Abstract
The National Science Education Standards describe technology
as a tool to help students appreciate the natural world and conduct
inquiry projects (National Research Council, 1996).
However, to develop
this learning environment, a broad range of scientific materials, science
tools and technological resources must be accessible for all students.
Science educators are faced with the task of providing students with
experiences and examining the impact of these experiences to fully understand
how the presence of technology affects student learning. Studying the
students’ use of tools in an educational setting might also provide
some evidence as to how these tools enhance the cognitive growth of
adolescents. The purpose of this study was to observe middle school
students uses of technology as a tool for learning science in an elective
course offered to 7th and 8th graders (n=23). Students’ use of
data collection devices, subsequent interactions and responses to surveys
were recorded through audio and video recordings, field notes, interviews,
and student artifacts. Embedded with a Vygotskian perspective this research
study is based on a social constructivist framework.
Introduction
Technology is a social and
technical process, which involves the application of knowledge, tools,
and skills to solve practical problems and extend human capabilities
(Johnson, 1989). In the past decades, the implementation of technology
in America’s classrooms has been a major focus of several educational
reforms and policies (U.S. Department of Education, 2000). The launch
of Sputnik and the release of Goals 2000, both earmark events in scientific
history in which government has taken a firm stance in favor of implementing
the use of technology in science classrooms. After the development of
the nation’s first educational technology plan in 1996, American
schools have noticed a significant increase in the use of instructional
tools in classrooms (Office of Educational Technology, 1999).
Today, technological tools
used in industry and research laboratories have established new homes
in many classrooms throughout the world. Therefore, at the height of
a technological revolution, educators, parents, and governmental officials
are challenged with offering students the technological skills needed
to become successful citizens (U.S. Department of Education, 2000).
However, having technology in classrooms for the purpose of producing
technologically literate citizens should not be the only goal. Rather
the challenge is to find ways to use technology as an instructional
tool to improve the academic achievement of all students (Bush, 2001).
Educators find themselves faced with addressing these issues, as they
teach students how to apply technologies to core subjects such as reading,
mathematics, and science. Through student investigations, educators
can offer students the opportunity to use technology to appreciate the
interplay of scientific concepts as well as social and economic issues.
Therefore, it is imperative that science educators provide students
with a variety of experiences that highlight the advances of these technological
tools (Rakow, 1998). This study was designed for students to integrate
advanced technology tools through authentic experiences.
The activities in this course
were structured using three instructional phases. The purpose of this
was to promote understanding of concepts as students gradually learned
to use the technology to conduct investigations. In the first phase,
students were taught how to use the list and graphing functions of the
Casio graphing calculator. Students completed activities requiring them
to enter data into a list and generate different types of graphs to
familiarize them with the calculators. Students later learned to use
the data analysis system embedded in the calculator to measure and interpret
data related to temperature, voltage, movement, and light intensity.
Once students became competent using the technology, they were asked
to use the tools to solve a problem and design their own experiment.
One example of the activities assigned during this course was the probability
activity called Carnival Games (Appendix C).
This activity along with others assigned in the course taught students
the list and graphing functions of the Casio graphing calculator as
well as how to collect and interpret data.
Middle school students’
used Casio’s data analysis system (Appendix
D) as a tool to collect various measurements in this study. Due
to the limited amount of research on technological tools in context
of the middle school science classroom, this study can provide valuable
information about how middle school students perceive learning science
through the use of this type of technology (Jones et al., 2000; Wetzel,
2000).
Methodology
Qualitative and quantitative methods were used in gathering data. Multiple
sources of data were collected adding to the validity of the study’s
findings. Data consisted of fieldnotes, audio/video transcripts, survey
data and student artifacts. The study investigated how the presence
of technological tools might affect students’ attitudes toward
using advanced technologies to solve problems. To accomplish this task
the interactions of the middle school students using technological tools
will be described along with some of the students’ responses to
the surveys.
