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Portable Assessment Authoring: using handheld technology to assess collaborative inquiry [1]
Abstract
This article reports on pilot studies of teachers and students using handheld computers to assess the quality of a complex, hard-to-measure classroom activity: student group work. The work describes the evolution of the prototype software through an 18-month design process involving one upper elementary classroom and two middle school classrooms. Teachers and students used a research-based collaboration assessment rubric over a series of classroom sessions and discussed aggregated results presented in different table and bar chart formats. Study found that teachers and students could use handheld computers for assessments easily and their use did not disrupt the flow of classroom activity. Discussions about aggregated data appeared to support classroom consensus and awareness of social norms for productive group work. Future work would need to focus on making assessment rubric's language more oriented toward teachers' goals for assessment of group work.
... En un porcentaje menor, se han centrado en los mecanismos sociales ocurridos al interior del grupo, las interacciones, las formas de colaboración dadas por las posiciones o roles tomados por los estudiantes (Barbieri & Light, 1992;Hakkarainen & Palonen, 2003;Inaba et al., 2001). Asimismo, se encontró poca información que permita contrastar estos resultados con la percepción de los mismos jóvenes y profesores, actores directamente involucrados en estas modalidades de aprendizaje (Jones, Connolly, Gear & Read, 2001;Tatar et al., 2003;Yarnall, Penuel, Ravitz, Murray & Means, 2001). Tatar et al. (2003) realizaron una evaluación a gran escala durante un año, con profesores y estudiantes que hicieron uso de ADP. ...
... Los estudiantes reportaron un incremento en la atención sobre la tarea, cuando trabajan con ADP. Dicho hallazgo es coincidente con los reportados por Yarnall et al. (2001) en su investigaciónrealizada con grupos de 4° y 5° básico-en la que mostró cómo los estudiantes raramente se distraen de la tarea que desarrollan y que además, presentan una gran flexibilidad dentro del grupo en la forma como organizan su trabajo. Por otro lado, los profesores monitorean constantemente el trabajo de todos los grupos propiciándoles ayuda, intervenciones que son efectivas para el uso de la herramienta por parte de sus estudiantes. ...
The following paper describes the perceptions of 11th grade students and their teacher regarding the use of wireless portable computers connected in network, as a mediator tool of learning. Specifically, the perceptions referred to the achievements that students and teacher consider they obtain with their use, as well as those referred to the system's operation. The conclusions refer to the effects of this tool the education, regarding the roles that the actors should perform whit in the school dynamics, and the importance of clarifying the criteria for organizing the group, so that an efficient interaction takes place, as well as the students' contributions to the technological tool.
... Within the science classroom, digital video projects incorporate multi-sensory input features which enable students to interact with content in auditory, visual, and tactile forms, a key feature in student learning of STEM concepts (Carr, 2012;Guzey & Maurina, 2017;Hill 2011). In addition, there is considerable historical precedence for the use of handheld computers and devices in K-12 classrooms to support scientific inquiry (Chen, Kao, & Sheu, 2003;Roschelle et al., 2005;Stroup, 2002;Yarnall et al., 2003). Research details the use of mobile devices in science to improve science learning through collaborative projects, participatory simulations, observation, and concept mapping (Bano et al., 2018;Jones & Stapleton, 2017). ...
The last ten years in school library research reflect an expanded definition of information literacy along with a stronger emphasis on in-depth information literacy development, concluding that a fundamental shift in instruction provided by school librarians is needed; one that not only helps students find information, but develops students’ abilities to interact with, and learn from information, engaging with it in critical ways. Collaboratively designed and implemented through an instructional partnership between the school librarian and a classroom teacher, Guided Inquiry instruction helps students gain meaningful understanding and develop a personal perspective by exploring, comparing, and contrasting multiple information sources. Despite the frequently touted benefits of instructional partnerships between school librarians and classroom teachers, these structures are rarely, if ever, modeled by school library and pre-service teacher educators. This study examined the process and challenges inherit in designing and modeling Guided Inquiry units of instruction, through a school librarian instructional partnership model, in pre-service teacher education, exploring its impact on teacher candidate willingness to identify school librarians as co-teachers. Findings from the present study indicate Guided Inquiry units co-taught by school library educators and teacher educators help teacher candidates both successfully navigate the research process and develop a mental model of the school librarian as a co-teacher.
