Teacher epistemology and scientific inquiry in computerized classroom environments

• Published in: Journal of Research in Science Teaching
• Main Authors: Maor, Dorit, Taylor, Peter Charles
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 1995
• Subjects: Antarc*; Antarctica
• 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

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.