Volume 19, Number 2 2000
Jane Moor and Rina Zazkis
Simon Fraser UniversityBurnaby, BC, V5A 1S6Canadazazkrs@sfu.ca
The World Wide Web has the potential to change the structure ofthe classroom, extending it beyond a literal room to include otherplaces where students interact with other students and teachers. TheWeb also has the potential to change the structure of the curriculum,extending it beyond a textbook with answers and enriching it with Websites that raise many questions. With the potential for students toexplore topics so extensively, the teacher must become the navigatorof student learning, leading students through the bits and pieces ofinformation that students combine into unique, ever-changing imagesand transform these into a new kaleidoscope of knowledge (Quinlan,1997, p. 22).
This quote presents an optimistic view of education, especiallywith regards to mathematics education. Even a great enthusiast andbeliever has difficulty implementing teaching and learning with theWorld Wide Web (WWW or Web). Technical and budget constrains thatlimit the availability of computers and network connections are onlya part of the problem. The “real” problem in our view isthat the technology grows faster than our knowledge about effectiveways to use it in supporting learning. Although one can find avariety of tutorials, courses, or even “virtualuniversities” among millions of sites on the Web, the proportionof “virtual classroom” sites (this notion is explainedlater) is relatively low.
Knowledge of what influences students’ learning in a virtualclassroom is just beginning to emerge. Our study contributes to thisgrowing base of knowledge by examining the experience of a grouppreservice elementary school teachers of learning mathematics using aweb site and their reflections of this experience.
Richard N. Steinberg
Department of Physics, City College of New YorkNew York, NY 10031 USArstein@scisun.sci.cuny.edu
Graham E. Oberem
Physics Department, California State University San Marcos, CA 92096-0001 USAoberem@csusm.edu
In teaching mathematics or science, understanding how toincorporate instructional technology and evaluate its impact is ofgreat importance. In this paper, we report on how we are usingphysics education research both as a guide to the way we developcomputer-based curriculum and as a means of assessment. The contextof our study is modern physics, which is a subject being taught in agrowing number of classes from high school through graduate school.We focus on a computer tutorial on the photoelectric effect and itsimplementation in a university modern physics course for engineersand scientists.
Campbell J. McRobbie and Gregory P. Thomas
Centre for Mathematics and Science EducationQueensland University of TechnologyVictoria Park Road, Brisbane, 4059, Australiac.mcrobbie@qut.edu.au
There is a lack of studies that provide fine-grainedinvestigations of the factors that affect both teachers’ andstudents’ use of microcomputer-based laboratory (MBL)technology. An interpretive methodology was employed to examine theuse of MBL technology by the teacher and students in a Year 11Chemistry class studying gases and gas laws in an urban high schoolin Brisbane, Australia. Data sources included student and teacherinterviews, direct observation and videotape of five weeks oflessons, stimulated recall of MBL practicals and pre- and posttestson students’ conceptual understanding of gases and kinetictheory. The use of the MBL technology had negligible influence onstudents’ development of conceptual understanding of thesetopics. Factors such as the teacher’s and the students’beliefs about teaching, learning, the role of practical work in thechemistry course, and the nature of the concepts under investigationinfluenced the use of the microcomputer and the data obtained throughits use. These findings are discussed in terms of the potential ofthe use of such technology and the obstacles to realizing thatpotential.
Alec M. Bodzin and John C. Park
The SERVIT GroupDepartment of Mathematics, Science, and TechnologyEducationBox 7801, 326 Poe HallNorth Carolina State UniversityRaleigh, NC 27695-7801 USAAmbodzin@unity.ncsu.edu
Park@unity.ncsu.edu
This study analyzed patterns of computer-mediated communication of32 preservice science teachers on a public Web-based forum. Theparticipants were able to engage in scaffolding pedagogical ideaswith each other as a result of sharing peer perceptions. The findingsrevealed that a large amount of structure is needed for students todiscuss science-specific pedagogical issues on a Web-based forum. Asaturation effect in the discourse may occur with large groups ofpreservice teachers responding to one particular forum posting.Dialogue prompts and scaffolding were aspects of the Web-based forumthat facilitated new learning in both science-specific and generalpedagogical areas.