... Research details the use of mobile devices in science to improve science learning through collaborative projects, participatory simulations, observation and concept mapping (Chen, Kao, & Sheu, 2003;Kaput & Hegedus, 2002;Stroup, 2002;Tinker & Krajcik, 2001;Yarnall et al., 2003). ...
... Research details the use of mobile devices in science to improve science learning through collaborative projects, participatory simulations, observation and concept mapping (Chen, Kao, & Sheu, 2003;Kaput & Hegedus, 2002;Stroup, 2002;Tinker & Krajcik, 2001;Yarnall et al., 2003). ...
Tablets devices for student use present several advantages over laptops and desktops including portability, touch-screen features and numerous applications. However, the magnitude of apps available also presents a challenge for secondary science educators who struggle to select content-appropriate applications that support the development of science literacy and science content acquisition. This paper details the process of creating, developing and testing a mobile science application rubric so as to aid secondary science classroom teachers in selecting and rating science applications for a K-12 student target population and its curricular needs. Quantitative and qualitative data collected during four design cycles resulted in the Mobile App Selection for Science (MASS) Rubric, comprising six items on a four-point response scale. Further comparison of the science content-specific MASS rubric with a general mobile app selection rubric (Evaluation Rubric for Mobile Applications; ERMA) revealed expected results with three item pairs (Pair A, Pair C, and Pair D) demonstrating concurrent validity through significant correlations and one pair (Pair B) displaying the expected divergent validity. Additionally, paired t-tests among each pair indicated a significant difference in participants' ratings of the apps using the two rubrics. The differences in ratings were also in the expected direction given the content-specific nature of MASS versus the more general nature of ERMA.
... Portable assessment technology could shift from drill-and-practice to more student-directed learning (Yarnall et al., 2003). Mobile technology allowed young people to explore new knowledge through continual communications (Sharples, 2007). ...
An increasing number of K‐12 school teachers have been using handheld, or palmtop, computers in the classroom as an integral means of facilitating education due to the flexibility, mobility, interactive learning capability, and comparatively inexpensive cost. This study involved two experiments in handheld computers: (a) a comparison of the process of learning English spelling in fourth grade students using handheld computers and fourth grade students who did not use handheld computers, and (b) a comparison between the test results of fifth grade students’ dividing fractions using handheld computers and fifth grade students dividing fractions using paper‐and‐pencil. The results revealed that fourth grade students who used handheld computers to learn spelling had significantly higher test scores than those students who learned spelling without handheld computers. Fifth grade students who used handheld computers when taking a dividing fractions test scored significantly higher than those students who used paper‐and‐pencil for the same test. This study concluded that handheld devices could be an addition to learning technologies in elementary schools.
... In addition, there could be specific instructional strategies accompanying each assessment of students' skills. CILT work on the TeamLab project (Yarnall et al, 2001) as well as work funded for Hickey (2001) and Duschl and Ellenbogen (2001) have used CILT seed grant money to take up these challenges to help identify dimensions of group participation and the "fate of ideas" in group settings. These projects address the difficulty teachers have in assessing not only the extent of student participation in groups, but also the quality of that participation. ...
This article emphasizes the importance of formative assessment in the teaching and learning process and the role technology can play in advancing assessment practices. It describes work undertaken by attendees of the CILT workshop, highlighting key issues that were discussed and areas for further development including how to address important equity concerns.
