Microprocessor Based Laboratory Activities as Catalysts for Student Construction of Understanding in Physics.

Autor/inn/en	Russell, David; Lucas, Keith B.; McRobbie, Campbell J.
Titel	Microprocessor Based Laboratory Activities as Catalysts for Student Construction of Understanding in Physics.
Quelle	(1999), (20 Seiten) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Monographie
Schlagwörter	Computer Uses in Education; Constructivism (Learning); Educational Technology; Foreign Countries; High Schools; Laboratories; Physics; Science Activities + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Computernutzung; Unterrichtsmedien; Ausland; High school; Oberschule; Laboratory; Laboratorium; Physik
Abstract	From the theoretical reference frame of constructivism, much of the rhetoric and positive research findings in support of microprocessor based laboratory (MBL) activities facilitating science learning can be interpreted in terms of the increased opportunities for student-student interactions and peer group discussions about familiar and discrepant events in relation to ready-to-hand data. However, the rhetoric is not widely matched by practice. It is possible that teachers' failure to utilize MBL activities more widely is a result of not recognizing their capacity to transform the nature of laboratory activities to be more consistent with contemporary constructivist theories of learning. This research aimed to increase understanding of how MBL activities specifically designed to be consistent with a constructivist theory of learning support or constrain student construction of understanding. It was conducted in a Year 11 physics class, comprising 14 boys and 3 girls, taught by the first author. Seven activities relating to kinematics were prepared in predict-observe-explain format. Students worked in pairs in laboratory sessions that were part of the normal class program. Data sources included video and audio recordings of students and teacher during each laboratory session, computer records of all data sets recorded by students, students' written notes and reports, semi-structured interviews with selected students, and the teacher's reflections on each session. Analysis of students' discourse and actions revealed many instances where students' initial understanding of concepts of displacement, velocity and acceleration were challenged by the data presented on the computer screen, and their negotiation of new understanding was mediated in multiple and subtle ways by the computer display. Students invented numerous techniques for manipulating data in the service of their emerging understanding. Recommendations are made for development of appropriate pedagogical strategies incorporating MBL activities, which will likely catalyze student construction of understanding. (Contains 29 references.) (Author)
Anmerkungen	For full text: http://www.aare.edu.au/99pap/lvc99196.htm.
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC