Teacher epistemology and scientific inquiry in computerized classroom environments
Abstract A 20‐week classroom‐based study was conducted to investigate the extent to which a computerized learning environment could facilitate students' development of higher‐level thinking skills associated with scientific inquiry. In two classes students' interactions with a scientific d...
| Published in: | Journal of Research in Science Teaching |
|---|---|
| Main Authors: | , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
1995
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/tea.3660320807 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Ftea.3660320807 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/tea.3660320807 |
| Summary: | Abstract A 20‐week classroom‐based study was conducted to investigate the extent to which a computerized learning environment could facilitate students' development of higher‐level thinking skills associated with scientific inquiry. In two classes students' interactions with a scientific data base— Birds of Antarctica —were closely monitored, and the mediating roles of the teachers' epistemologies were examined. Interpretive data were generated and analyzed in relation to a constructivist perspective on learning. In the class where the teacher implemented a constructivist‐oriented pedagogy, students took advantage of enhanced opportunities to generate creative questions and conduct complex scientific investigations. These higher‐level thinking skills were much less evident in the class in which a more transmissionist‐oriented pedagogy prevailed. The results of the study suggest that it is not the computer itself that facilitates inquiry learning; the teacher's epistemology is a key mediating influence on students' use of the computer as a tool of scientific inquiry. |
|---|