... For example, in many classrooms, students have used graphing calculators or palm-sized computers adapted with probe kits to gather and graph data. Educational researchers have used handhelds in science to support bird observation and concept mapping, measure the quality of collaboration in small groups, and create participatory simulations of scientific processes, among many other applications relevant to improving science learning (Solomon & Perkins 1998;Soloway et al. 1999;Novack & Gleason 2001;Tinker & Krajcik 2001;Kaput & Hegedus 2002;Stroup 2002;Chen et al. 2003;Yarnall et al. 2003). ...
An important challenge faced by many teachers as they involve students in science in- vestigations is measuring ('assessing') students' progress. Our detailed requirements analysis in a particular school district led to the idea that what teachers need most are ways to increase the quality of the information they have about what students know and can do, not auto- mation of typical assessment practices. We see handheld computers as promising tools for addressing this need because they can give students and teachers frequent, integral access to new ways of expressing and communicating what they know and can do. Our requirements analysis has led us to emphasize a need for handheld-based tools that 'informate' science instruction by: Being oriented to the needs of teachers in transition to inquiry-oriented pedagogy; expanding the range of assessment tasks through a new representational medium and communication infrastructure; creating new roles for students in expressing what they know and can do; and focusing both students' and teachers' attention on scientific concepts.
... For example, in many classrooms, students have used graphing calculators or palm-sized computers adapted with probe kits to gather and graph data. Educational researchers have used handhelds in science to support bird observation and concept mapping, measure the quality of collaboration in small groups, and create participatory simulations of scientific processes, among many other applications relevant to improving science learning (Solomon & Perkins 1998;Soloway et al. 1999;Novack & Gleason 2001;Tinker & Krajcik 2001;Kaput & Hegedus 2002;Stroup 2002;Chen et al. 2003;Yarnall et al. 2003). ...
An important challenge faced by many teachers as they involve students in science investigations is measuring ("assessing") students' progress. Our detailed requirements analysis in a particular school district led to the idea that teachers need ways to improve the information they have about what students know and can do, not automation of typical assessment practices. We see handhelds as promising for addressing this need because they can give students and teachers frequent, integral access to new ways of expressing and communicating what they know and can do.
This qualitative study examines one classroom in Maine as one-to-one laptop computers are introduced. This year long study asked the question, "What is going on here?" The report focuses on how learning, teaching and assessment changed over the course of one year examining topics such as the context for learning, roles and relationship, engagement and feedback.
Research exploring the ways in which information communication technologies (ICTs) could improve access to, and the quality of, teacher education in the global south (Leach et al ., 2006) showed that when teachers were given sustained training, support and access to laptop and handheld computers, they found the handheld and laptop computers equally useful, both as tools for their own professional development and as tools for supporting classroom practices. Those who expressed a preference for one device over the other identified the handheld computer as the best tool for supporting teacher professional development and practice, particularly in rural communities.
This article reports the findings of a recent one‐year project which built on the previous research, but which focused solely on the potential of handheld computers for teacher professional development. Many studies have investigated the use of handheld computers in classroom settings but most of these focus on pupil learning (e.g. Fung et al ., 1998; Yarnall et al ., 2003). There is not yet a substantial body of literature on the potential of handhelds for teacher education, although Soloway (2002) argues that handhelds provide an opportunity for making major changes in educational settings.
In this study, the teachers themselves used the analytical framework for teacher professional knowledge developed by Banks et al . (1999) to consider their own experiences with the handheld computers. This study finds that handheld digital tools offer a number of pedagogic and pragmatic advantages over laptop or desktop computers for teachers, especially in rural communities. However, further technical development is required fully to orient the devices to classroom practices (as opposed to the ‘office’ or ‘business’ orientation).
An important challenge faced by many teachers as they involve students in science investigations is measuring (‘assessing’) students' progress. Our detailed requirements analysis in a particular school district led to the idea that what teachers need most are ways to increase the quality of the information they have about what students know and can do, not automation of typical assessment practices. We see handheld computers as promising tools for addressing this need because they can give students and teachers frequent, integral access to new ways of expressing and communicating what they know and can do. Our requirements analysis has led us to emphasize a need for handheld‐based tools that ‘informate’ science instruction by:
Being oriented to the needs of teachers in transition to inquiry‐oriented pedagogy;
expanding the range of assessment tasks through a new representational medium and communication infrastructure;
creating new roles for students in expressing what they know and can do; and
focusing both students' and teachers' attention on scientific concepts.
