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Scientific Literacy in the digital age: tools, environments and resources for co-inquiry
This paper describes some European and International projects to promote Scientific Literacy in the digital age as well as technologies, environments and resources for co-inquiry. The aim of this research is also to describe computer applications, software tools and environments that were designed to support processes of collaborative inquiry learning to promote Scientific Literacy. These tools are analyzed by describing their interfaces and functionalities. The outcomes of this descriptive research points out some effects on student learning and competences developed known from the literature. This paper argues the importance of promoting scientific citizenship not only through schools and Universities (formal learning), but also non-credit online courses and community-based learning programmes (non-formal context), as well as daily life activities, educational open digital materials through social networks (informal scenario)
Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Noticing and Wondering: An Equity-Inducing yet Accessible Teaching Practice
Noticing and Wondering is a promising practice with an emerging research base in mathematics education for helping move teachers to a more contemporary paradigm of learning where culturally and linguistically diverse students have more equitable opportunities for academic success. This paper documents and extends this emerging research of Noticing and Wondering to fill a gap in the literature by (1) conceptualizing six reasons for the value of Noticing and Wondering and (2) discussing its potential to support English learners, such as by providing teachers easy access to studentsā cultural assets. We document application of Noticing and Wondering beyond mathematics and conclude with a call for empirical research and practice in this direction
Can Collaborative Knowledge Building Promote Both Scientific Processes and Science Achievement?
This study investigated the role of collective knowledge building in promoting scientific inquiry and achievements among Hong Kong high-school chemistry students. The participants included 34 Grade 10 (15-16 years old) students who engaged in collective inquiry and progressive discourse, using Knowledge Forum@, a computer-supported learning environment. A comparison class of 35 students also participated in the study. The instructional design, premised on knowledge-building principles including epistemic agency, improvable ideas and community knowledge, consisted of several components: developing a collaborative classroom culture, engaging in problem-centered inquiry, deepening the knowledge-building discourse, and aligning assessment with collective learning. Quantitative findings show that the students in the knowledge-building classroom outperformed the comparison students in scientific understanding with sustained effects in public examination. Analyses of knowledge-building dynamics indicate that the students showed deeper engagement and inquiry over time. Studentsā collaboration and inquiry on Knowledge Forum significantly predicted their scientific understanding, over and above the effects of their prior science achievement. Qualitative analyses suggest how studentās knowledge-creation discourse, involving explanatory inquiry, constructive use of information and theory revision,can scaffold scientific understanding
Scientific Argumentation as a Foundation for the Design of Inquiry-Based Science Instruction
Despite the attention that inquiry has received in science education research and policy, a coherent means for implementing inquiry in the classroom has been missing [1]. In recent research, scientific argumentation has received increasing attention for its role in science and in science education [2]. In this article, we propose that organizing a unit of instruction around building a scientific argument can bring inquiry practices together in the classroom in a coherent way. We outline a framework for argumentation, focusing on arguments that are central to scienceāarguments for the best explanation. We then use this framework as the basis for a set of design principles for developing a sequence of inquiry-based learning activities that support students in the construction of a scientific argument. We show that careful analysis of the argument that students are expected to build provides designers with a foundation for selecting resources and designing supports for scientific inquiry. Furthermore, we show that creating multiple opportunities for students to critique and refine their explanations through evidence-based argumentation fosters opportunities for critical thinking, while building science knowledge and knowledge of the nature of science
Integrating science and literacy for young English learners : a pilot study.
This pilot investigated the promise of positive outcomes in literacy, science, and social behavior on Kā 2 English learner (ļ“¾EL)ļ“æ students after two months of implementation of the Science Inquiry Centered Argumentation Model (ļ“¾ScICAM)ļ“æāa systematic teaching approach to science learning that integrates literacy instruction and argument-ābased inquiry. The sample included 17 teachers and 31 EL students. Results indicated that teacher practices (ļ“¾proximal outcomes)ļ“æ aligned well with the ScICAM approach and resulted in increases in EL student learning (ļ“¾distal outcomes)ļ“æ. Teacher increase in the use of inquiry and writing scaffolds and student growth in the ability to express understandings through oral and written modes also suggested that ScICAM practices are supportive of key practices identified by the Next Generation Science Standards (ļ“¾NGSS Lead States, 2013)ļ“æ. These results highlight the merit of pursuing larger, long-āterm projects that collaborate with teachers on developing and implementing ScICAM interventions
Increasing Classroom Teachers\u27 Use of Linguistically Responsive Strategies to Support English Language Learners: A Mixed-Methods Study
With the dawn of the new decade, English Language Learner (ELL) populations began to grow in states without structures and professional learning to equip teachers to face the changing demographic of the classroom. In response to the growth of the knowledge gap between classroom teachers in South Carolina and their diverse classrooms, I conducted a study based on improvement science principles. As a long-standing ELL program coordinator, I experienced the need to increase linguistic responsiveness in classroom teachers on a daily basis. The application of the plan-do-study-act (PDSA) cycle utilized mixed methodology to gather data to increase classroom teachersā use of linguistically responsive strategies through professional learning communities. The professional learning increased awareness among the teachers of strategies that support their ELL students, and facilitate their English acquisition and academic knowledge.
As a result of the PDSA cycle, three findings emerged: create professional learning opportunities, focus on teaching academic vocabulary, and promote scaffolds for teachers. The findings guided the recommendations that emerged from the study, which have local and state implications. Increasing the linguistic responsiveness of classroom teachers stands as a means to support classroom teachersā ability to meet the educational needs of all students in public school classrooms
Enhancing Free-text Interactions in a Communication Skills Learning Environment
Learning environments frequently use gamification to enhance user interactions.Virtual characters with whom players engage in simulated conversations often employ prescripted dialogues; however, free user inputs enable deeper immersion and higher-order cognition. In our learning environment, experts developed a scripted scenario as a sequence of potential actions, and we explore possibilities for enhancing interactions by enabling users to type free inputs that are matched to the pre-scripted statements using Natural Language Processing techniques. In this paper, we introduce a clustering mechanism that provides recommendations for fine-tuning the pre-scripted answers in order to better match user inputs
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