Exploring relationship between students’ questioning behaviors and inquiry tasks in an online forum through analysis of ideational function of questions

In this study we explored questioning behaviors among elementary students engaging in inquiry science using the Knowledge Forum, a computer-supported collaborative learning tool. Adapting the theory of systemic functional linguistics, we developed the Ideational Function of Question (IFQ) analytical framework by means of inductive analysis of the questions found in 10 online forums contributed by three classes of Year 4 elementary school students and their teachers. We found 25 categories of questions which we grouped into three main kinds: Scientific, Epistemological, and Meta-discoursal. We then narrowed our analysis to three forums involving digestive systems. Using the IFQ framework, we explored the relationship between nature of inquiry task and students’ questioning behaviors. Our analysis shows that for close-ended task that sought scientific facts from authoritative sources, students tended to ask only scientific questions. For open-ended problem-solving task that demanded epistemic justification from the students, there was more even distribution in all three kinds of questions.     

Laptopers in an educational practice: Promoting the personal learning situation

In this article an ethnographical study of laptopers’ activities during lectures in a university milieu is analyzed as different kinds of involvements. Through interviews and observations we have focused on how these involvements influence the laptopers’ alignment towards the educational practice. The analysis shows the importance of separating the educational practice and the personal learning situation. Studying students’ learning intentions, rather than certain laptop related activities, we get a deeper understanding of the role the laptop can take during learning activities. Five general characteristics of laptoping are found. Negotiating the laptops’ different roles in the educational practice opens up for an understanding of the students personal learning situation as being more than just listening to a lecturer. Additionally, competent integration of digital tools into the learning situation extends the dimensions of the lecture beyond the lecturing hours and personal note taking. Such knowledge is vital for creating foundations for digital competency in a digitized society.     

Improving literacy skills through learning reading by writing: The iWTR method presented and tested

Learning to read and write is a basic skill that unfortunately not everybody acquires sufficiently. Lack of teachers and time in school are some of the reasons, but in addition the enormous rise in informational activities due to the Internet and other information technology-enabled opportunities has made literacy skills increasingly important to ever more people. This means literacy education must be improved so more children in the world get better chances. In order to contribute to developing better methods for learning to read and write in early years this study tests a new method developed to improve reading and writing learning in early ages. The ICT (Information and communication technologies) supported “Integrated Write to Learn” (iWTR) method lets children in 1st grade use computers and other ICT tools to write texts and subsequently discuss and refine them together with class mates and teachers. Handwriting is postponed to 2nd grade. While the traditional method requires students to go through two development processes in parallel, a cognitive (learning to read and) a motor (learning to write with a pencil), iWTR works with one process at a time, first cognitive development, then (from grade 2) motor skills training. iWTR extends previous WTR methods by more social work methods using a web site and peer comment for providing social meaning and feedback.The method was tested using two test groups and two control groups (total n = 87) by systematically measuring performance in reading and writing using standard tests in combination with observations and student evaluation to assess social and individual effects of work methods.The results show that while reading skills were improved considerably the biggest improvement concerned writing skills. Students in the test group wrote longer texts with better structure, clearer content, and a more elaborate language.     

International on-line reciprocal peer tutoring to promote modern language development in primary schools

The paper reports data from an on-line peer tutoring project. In the project 78, 9–12-year-old students from Scotland and Catalonia peer tutored each other in English and Spanish via a managed on-line environment. Significant gains in first language (Catalonian pupils) modern language (Scottish pupils) and attitudes towards modern languages (both Catalonian and Scottish pupils) were reported for the experimental group as compared to the control group. Results indicated that pupils tutored each other in using Piagetian techniques of error correction during the project. Error correction provided by tutors to tutees focussed on morph syntaxys, more specifically the correction of verbs. Peer support provided via the on-line environment was predominantly based on the tutor giving the right answer to the tutee. High rates of impact on tutee corrected messages were observed. The implications for peer tutoring initiative taking place via on-line environments are discussed. Implications for policy and practice are explored.     