The scale of the demand and need for primary school teachers if the Millenium Development Goal of Universal Basic Education (UBE) is to be achieved far outstrips existing provision. The countries of sub-Saharan Africa face particular challenges: over 40 million children of primary school age are without school experience and the numbers are growing. The Digital Education Enhancement Project (DEEP) is an applied research project exploring the ways in which information and communications technology (ICT) can improve access to, and the quality of, teacher education in the global south.* It is focused upon three key research questions: • What is the impact of ICT use on the pedagogic knowledge and practice of teachers and the communities in which they live and work? • What is the impact of ICT-enhanced teaching on student achievement and motivation? • How can teacher education and training be developed to ensure that teachers have the capacity to exploit the potential for ICT? There is a dearth of research on the application of ICT to teaching and learning in developing country contexts, specifically in the key areas of literacy, numeracy and science at the primary level. In addition there are currently few, if any, examples of planned investigations into how mobile technologies can be used to support teacher education in sub-Saharan Africa. The project’s aim is to inform policy makers, educational researchers and others interested in ways in which new forms of technology can enhance teachers’ capabilities and improve knowledge and professionalism in the global south. DEEP was funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and co-ordinated by the Open University (UK), with the University of Fort Hare (UFH), South Africa and the Programme, Planning and Monitoring Unit (PPMU), Egypt. The research was carried out in 12 primary schools in Egypt and 12 in South Africa with 48 teachers (two per school) and involved over 2,000 primary school students. Teachers worked in pairs to implement and evaluate a short, curriculum-focused, school-based professional development programme, using a range of new technologies including hand-held computers. Activities focused on the teaching of literacy, numeracy and science. ICT was used in some significant ways by schools as a whole, as well as many of the communities in which project teachers lived and worked.
This paper reports the findings of a 1 year project which focussed solely on the potential of handheld computers for teacher professional development. The paper considers the fit between theory and practice, viewing the developing literature on mLearning as it might apply to teacher professional development, in the light of research evidence from project teachers using handheld computers. The teachers themselves used the analytical framework for teacher professional knowledge developed by Banks, Leach and Moon to consider their own experiences with the handheld computers. The study finds that handheld digital tools hold a number of pedagogic and pragmatic advantages over laptop or desktop computers for teachers, especially in rural communities; however, further technical development is required to fully orient the devices to classroom rather than office practices.
Emphasis on tracking and ability grouping as sources of inequality and as goals for reform ignores processes of stratification within heterogeneous classrooms. Research literature on effects of classroom status inequality is reviewed. The article presents a test of two interventions derived from expectation states theory and designed to counteract the process of stratification in classrooms using academically heterogeneous small groups. The design focuses on variation in the frequency with which teachers carried out status treatments in 13 elementary school classrooms, all of which were using the same curriculum and the same system of classroom management. There was good support for the hypotheses that the use of status treatments would be associated with higher rates of participation of low-status students and would have no effect on the participation of high-status students. Analysis at the classroom level revealed that more frequent use of these treatments was associated with more equal-status interaction.
