquiry condition. Students had a total of 14–15 hours of instructions in each condition. The dependent measures were science content knowledge, science process skills, scientific attitudes, and self-perceived stress. In comparison to the structured-inquiry condition, students in the guided-inquiry condition showed greater improvement in both science content knowledge and science process skills. For scientific attitudes and stress, students in one school benefited from guided inquiry much more than they did from structured inquiry. Findings were explained in terms of differences in the degree to which students engaged effortfully with the teaching material.     

The effects of metacognitive instruction embedded within an asynchronous learning network on scientific inquiry skills

The study is aimed at investigating the effects of four learning methods on students’ scientific inquiry skills. The four learning methods are: (a) metacognitive‐guided inquiry within asynchronous learning networked technology (MINT); (b) an asynchronous learning network (ALN) with no metacognitive guidance; (c) metacognitive‐guided inquiry embedded within face‐to‐face (F2F) interaction; and (d) F2F interaction with no metacognitive guidance. The study examined general scientific ability and domain‐specific inquiry skills in microbiology. Participants were 407 10th‐grade students (15 years old). The MINT research group significantly outperformed all other research groups, and F2F (group d) acquired the lowest mean scores. No significant differences were found between research groups (b) and (c). MINT makes significant contributions to students’ achievements in designing experiments and drawing conclusions. The novel use of metacognitive training within an ALN environment demonstrates the advantage of enhancing the effects of ALN on students’ achievements in science.     

The art of questioning in online learning environments: the potentialities of feedback in writing

Research on feedback has focused more on generating feedback rather than on how students use it and implement it; that is, what type of cognitive, metacognitive or affective activity students engage in once they have received feedback. In order to visualize feedback use and implementation, a quasi-experimental study was carried out. Students were randomly assigned to four conditions, in respect of the type of feedback (corrective, epistemic-questioning, suggestive and epistemic?+?suggestive). This research provides evidence of how students use and implement feedback in online collaborative writing. Findings show that when students received epistemic?+?suggestive feedback, they engaged in more cognitive and metacognitive activities. With regard to implementation, students who received epistemic?+?suggestive feedback obtained better final marks. This study highlights the importance of metacognitive activities in online learning, as they play a key role in the implementation of feedback.     

Analyzing the temporal evolution of students’ behaviors in open-ended learning environments

Metacognition and self-regulation are important for developing effective learning in the classroom and beyond, but novice learners often lack effective metacognitive and self-regulatory skills. However, researchers have demonstrated that metacognitive processes can be developed through practice and appropriate scaffolding. Betty’s Brain, an open-ended computer-based learning environment, helps students practice their cognitive skills and develop related metacognitive strategies as they learn science topics. In this paper, we analyze students’ activity sequences in a study that compared different categories of adaptive scaffolding in Betty’s Brain. The analysis techniques for measuring students’ cognitive and metacognitive processes extend our previous work on using sequence mining methods to discover students’ frequently-used behavior patterns by (i) developing a systematic approach for interpreting derived behavior patterns using a cognitive/metacognitive task model and (ii) analyzing the evolution of students’ frequent behavior patterns over time. Our results show that it is possible to identify students’ learning behaviors and analyze their evolution as they work in the Betty’s Brain environment. Further, the results illustrate that changes in student behavior were generally consistent with the scaffolding provided, suggesting that these metacognitive strategies can be taught to middle school students in computer-based learning environments.     

发明实施：创造过程的延续扩展

发明实施是发明由构思转化为产品、流程的过程。智力活动具有创造性和重现性双重属性,大脑内思维活动和受思想支配的人的活动两种形式。发明实施是一个创新过程,是创造过程的延续与扩展。否认发明实施依赖于人的智力活动和对“智力活动的规则和方法”不授予专利权,其原因在于将a mental act翻译为智力活动不妥和专利立法指导思想模糊不清。专利法修订应取消“智力活动的规则和方法”不授予专利权款项,发掘每一个员工的创造力。     

Investigating a Method of Scaffolding Student-Designed Experiments

The process of designing an experiment is a difficult one. Students often struggle to perform such tasks as the design process places a large cognitive load on students. Scaffolding is the process of providing support for a student to allow them to complete tasks they would otherwise not have been able to complete. This study sought to investigate backwards-design, one form of scaffolding the experimental design process for students. Students were guided through the design process in a backwards manner (designing the results section first and working backwards through typical report components to the materials and safety sections). The use of reflective prompts as possible scaffold for metacognitive processes was also studied. Scaffolding was in the form of a computer application built specifically for this purpose. Four versions of the computer application were randomly assigned to 102 high school chemistry students and students were asked to the design of an experiment, producing a report. The use of backwards-design scaffolding resulted in significantly higher performance on lab reports. The addition of reflective prompts reduced the effect of backwards-design scaffolding in lower-level students.     

Actively Teaching Research Methods with a Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning Approach

Active learning approaches have shown to improve student learning outcomes and improve the experience of students in the classroom. This article compares a Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning style approach to a more traditional teaching method in an undergraduate research methods course. Moving from a more traditional learning environment to a student-centered approach proved an enjoyable experience for the students and the instructor as well. The learning method forces students into an active role in the classroom and allows the instructor to be the facilitator of the learning experience. Students are able to explore course content and gain valuable group skills in the process.     

