In this article, we explore the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) with a lens informed by the socioscientific issues (SSI) movement. We consider the PISA definition of scientific literacy and how it is situated with respect to broader discussions of the aims of science education. We also present an overview of the SSI framework that has emerged in the science education community as a guide for research and practice. We then use this framework to support analysis of the PISA approach to assessment. The PISA and SSI approaches are seemingly well aligned when considering
This article draws from the literature on self-determination and Universal Design for Learning principles to set forth the theory that students identified as having learning disabilities may be environmentally disadvantaged and their learning difficulties exasperated by the traditional classroom learning environment. Alternatively, the digital learning environment found in simulation video games is designed so participants can be autonomous, self-directed, goal-oriented and successful. These are, coincidentally, the salient features of a technology-enhanced learning environment designed with
Evidence for the present study derives from a sample of 574 middle-grades students that participated in the River City Project (RCP) in academic year 2006-07. Central to the RCP is an open-ended video-game-like learning innovation for teaching inquiry-based science and twenty-first century skills. Results of investigation into the students' neomillennial learning styles revealed that, on average, students who (1) prefer creating and sharing artifacts through the Internet are well-suited for learning about disease transmission and scientific problem solving skills in the RCP; and (2) students
This paper examines the benefits and obstacles to young people's open-ended and unrestricted access to technological environments. While children and youth are frequently seen as threatened or threatening in this realm, their playful engagements suggest that they are self-possessed social actors, able to negotiate most of its challenges effectively. Whether it is proprietary software, the business practices of some technology providers, or the separation of play, work, and learning in most classrooms, the spatial-temporality of young people's access to and use of technology is often configured
In 2007, 270 youth (10-15 years of age) participated in our study designed to assess kids' perceptions about using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to explore underwater habitats and how the ROV could facilitate engagement with the environment. The three programs we conducted were vessel-based and integrated an ROV component into existing environmental education programs. Two were conducted in the Chesapeake Bay near Northeast, Maryland, and one was conducted offshore near Fort Pierce, Florida. Using a mixed-methods approach, respondents indicated significantly more positive perceptions than
Youth Day, held in Griffith Park in Los Angeles, California, was an exploratory study to determine whether technology attracts kids to outdoor activities. Four activities were offered -- two were dependent on technology and two were not. The two technology-dependent activities were a camera safari and geocaching for treasure. The activities not dependent on technology were paper etching or rubbings of natural surfaces and a nature scavenger hunt. Thirty-eight young people (ages 6 to 17) participated in the activities. The children voted on how much they liked each activity. The technology
This article reviews how the relationship between computer games and learning has been conceptualized in policy and academic literature, and proposes a methodology for exploring learning with games that focuses on how games are enacted in social interactions. Drawing on Sutton-Smith's description of the rhetorics of play, it argues that the educational value of games has often been defined in terms of remedying the failures of the education system. This, however, ascribes to games a specific ontology in a popular culture that is defined in terms of its opposition to school culture. By
Virtual communities have been extensively examined -- including their history, how to define them, how to design tools to support them, and how to analyze them. However, most of this research has focused on adult virtual communities, ignoring the unique considerations of virtual communities for children and youth. Young people have personal, social, and cognitive differences from adults. Thus, while some of the existing research into adult virtual communities may be applicable, it lacks a developmental lens. Based on our work of designing and researching virtual worlds for youth, we describe
This article examines how effectively a curriculum designed for a sixth grade classroom in a low income urban middle school was adapted utilize the funds of knowledge that existed among the students. The author discusses how all students draw on information that they obtain from their environment in the classroom and that this is often difficult for students in science classrooms in urban areas. The curriculum that is examined was for a unit that explored food and nutrition. The authors examine what funds of knowledge the students did bring into the classroom and how they were able to utilize
This article is the culmination of an extensive inquiry-focused interactive experience involving female middle school students and five university scientists, which demonstrated that middle school girls 'perception of science and scientists can be successfully improved. The study exposed students to adult professional scientists over a period of a few days in laboratory and field exercises. Based on student journal entries and pictorial illustrations, as well as attitude surveys, the experience resulted in a keen appreciation of the sciences among the majority of participants and both a
This paper presents research on parent support of the development of new media skills and technological fluency. Parents' roles in their children's learning were identified based on interviews with eight middle school students and their parents. All eight students were highly experienced with technology activities. Seven distinct parental roles that supported learning were identified and defined: Teacher, Collaborator, Learning Broker, Resource Provider, Nontechnical Consultant, Employer, and Learner. The parents in this sample varied in their level of technological knowledge, though in every
Much of the work done in the field of tangible interaction has focused on creating tools for learning; however, in many cases, little evidence has been provided that tangible interfaces offer educational benefits compared to more conventional interaction techniques. In this paper, we present a study comparing the use of a tangible and a graphical interface as part of an interactive computer programming and robotics exhibit that we designed for the Boston Museum of Science. In this study, we have collected observations of 260 museum visitors and conducted interviews with 13 family groups. Our
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Michael HornErin SoloveyR. Jordan CrouserRobert Jacob