The effectiveness of using procedural scaffoldings in a paper-plus-smartphone collaborative learning context

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of using procedural scaffoldings in fostering students’ group discourse levels and learning outcomes in a paper-plus-smartphone collaborative learning context. All participants used built-in camera smartphones to learn new knowledge by scanning Quick Response (QR) codes, a type of two-dimensional barcode, embedded in paper-based learning materials in this study. Sixty undergraduate and graduate students enrolled at a four-year university in southern Taiwan participated in this study. Participants were randomly assigned into two different groups, using procedural scaffoldings learning and non-procedural scaffoldings learning. The learning unit about the Long Tail, an important concept used in products sales, was the learning task that participants were expected to complete. During the experiment, pretest–posttest and the completed group worksheets were used to collect data. The researchers applied content analyses, chi-square test, t-test, and ANCOVA to answer research questions. The findings indicated that participants in the experimental group using procedural scaffoldings achieved better learning outcomes than their counterparts in the control group in terms of group discourse levels, group learning, and individual learning.     

Unifying heterogeneous e-learning modalities in a single platform: CADI, a case study

Current e-learning forms are commonly based on improving the learning process through the enhancement of certain skills in students, such as collaborative, competitive or problem-based learning. However, it seems that there is still no e-learning formula that gathers the implementation of a number of more generic educational principles in a single e-learning system or platform. Therefore, this paper presents a web-based framework for the creation, development and implementation of heterogeneous learning environments called CADI. It offers a graphical user interface for students to interact with only the need for any generic WiFi compliant device. Its innovative design allows the instructor to select and combine the developed resources to create varied activities, providing content adapted to every single device. The usefulness of the system was tested by introducing a case study to a group of senior college students. The experience showed that the use of the system helped students to achieve better results in their evaluation. It also showed that the students had no problems interacting with it from the outset, promoting their active learning. Design, implementation and assessment results of the system are also presented and analyzed.     

Group differences in computer supported collaborative learning: Evidence from patterns of Taiwanese students’ online communication

This study explored the differences among online elementary school student groups based on their communication features. Two hundred and ninety-one Taiwanese students, ranging in age from 11 to 12 years old, participated in this study. The students were randomly arranged within-class into three-member groups. Each group was asked to use a collaborative learning system to accomplish a group task generating a shared concept map. The textual discussions in each group during collaboration were collected, coded, categorized, and quantified to profile their communication characteristics. Cluster analysis on the resulting communication characteristics resulted in four types of small student groups, including passive or reticent, frequently off-task, actively participating, and knowledge emphasizing. Most student groups (56%) were found to be relatively passive or reticent. Frequently off-task student groups made a protrusive amount of messages for off-task social purposes. The actively participating student groups were characterized by abundant discussion, particularly for continuing task, managing procedure and coordinating efforts. The distinctive feature of knowledge emphasizing student groups was that they devoted particular attention to task related knowledge. In addition, they performed better in task accomplishment.     

On-line synchronous scientific argumentation learning: Nurturing students' argumentation ability and conceptual change in science context

The purpose of this study is to examine the difference in effectiveness between two on-line scientific learning programs – one with an argumentation component and one without an argumentation component – on students' scientific argumentation ability and conceptual change. A quasi-experimental design was used in this study. Two classes of 8th grade students (the experimental group) received the on-line scientific argumentation learning program about chemical reaction, and the other two classes of 8th grade students (the control group) received the same on-line scientific learning program about chemical reaction, but without argumentation, for two weeks. All 140 students were administered the scientific conception test, conceptual change test, and argumentation test before, one week after, and eight weeks after learning. In addition, the experimental group students' on-line argumentation process was collected. Results showed that the students of the experimental group significantly outperformed the control group, regardless of scientific conceptions, conceptual change, and argumentation. Regression results indicated that hold of scientific conceptions is the best predicator for students' conceptual change, followed by argumentation ability. The quantity and quality of scientific arguments that students generated in a series of argumentation questions improved across the four topics. In addition, students also successfully changed their conceptions from pre- to post-driving questions across four topics. This clearly demonstrates that students' argumentation ability and conceptual change were both facilitated through receiving the on-line Synchronous Argumentation science learning program.     

Studying teacher selection of resources in an ultra-large scale interactive system: Does metadata guide the way?

Ultra-large-scale interactive systems on the Internet have begun to change how teachers prepare for instruction, particularly in regards to resource selection. Consequently, it is important to look at how teachers are currently selecting resources beyond content or keyword search. We conducted a two-part observational study of an existing popular system called TeachersPayTeachers hypothesizing that ‘evaluative metadata’ (i.e. comments, ratings, and popularity measures) would drive selection of resources. The first part examined patterns in tens of thousands of sales overall, and the second part focused on patterns of sales in one focal topic that could be expert coded. We find that there are significant gaps in available metadata, that some aspects of metadata are closely associated with sales, and that metadata are weak correlates of expert-determined quality. We conclude by making suggestions for additional research and suggesting how ultra-large scale-interactive systems such as TeachersPayTeachers could be used to improve teacher education.     

