Discussion and Conclusions
This study explored the differences
between students that do and do not communicate electronically while
conducting a science experiment. Students' social interactions, conceptual
understanding, and attitudes were compared. In addition, this study
sought to identify the effects of using an electronic network in the
context of a problem based investigation.
The theoretical framework
of social constructivism was utilized in designing the instructional
plan and in interpreting the study results. Students constructed their
knowledge with the assistance of more capable adults and equal ability
peers. Teachers and students provided scaffolding in the ZPD as students
were guided through the steps of skillful problem solving through discourses.
As students discussed the problems, they constructed and clarified ideas.
The group interaction caused students to recognize when their comprehension
was not adequate and promoted understanding that a number of different
ideas were possible. Many opportunities were provided for students to
construct their knowledge through language. Learning in this type of
environment provides an opportunity for students to take control of
their own learning and to respect their own and each other's thinking.
Teachers and students form a "thinking community" in which
they clarify ideas, formulate problem questions, and solve problems
collectively, thereby, gaining new understandings together.
The results of the pre- and
post-test to measure an increase or decrease in problem solving ability
were inconclusive. Students remembered the questions and previous answers
from the pre-test because of the short three-week time frame between
the two tests. Therefore, many of the answers on the tests were close
or identical. It is probable that repeated exposure to the direct teaching
of skillful problem solving would yield more positive results.
According to results collected
by student interviews and surveys, student attitudes toward communicating
electronically and toward the ant biomonitoring experiment varied. Some
students enjoyed communicating electronically, but about the same number
did not like it at all. Students expressed frustrations with the technology
and the delays that are inherent in this type of electronic connection.
It was interesting to note that an "acquaintance period" occurred
between the telecommunication classes. The number of student responses
increased as students became more familiar with the technology and each
other. The conversation flowed liberally during the fourth teleconference
and became more important than learning how to use the technology. Most
students enjoyed setting the pitfall traps, classifying the ants, and
going outside. Many expressed that "I have never done anything
like this before". The ant biomonitoring experiment was unusual
in that each student group had a distinct part in a class experiment.
This design encouraged class discussions of results and conclusions
which many students found valuable. Frequently, in classrooms, individual
lab groups perform experiments with all lab groups doing the same experiment
at the same time, each drawing their own conclusions. Students in this
experiment were more positive toward the approach used in the ant biomonitoring
experiment in which the entire class participated in one experiment.
Biomonitoring is a difficult
two-step concept in which students must understand that living things
are used to detect changes in the abiotic components of an environment.
According to student interviews and open-ended survey responses, the
telecommunication students were more likely to grasp the concept of
biomonitoring.
The most important finding
of this study is the difference in the patterns of student dialogs between
the telecommunication and non-telecommunication groups. Research indicates
that more indirect talk and more student talk leads to greater academic
gains (Gage, 1985). Flanders found that the quality and frequency of
student talk also has a tremendous effect on student achievement. Students
in the telecommunication group asked more questions, praised and encouraged
each other more often, and more frequently accepted each other's ideas.
While the number of student responses did not vary greatly, the telecommunication
classes' dialog was significantly more indirect. This supports Riel's
(1990) findings in that electronic networks shift classrooms from teacher-centered
whole group instruction to student-centered small group investigation
teams or projects. The quality of student talk improved, and thereby
the students' understanding of the biomonitoring concept.
Students asked more questions
in the teleconference group because they had something to ask questions
about. Even though both groups investigated the same problem question,
performed the same procedure, and choose similar study sites, their
results were different because of environmental differences at respective
sites. This created an atmosphere of dissonance, which motivated students
to determine why. Students participated in horizontal or peer interaction
100% of the time during the teleconferences and therefore were motivated
to disclose their ideas to each other because there were no authoritative
right answers. In a more traditional classroom such as the non-teleconferencing
classes, the teacher asks questions, and the students respond. The teacher
is more direct in his or her approach and students seek to give the
"right answer". In the teleconferencing groups, students motivated
by the group interaction invented their own knowledge based on information
proposed by others. Teleconferences during key problem-solving steps
in the experiment helped students realize that there were a number of
possible ideas different from their own. Students became collectively
involved in an experiment in which there were many possible solutions.
They were able to more successfully construct knowledge through group
interaction because they had a richer more diverse data set and through
indirect interactions were able to reach a collective conclusion about
their experiment. Therefore, teleconferencing may assist the classroom
teacher with adopting the role of facilitator, a role recommended by
the NSES.
Electronic networks have
other implications for education. They can break down barriers and isolation
within classrooms. When communication is established between groups
of students, each group benefits from the others' strengths. They share
their knowledge with each other and in areas that are geographically
isolated. Electronic networks can facilitate sharing a wider view. Students
can gain a better understanding and appreciation for each other as they
solve a common problem and work toward a common goal. This study shows
that there is great potential for learning with technology not just
from technology and more studies need to be conducted to identify these
applications.