Using invention to change how students tackle problems

Invention activities challenge students to tackle problems that superficially appear unrelated to the course material but illustrate underlying fundamental concepts that are fundamental to material that will be presented. During our invention activities in a first-year biology class, students were presented with problems that are parallel to those that living cells must solve, in weekly sessions over a 13-wk term. We compared students who participated in the invention activities sessions with students who participated in sessions of structured problem solving and with students who did not participate in either activity. When faced with developing a solution to a challenging and unfamiliar biology problem, invention activity students were much quicker to engage with the problem and routinely provided multiple reasonable hypotheses. In contrast the other students were significantly slower in beginning to work on the problem and routinely produced relatively few ideas. We suggest that the invention activities develop a highly valuable skill that operates at the initial stages of problem solving.     

Exploring the Impacts of Cognitive and Metacognitive Prompting on Students’ Scientific Inquiry Practices Within an E-Learning Environment

This study explores the effects of metacognitive and cognitive prompting on the scientific inquiry practices of students with various levels of initial metacognition. Two junior high school classes participated in this study. One class, the experimental group (n?=?26), which received an inquiry-based curriculum with a combination of cognitive and metacognitive prompts, was compared to the other class, the comparison group (n?=?25), which received only cognitive prompts in the same curriculum. Data sources included a test of inquiry practices, a questionnaire of metacognition, and worksheets. The results showed that the mixed cognitive and metacognitive prompts had significant impacts on the students’ inquiry practices, especially their planning and analyzing abilities. Furthermore, the mixed prompts appeared to have a differential effect on those students with lower level metacognition, who showed significant improvement in their inquiry abilities. A combination of cognitive and metacognitive prompts during an inquiry cycle was found to promote students’ inquiry practices.     

以建构主义为指导的综合英语教学方法与实践

建构主义理论认为,学习是学习者主动建构意义的过程,它强调学习的主动性、社会性和情境性。在以学生为中心的教学模式中,学生是知识意义的主动建构者,而教师则起组织和指导的作用。在建构主义学习理论的指导下,教师应将支架式教学、抛锚式教学及随机进入教学运用到综合英语教学实践中,从多方面、多角度创设各种有利于学生运用语言的情景,培养学生的自主学习能力,提高其语言运用能力。     

Developing Sixth Graders’ Inquiry Skills to Construct Explanations in Inquiry‐based Learning Environments

The purpose of this study is to investigate how sixth graders develop inquiry skills to construct explanations in an inquiry‐based learning environment. We designed a series of inquiry‐based learning activities and identified four inquiry skills that are relevant to students’ construction of explanation. These skills include skills to identify causal relationships, to describe the reasoning process, to use data as evidence, and to evaluate explanations. Multiple sources of data (e.g., video recordings of learning activities, interviews, students’ artifacts, and pre/post tests) were collected from two science classes with 58 sixth graders. The statistical results show that overall the students’ inquiry skills were significantly improved after they participated in the series of the learning activities. Yet the level of competency in these skills varied. While students made significant progress in identifying causal relationships, describing the reasoning process, and using data as evidence, they showed slight improvement in evaluating explanations. Additionally, the analyses suggest that phases of inquiry provide different kinds of learning opportunities and interact with students’ development of inquiry skills.     

Support of the collaborative inquiry learning process: influence of support on task and team regulation

Regulation of the learning process is an important condition for efficient and effective learning. In collaborative learning, students have to regulate their collaborative activities (team regulation) next to the regulation of their own learning process focused on the task at hand (task regulation). In this study, we investigate how support of collaborative inquiry learning can influence the use of regulative activities of students. Furthermore, we explore the possible relations between task regulation, team regulation and learning results. This study involves tenth-grade students who worked in pairs in a collaborative inquiry learning environment that was based on a computer simulation, Collisions, developed in the program SimQuest. Students of the same team worked on two different computers and communicated through chat. Chat logs of students from three different conditions are compared. Students in the first condition did not receive any support at all (Control condition). In the second condition, students received an instruction in effective communication, the RIDE rules (RIDE condition). In the third condition, students were, in addition to receiving the RIDE rules instruction, supported by the Collaborative Hypothesis Tool (CHT), which helped the students with formulating hypotheses together (CHT condition). The results show that students overall used more team regulation than task regulation. In the RIDE condition and the CHT condition, students regulated their team activities most often. Moreover, in the CHT condition the regulation of team activities was positively related to the learning results. We can conclude that different measures of support can enhance the use of team regulative activities, which in turn can lead to better learning results.     

作文教学中元认知能力的培养

教学实践表明,学生的元认知能力在学生学习活动中起着重要作用,是影响学生学业成绩的重要因素之一。学生在学习的过程中学会监控与反思,也是学生学习过程中主体性的一种表现。本文将探讨学生如何在写作训练中进行监控和反思,培养写作学习的元认知能力。     

Scaffolding students' knowledge integration: prompts for reflection in KIE

Encouraging students to be autonomous is an important goal of the scaffolded knowledge integration framework. Knowledge integration requires students to expand their repertoire of ideas but unless those ideas are reflected upon, they cannot be linked to and reconciled with current ideas. Students are capable of doing this kind of reflection but, many need scaffolding. Scaffolding here in the form of reflection prompts can help students be autonomous integrators of their knowledge. This research investigated learning and design questions. It determined whether reflection prompts promote knowledge integration for students working on science projects and investigated the effects of students' different dispositions on their reflection. It explored which characteristics of prompts best support students in knowledge integration. The learning results indicate that prompting students to reflect significantly increases knowledge integration in science projects. Yet similar prompts elicit qualitatively diverse responses from students. Students who focus on their ideas perform significantly better on the end product than do other students who focus on their actions or activities. Furthermore, students who indicate that they understand everything perform significantly worse on the final project than do other students. The design results show that self-monitoring prompts, which encourage planning for and reflection on activities, help students to demonstrate an integrated understanding of the relevant science; while activity prompts, which guide the inquiry process, are less successful in prompting knowledge integration.