Complex mathematical problem solving was examined in 2 studies using an episode from The Adventures of Jasper Woodbury. Each episode in the Jasper series consists of anarrative story that ends with a complex challenge that students are to solve. Solving the challenge involves formulating subproblems, organizing these subproblems into solution plans, differentiating solution-relevant from solution-irrelevant data, coordinating relevant data with appropriate sub-problems, executing computations, and deciding among alternative solutions. The episode examined in these studies was The Big Splash. The challenge is to construct a business plan for a booth at a school fun-fair fund-raiser. This article reports the results of using a technique that we developed for analyzing complex problem solving: solution-space analysis. In Experiment 1, the performances of 6th-grade and college students solving the problem under think-aloud instructions are compared. Relative to 6th-grade students, college students were more likely to generate solution attempts and correct solutions and to consider multiple-solution plans. Both groups of students were highly accurate in generating important subgoals. They were equally unlikely to evaluate time and money constraints involved in the solution. In Experiment 2, dyads of 5th graders solved the same problem as in Experiment 1, with instructions to work together to reach a solution. The solution-space analysis was augmented by a focus on the argumentation processes manifest in the problem solving of the dyads. Among the dyads, more successful problem solving was associated with more coherent argument structures in the problem-solving dialogues. Coherence was reflected in (a) goals giving rise to attempts, (b) attempts giving rise to new goals, and (c) goal-appropriate calculations. In addition, many of the dyads in Experiment 2 explored multiple-solution paths. Discussion focuses on characteristics of problems that make solutions difficult, the kinds of reasoning that dyadic interactions support, and considerations of instructional environments that would facilitate the kinds of problem-solving and reasoning processes associated with coherent solutions.
A survey of pre/post-test data using the Halloun–Hestenes Mechanics Diagnostic test or more recent Force Concept Inventory is reported for 62 introductory physics courses enrolling a total number of students N6542. A consistent analysis over diverse student populations in high schools, colleges, and universities is obtained if a rough measure of the average effectiveness of a course in promoting conceptual understanding is taken to be the average normalized gain g. The latter is defined as the ratio of the actual average gain (%post%pre) to the maximum possible average gain (100 %pre). Fourteen ''traditional'' (T) courses (N2084) which made little or no use of interactive-engagement IE methods achieved an average gain g T-ave 0.230.04 std dev. In sharp contrast, 48 courses (N4458) which made substantial use of IE methods achieved an average gain g IE-ave 0.480.14 std dev, almost two standard deviations of g IE-ave above that of the traditional courses. Results for 30 (N3259) of the above 62 courses on the problem-solving Mechanics Baseline test of Hestenes–Wells imply that IE strategies enhance problem-solving ability. The conceptual and problem-solving test results strongly suggest that the classroom use of IE methods can increase mechanics-course effectiveness well beyond that obtained in traditional practice. © 1998 American Association of Physics Teachers.
TRADITIONAL METHODS for teaching science courses at the post-secondary level employ a lecture format of instruction in which
the majority of students are passively listening to the instructor and jotting down notes. Current views of learning and instruction
challenge the wisdom of this traditional pedagogic practice by stressing the need for the learner to play an active role in
constructing knowledge. The emerging technology of classroom communication systems offers a promising tool for helping instructors
create a more interactive, student-centered classroom, especially when teaching large courses. In this paper we describe our
experiences teaching physics with a classroom communication system calledClasstalk. Classtalk facilitated the presentation of questions for small group work as well as the collection of student answers and the display
of histograms showing how the class answered, all of which fed into a class-wide discussion of students’ reasoning. We foundClasstalk to be a useful tool not only for engaging students in active learning during the lecture hour but also for enhancing the
overall communication within the classroom. Equally important, students were very positive aboutClasstalk-facilitated instruction and believed that they learned more during class than they would have during a traditional lecture.
A major hurdle in implementing project-based curricula is that they require simultaneous changes in curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices-changes that are often foreign to the students as well as the teachers. In this article, we share an approach to designing, implementing, and evaluating problem- and project-based curricula that has emerged from a long-term collaboration with teachers. Collectively, we have identified 4 design principles that appear to be especially important: (a) defining learning-appropriate goals that lead to deep understanding; (b) providing scaffolds such as "embedded teaching," "teaching tools," sets of "contrasting cases," and beginning with problem-based learning activities before initiating projects; (c) ensuring multiple opportunities for formative self-assessment and revision; and (d) developing social structures that promote participation and a sense of agency. We first discuss these principles individually and then describe how they have been incorporated into a single project. Finally, we discuss research findings that show positive effects on student learning and that show students' reflections on their year as 5th graders were strongly influenced by their experiences in problem- and project-based activities that followed the design principles.
