The lab group conclusion
scores of the telecommunications and the non-telecommunication groups
were compared using SAS statistical software (see Table 1). A Chi-square
test was used to examine teacher * model interaction and it was found
not to be significant (P > 0.25). A block design without teacher
interaction reported a lab mean of 3.35 out of 5.0 and a weak association
between the telecommunication and non-telecommunication lab group conclusions
(F = 1.28). A larger sample size and additional repetitions of the model
would be needed to determine if there were significant differences in
the lab group conclusions.
Table 1: Analysis
of Lab Report Conclusion
|
R-Square
|
Root
MSE
|
F
Value
|
Lab
Mean
|
Coeff
Var
|
Pr
> F
|
|
0.303684
|
38.29653
|
1.283451
|
3.351351
|
7.41
|
0.0021
|
A third source of information
about cognitive gains in the context of the investigation was collected
by means of responses from an open-ended survey administered to all
students at the end of the project. When students were asked what they
would change about the experiment, 27% of the teleconferencing group
and 38% of the non-teleconferencing group indicated that changing the
procedure or reducing the number of variables would improve the experiment.
The validity of the responses demonstrated that students learned important
concepts about experimental design. They were also asked to indicate
what other questions they could answer by engaging in this type of experiment.
Students in the teleconferencing groups (33%) and in the non-teleconferencing
groups (47%) were able to suggest applying the experimental design used
in the ant biomonitoring experiment to a different experiment using
ants or another animal. When students were asked to apply the technique
of skillful problem solving to other situations, only four of fifty
students from the teleconferencing classes and three of fifty students
from the non-teleconferencing classes were able to transfer the technique
to a new situation. A response that problem solving could be used to
resolve an argument with family or friends would be an example indicative
of transfer. It was not surprising that there was little evidence of
transfer since the process must be emphasized and repeated for transfer
to occur. Furthermore, transfer requires abstract thinking and developmentally
most 13-year-old students are transitioning from concrete to an abstract
level of thinking. Therefore, few students were able to transfer the
technique of skillful problem solving to new situations.
The most important difference
elucidated from survey responses were the number of students in the
telecommunicating classes (11), as compared to the number of students
in the non-telecommunicating classes (2), who suggested using what they
learned from the ant biomonitoring experiment to plan or change the
experiment and then repeat it. The telecommunicating students had evaluated
the experiment and their results and were able to suggest ways to change
the experiment in order to get more reliable results. From their conclusions
and discussions, the teleconferencing classes better understood the
concept of how to use bioindicators to monitor an environment and the
importance of repeated trials in order to get reliable results.
In an open-ended response
format students were asked to explain other questions that they would
like to answer using the same type of experimental design. Students
in the non-telecommunicating classes responded (44%) that they would
include and observe other animals besides ants found in the pitfall
traps whereas telecommunication students responded (44%) that they would
observe other animals besides ants by looking for them in their habitats.
Only the telecommunication classes redesigned the ant biomonitoring
experiment using a different problem question (29%). In conclusion,
these results indicate that the students in the telecommunication classes
were more successful in evaluating the ant biomonitoring experiment
and applying it to new situations.
Interviews further supported
the findings from the open-ended responses that the students in the
telecommunications classes more clearly understood the concept of biomonitoring.
Biomonitoring was defined in the hyperstudio stack as using living organisms
to study change in the environment. Therefore, a complete and correct
answer would include both components of the definition. Since none of
the students had prior knowledge of biomonitoring, any understanding
of this subject resulted from participation in the investigation. Three
of the four telecommunication students defined biomonitoring correctly
whereas only one of the four non-telecommunication students was able
to define it correctly. Furthermore, the students who defined biomonitoring
correctly were able to give reasons why it was important that substantiated
their descriptions. Students who understood the concept said things
such as, "It is important because we should know about our environment
and how much it changes every day" and "It is important because
you find out how humans are changing the environment, by pollution for
example ". Students that did not understand the concept said things
such as, "It is important because we need to understand animal
behavior and its patterns". Therefore, open-ended responses and
the interviews seem to indicate that the telecommunications students
were more likely to grasp the concept of biomonitoring than the non-telecommunication
students.
Student Attitudes
Several questions in the
open-ended survey addressed students' feelings about what they liked
or disliked about the investigation. The individual responses to the
questions were placed in categories and the telecommunication and non-telecommunication
classes were compared.
Some students in the teleconferencing
groups liked the teleconferences (38%) but others (20%) indicated that
they did not like them. Students liked setting the pitfall traps (20%
teleconference and 25% non-teleconference), working outside (20% teleconference
and 22% non-teleconference), and classifying the ants (16% teleconference
and 22% non-teleconference). These responses indicate that students
from both groups enjoyed doing the experiment. Eight of the ninety students
surveyed expressed concern over the fact that the ants died and seven
students did not like working with insects at all. Students in the teleconferencing
group (38%) indicated that they enjoyed communicating with a class from
another school. Students in the non-telecommunication group (17%) indicated
that they enjoyed the class discussions. One telecommunication student
said in the interview that, "Telecommunicating with other schools
gives you more results and it's different from site to site." A
student from the non-telecommunication class indicated that, "My
favorite part of the experiment was the classroom discussion and the
entire class doing an experiment together." Students seemed to
enjoy the fact that each lab group was doing one part of a class experiment.
As a result of this interdependence, the students were accountable to
each other for collecting and sharing accurate data. These shared class
results become one experiment in which everyone agreed upon a conclusion
based on the results. Interviews verified the results from the open-ended
response.
