Explorer Schools Evaluation Merits Book Chapter
Mon Oct 15 2007
A chapter based on the NASA-sponsored Classroom of the Future's three-year evaluation of the NASA Explorer Schools program has been accepted for publication in a book due out next year.
New Educational Technology will offer the latest research findings in educational technology, according to a website created by the book's publishers, Nova Publishers.
Karen Chen, Laurie Ruberg, and Judy Martin of the Classroom of the Future™ will contribute a chapter titled Modeling Scientific Inquiry through Technology-mediated Tools. The chapter will focus on the NASA Explorer Schools program, and the Classroom of the Future's evaluation of the program's first three years.
According to an abstract of the chapter, "This chapter explores the potential for using technological tools to infuse inquiry-based science teaching and promote improved student learning outcomes. Previous educational technology research in scientific inquiry learning has presented the use of technology to motivate students' interest and shift their attitudes toward a more positive view of scientific processes and practices. We reviewed relevant empirical science education studies and cognitive theories of scaffolding to provide a new perspective on how technology can be used as a cognitive tool to increase student engagement, support effective learning strategies, and improve student science learning."
"Based on the analysis of a three-year evaluation of a national professional development project designed to improve teacher science education, we identified those technology applications that not only increased students' interest and participation in science learning, but also scaffolded students' performance in using scientific explanations of the natural world in context of problem-solving activities. Because of our recent and continued involvement in teacher professional development, this chapter concludes with a list of cognitive support features found in the education technology tools applied to support scientific inquiry that have proved to have the most positive impact on teaching strategies and student performance."