Thirty-four fifth graders in three conditions worked in pairs to learn science material presented in classroom lessons. To stimulate discussion, they asked each other questions and answered their partners' questions. Partners in two guided questioning conditions were trained to generate thought-provoking questions and then used either very structured questions such as “Why is … important?” and “What would happen if … ?” (highly elaborated question stems) or signal words such as why, what, and how (less elaborated question stems) to guide their question generation. Partners in an unguided questioning condition were simply directed to ask and answer each other's questions without guidance. Children who used highly elaborated question stems outperformed those using less elaborated stems and the unguided questioners on (a) explanations provided during discussion, (b) posttest comprehension, and (c) knowledge mapping. Findings indicate that in cooperative discussion contexts structured guidance in asking thought-provoking questions elicits explanations that, in turn, mediate learning.
The overall aim of this study was to examine the complex interrelations among stu- dent engagement, scientific thinking practices, and student role taking and social interaction in the context of school-based science lessons. Typically, elementary hands-on science classes are organized with 3 main parts to every lesson: (a) teacher introduction, (b) small group investigation time, and (c) whole class reporting time in which students report about their small group investigations to the class. In this study, 2 classroom interventions, based in part on this standard format, were designed to guide students in constructing scientific understanding. Both interventions involved instruction in the same set of intellectual roles that could be applied during small group investigation time. These roles included (a) predicting and theorizing; (b) summarizing results; and (c) relating predictions, theories, and results. The difference between the intervention classes was that 1 class received specific audience role assignments during reporting that corresponded to the intellectual roles and required students to check other students' work (ROLES + AUD ROLES). The other intervention class did not receive audience role assignments during reporting, although the students were still using the intellectual roles during the small group investigation time (ROLES). The purpose of such a design was to examine if the intellectual roles and corresponding audience roles would encourage student engagement more effectively than the use of the intellectual roles alone. Transcripts of whole class reporting time were coded using 4 engagement categories based on the work of Hatano and Inagaki (1991): (a) negotiating understanding of classroom procedures and standards, (b) monitoring comprehension of content, (c) challenging, and (d) coordinating theories and evidence. Students in the ROLES + AUD ROLES class were more active in initiating engagement episodes of every type than students in the ROLES class. Teacher-initiated engagement episodes demonstrated a different pattern, with the teacher initiating more negotiating and monitoring comprehension episodes in the ROLES + AUD ROLES class and more coordinating theories and evidence episodes in the ROLES class. Findings are discussed in terms of the importance of combining guidance in the social as well as intellectual norms associated with scientific thinking and discourse.
A pluralistic perspective on children's collaborative problem solving was used to investigate the performance of 19 dyads of fourth- and seventh-grade students while they worked on a projection of shadows task. All students were videotaped during their individual pretest and posttest sessions and during multiple dyadic sessions. The videotaped individual sessions were coded to assess two indices of thinking: transformational reasoning and geometric description. The dyadic sessions were coded to characterize the division of labor while experimenting. Repeated measures analyses of variance revealed that, on the average, students gained in transformational reasoning hut not in geometric description. However, one quarter of the sample gained in geometric description but not in transformational reasoning. Case study analyses were used to explore the diversity of performance patterns across sessions for individual dyads. The results for three dyads are discussed in detail to illustrate the emergence of new goals and expertise during peer collaboration. These findings suggest that future studies must take account of the plurality of goals, interests, and expertise that emerges during social interaction in order to effectively evaluate peer collaboration.
This chapter discusses the kinds of peer interaction that influence learning in small groups and describes the characteristics of students, groups and tasks that predict different patterns of peer interaction. Based on previous empirical research, critical features of peer interaction include the level of elaboration of help given and received, and the appropriateness of responses to requests for help. Predictors of peer interaction in small groups include student ability, gender, and personality, and group composition on ability and gender. Hypotheses about important, but neglected, aspects of peer interaction that may predict learning are discussed.