Support of the collaborative inquiry learning process: influence of support on task and team regulation

Regulation of the learning process is an important condition for efficient and effective learning. In collaborative learning, students have to regulate their collaborative activities (team regulation) next to the regulation of their own learning process focused on the task at hand (task regulation). In this study, we investigate how support of collaborative inquiry learning can influence the use of regulative activities of students. Furthermore, we explore the possible relations between task regulation, team regulation and learning results. This study involves tenth-grade students who worked in pairs in a collaborative inquiry learning environment that was based on a computer simulation, Collisions, developed in the program SimQuest. Students of the same team worked on two different computers and communicated through chat. Chat logs of students from three different conditions are compared. Students in the first condition did not receive any support at all (Control condition). In the second condition, students received an instruction in effective communication, the RIDE rules (RIDE condition). In the third condition, students were, in addition to receiving the RIDE rules instruction, supported by the Collaborative Hypothesis Tool (CHT), which helped the students with formulating hypotheses together (CHT condition). The results show that students overall used more team regulation than task regulation. In the RIDE condition and the CHT condition, students regulated their team activities most often. Moreover, in the CHT condition the regulation of team activities was positively related to the learning results. We can conclude that different measures of support can enhance the use of team regulative activities, which in turn can lead to better learning results

Teachers Support for English Language Learners to Build Inquiry Skills in Online Biology Simulations

The population of English language learners (ELLs) is on the rise in the United States, but they are lagging behind English speaking students in several subject areas--including biology. Scholarly literature lacks information on how biology teachers use scaffolding strategies to support ELL students with inquiry skills during online simulations. The purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study was to explore how biology teachers support ELLs in learning biology, using biology simulations to promote inquiry learning. The conceptual framework for this study included the constructivist perspective regarding the zone of proximal development, Electronic Quality of Inquiry Protocol, and technology use in science instruction. The purposive sample for this study was 4 biology teachers from 2 high schools in large school districts in the southeastern region of the United States who taught ELL students using inquiry-based online simulations. The data sources were face to face interviews with teachers, scaffolding documents, and lesson plans. Data were coded and analyzed for common themes across within and across cases. Results indicated that although biology teachers believed that ELL students benefited from inquiry simulations because of the already incorporated visuals and their ability to interact and manipulate the program, they sometimes lacked technology experiences and struggled with English and literacy that may reduce the benefits of the simulation experiences. The results of this study have the potential to contribute to social change by providing insights that may increase the understanding of how biology teachers can support ELL students when using technology in the form of simulations to promote inquiry learning

Middle school natural disaster inquiry unit with scaffolding

Inquiry based learning is complex and challenging. In order to maximize its benefits, it is vital to understand what teaching methods and scaffolds best support different student populations as they are introduced to inquiry-based learning in different contexts. One major challenge of inquiry is organizational: planning the process and organizing the information. This project studied the effectiveness of using a particular scaffolding tool, an advanced organizer template, to support seventh grade science students in an introductory inquiry-based unit. One group of seventh grade students used the advanced organizer template and one group did not. Students chose the type of project to create and their partner. Previous performance in their science class, the type of project they chose, and whether or not they used the Advanced Organizer Template were all statistically significant predictors of their success in the project. The data collected and observations made helped to develop the final Natural Disaster Unit

The Effect of Varied Gender Groupings on Argumentation Skills among Middle School Students in Different Cultures

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to explore the effect of varied gender groupings on argumentation skills among middle school students in Taiwan and the United States in a project-based learning environment that incorporated a graph-oriented computer-assisted application (GOCAA). A total of 43 students comprised the treatment condition and were engaged in the collaborative argumentation process in same-gender groupings. Of these 43 students, 20 were located in the U.S. and 23 were located in Taiwan. A total of 40 students comprised the control condition and were engaged in the collaborative argumentation process in mixed-gender groupings. Of these 40 students, 19 were in the U.S. and 21 were in Taiwan. In each country, verbal collaborative argumentation was recorded and the students’ post essays were collected. Among females in Taiwan, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated that statistically a significant gender-grouping effect was evident on the total argumentation skills outcome, while MANOVA indicated no significant gender-grouping effect on the combined set of skill outcomes. Among females in the U.S., MANOVA indicated statistically significant gender-grouping effect on the combined set of argumentation skills outcomes Specifically, U.S. female students in mixed-gender groupings (the control condition) significantly outperformed female students in single-gender groupings (the treatment condition) in the counterargument and rebuttal skills. No significant group differences were observed among males. A qualitative analysis was conducted to examine how the graph-oriented computer-assisted application supported students’ development of argumentation skills in different gender groupings in both countries. In each country, all teams in both conditions demonstrated a similar pattern of collaborative argumentation with the exception of three female teams in the U.S. Female teams, male teams, (the treatment condition) and mixed-gender teams (the control condition) demonstrated metacognition regulation skills in different degrees and with different scaffolding

A systematic review of whole class, subject based, pedagogies with reported outcomes for the academic and social inclusion of pupils with special educational needs in mainstream classrooms

Schools across the world have responded to international and national initiatives designed to further the development of inclusive education. In England, there is a statutory requirement for all schools to provide effective learning opportunities for all pupils (QCA, 2000) and children with special educational needs (SEN) are positioned as having a right to be within mainstream classrooms accessing an appropriate curriculum (SENDA, 2001). Previous reviews which have sought to identify classroom practices that support the inclusion of children with SEN have been technically non-systematic and hence a need for a systematic review within this area has been identified (Nind et al., 2004; Rix et al., 2006). This systematic literature review is the last in a series of three

Re-thinking context and reflexive mediation in the teaching of writing

This paper calls for a renewed focus on the teaching of writing. It proposes a conceptual model, based on a social realist perspective, which takes account of the ways in which teachers reflexively mediate personal, professional and political considerations in enacting their writing pedagogies. This model extends understanding of the factors contextualising the teaching of writing. It also provides a useful guide for research into the teaching of writing and a prompt for reflexivity in professional development