E-learning: Between augmentation and disruption?

Based on a framework for analysis combining diffusion theory, content layer analysis and sense making, this paper discusses the theme of “e-learning as augmentation or disruption” from the point of view of technological innovation. Two cases of on-campus blended learning at Roskilde University, Denmark, are introduced to illustrate the discussion. They summarize experiences with three courses in Chemistry and Communication Studies, each of which has been taught over a period of three years or more. It is concluded that adoption of information and communication technology in education depends both on systemic factors and factors involving the world view and sense making of the individual. These various factors operate at different speeds, and the difference in time frame is likely to be one of the causes for the current apparently growing disillusionment with e-learning. However, focus on the absence of demonstrable disruptive effects tends to obscure the fact that more or less unobtrusive changes occurring over time do add up to an effect that eventually may well lead beyond simple augmentation of conventional practices.     

The study on integrating WebQuest with mobile learning for environmental education

This study is to demonstrate the impact of different teaching strategies on the learning performance of environmental education using quantitative methods. Students learned about resource recycling and classification through an instructional website based on the teaching tool of WebQuest. There were 103 sixth-grade students participating in this study and broken down into three groups: traditional instruction, traditional instruction with WebQuest and WebQuest instruction with outdoors. The major contribution of this study is the introduction of WebQuest into the outdoor instruction. The results of this study show that using WebQuest in outdoor instruction influences students’ learning performance positively. Two other interesting results are: (1) when WebQuest was used in real situations, students could acquire more knowledge and experiences, and (2) in the learning activity of the experiment, the students accomplished different learning tasks and expressed their own opinions and perspectives, which could foster their critical thinking skills. On the other hands, the students in outdoor situation could be positive to participate in learning activity; furthermore, they could ponder the learning contents by observing the real context and then they began to classify/categorize the resources. These findings will contribute to the development of teaching and learning for government, schools and teachers; for instance, teachers act as assistants or tutors and provide students with others public network resources, including PDAs, smartphones, tablet personal computers or the Internet, to improve their learning in outdoor learning environments, such as campus, museums or zoos.     

The effects of a wiki-based collaborative process writing pedagogy on writing ability and attitudes among upper primary school students in Mainland China

This study mainly explored the effects of a Wiki-based Collaborative Process Writing Pedagogy (WCPWP) on writing ability and writing attitudes among Primary Four students in Shenzhen, China. Besides, this study also investigated students' collaborative writing process with the WCPWP. Students wrote their compositions in a MediaWiki platform (www.joyouswriting.com) named Joyous Writing Club (JWC) developed by the first author. By using a quasi-experimental design, two groups (classes) of Primary Four students participated in this study. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected including writing ability composition tests (pre-test and post-test), writing attitude tests (pre-test and post-test), online wiki documents, and observations. The results provided a general picture of the students' collaborative writing process and showed that the WCPWP had a positive but not significant effect on students' writing ability. Importantly, the results indicated that the WCPWP had a significant positive effect on the writing attitudes of students. The study further discussed the reasons related to the positive effects of the WCPWP on writing ability (not significant) and writing interests (significant). Implications and recommendations for primary school educators and Chinese language teachers are discussed.     

A case study of online instructional collaborative discussion activities for problem-solving using situated scenarios: An examination of content and behavior cluster analysis

In some higher education courses that focus on case studies, teachers can provide situated scenarios (such as business bottlenecks and medical cases) and problem-solving discussion tasks for students to promote their cognitive skills. There is limited research on the content, performance, and behavioral patterns of teaching using online discussions and integrated situated scenarios. This case study empirically explored the learning process of adopting collaborative online instructional discussion activities for the purpose of problem-solving using situated scenarios in a higher education course. Thirty-two university students carried out problem-solving activities on case scenarios and problem-solving tasks assigned by the teacher on the discussion forum. Two forms of instructional activities were considered: 1) problem-solving in a given scenario and 2) problem-solving when learners play roles in a given scenario. The activities mentioned above were each implemented for a week.     

Video-sharing educational tool applied to the teaching in renewable energy subjects

The impact and evaluation of an educational tool “Renewable Energy Video sharing”, based on videocast techniques is presented in this paper. This tool arose from a learning innovation project developed in the Electronics and Automation Engineering Department at the University of Jaén. This experience consists of the elaboration of multimedia materials showing different ways of obtaining thermal energy and electricity from renewable resources as well as the equipment and the technology implicated in these process. Thus a video channel, implemented in YouTube™ platform, and an online space were implemented where these multimedia materials can be found and played, bringing technological reality closer to the final user – to the students in this specific case – in an easy, interactive and free way from any device with an internet connection. This learning tool was applied and used as a support in two ambits, face-to-face and non face-to-face education, in two different educational levels: Undergraduate and Postgraduate Education. Three subjects in the field of photovoltaic solar energy experienced the e-learning tool, obtaining a high degree of general satisfaction among students. After analyzing the impact of the implemented tool through personal final questionnaires among students, an improvement of the understanding of the theoretic concepts previously studied as well as the facility of access to the contents being the most appreciated benefits.     

Fostering positive attitude in probability learning using graphing calculator

Although a plethora of research evidence highlights positive and significant outcomes of the incorporation of the Graphing Calculator (GC) in mathematics education, its use in the teaching and learning process appears to be limited. The obvious need to revisit the teaching and learning of Probability has resulted in this study, i.e. to incorporate GC in the teaching and learning of Probability, specifically on the issue of attitudes towards learning probability. The objective is to examine the effectiveness of GC interactive learning, particularly on students’ attitudes towards Probability. A total of 65 foundation students participated in this study; 32 students in the experimental group and 33 in the control group. The teaching approaches varied between the groups. While the experimental group experienced the GC approach, the control group encountered the conventional teaching approach of chalk and talk. Students’ attitude towards learning probability was assessed using the Probability Attitude Inventory (PAI), was administered prior to and after the study. The results show significantly difference in the improved attitude towards Probability between the groups, particularly in terms of usefulness of Probability, interest in Probability and self-concept in Probability. This study provides evidence that learning Probability with GCs benefits students.     

DESPRO: A method based on roles to provide collaboration analysis support adapted to the participants in CSCL situations

Collaboration analysis methods should be adapted to the needs of their users to be more effective. This paper presents DESPRO, a method that guides learning designers and teachers through the steps needed to provide support adapted to the participants in CSCL situations, based on a semi-automatic process of role detection. DESPRO is supported by a structured characterization of participatory roles defined by means of social network analysis metrics, and on a framework that guides the definition of the roles to be identified and supported. This paper describes the method and its application in a case study to identify and provide support to the roles played by the teacher and the students in a university course. The case study shows how the method defines a flexible approach to meet the desired goal of providing support adapted to the needs of different users (i.e., roles) in CSCL settings.     

The impact of media on collaborative learning in virtual settings: The perspective of social construction

This study examines an alternative function of information sharing – social construction of meaning. Drawing on social construction, social interaction, and task closure theories, we explored the influence of both the media environment in which students are situated and the medium that group members choose to communicate with one another on the intricate relationships among breadth of information sharing, depth of information sharing, and performance of computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL). A total of 126 students participated in the experiment – including 63 students (15 groups of four students and one group of three students) in the control and experimental groups respectively. Our findings show that most of the proposed hypotheses are supported. Intersubjective interpretation underlies groups information sharing and plays a key role in student learning performance. Evidence shows that when facing a relatively complex task in multimedia environments, students who choose to utilize a medium lower in social presence (i.e., electronic information sharing) are more likely to achieve task closure than a medium higher in social presence (i.e., verbal information sharing). This in turn leads to higher learning performance. The implications for both theory and pedagogy are also discussed.     

Integrating reviewing strategies into shared electronic note-taking: Questioning,summarizing and note reading

This study compared the effects of reviewing strategies in shared electronic note-taking activities, including questioning, summarizing, and note reading, on elementary school student note-taking quality and achievement. A non-equivalent pre- and post-test design was adopted. The participants were 188 sixth grade Taiwanese students in six computing classes. Through random assignment, two classes were assigned to the shared note-taking with questioning condition (SN-SQ), two classes to the shared note-taking with summarizing condition (SN-SS), and two classes to the shared note-taking with note reading condition (SN-SR). Students in each condition were arranged into same-sex dyads. The members of a dyad were assigned to separate computers, seated side-by-side, and required to collaborate with one another on a shared note-taking with reviewing task. The results revealed that the SN-SS students' notes contained more facts and concepts than the SN-SR students', and the SN-SS students achieved better grades on the unit quizzes and overall assessment two weeks later than those in the SN-SR condition.