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Bringing advanced science inquiry tools in for a soft landing: report of a five year study

Bringing advanced science inquiry tools in for a soft landing: report of a five year study. Northwest Council for Computers in Education Seattle, Washington March 2005. Mike Charles & Bob Kolvoord (Pacific University) & (James Madison University)

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Bringing advanced science inquiry tools in for a soft landing: report of a five year study

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  1. Bringing advanced science inquiry tools in for a soft landing: report of a five year study Northwest Council for Computers in Education Seattle, Washington March 2005 Mike Charles& Bob Kolvoord (Pacific University)& (James Madison University) Research supported by the National Science Foundation

  2. The promise Scientific visualization tools provide... • Rich use of the computers available in schools • Connections to science/math for visual learners • A vehicle for inquiry-based science • Use tools which were originally designed to help scientists understand and explore data Goal: To draw today’s increasingly visual learners into in-depth study of science/math topics

  3. The opportunity • How to get more teachers involved in using visualization tools in their classrooms? • A promising tool that requires advanced skills • Extended training in the tools is often too much, too soon...

  4. Project VISM • Three week summer institutes sponsored by the Interdisciplinary Science and Technology program at James Madison University • Cross-training in different visualization techniques, including image processing, GIS, molecular modeling and simulation • Middle and High School science and mathematics teachers with some higher education participants • Teacher educators who work with prospective science and mathematics teachers • Summers of 2000, 2001, and 2002--118 participants total

  5. Tools taught in Project VISM • Image processingNIH Image/Scion Image/Image J • Geospatial AnalysisArcView GIS • Molecular VisualizationRasMol/Chemscape Chime • Systems modellingSTELLA

  6. NIH Image/Scion Image/ImageJ • Public domain image processing software • Software and free classroom activities available at http://www.evisual.org/ • Animal hands: identifying x-rays of animal hands by describing the hand and identifying its function

  7. ArcView GIS • Available for educators--See the ESRI homepagehttp://www.esri.com/ • Classroom activity available at http://www.evisual.org/ • Plate Tectonics visualized: mark earthquake and volcanic sites on a world map using spreadsheet data. Observe patterns and identify plate boundaries.

  8. RASMOL/Chemscape Chime • Public domain software for mol viz • Presented as “molecular storytelling” • Resource page: http://www.isat.jmu.edu/users/klevicca/vism/vism.htm • "Come See the Molecules—Using 3-D Modeling Programs to Learn Chemistry" in ISTE's Learning & Leading with Technology http://www.iste.org/L&L/archive/vol29/no4/index.html (Note: Must be a subscriber to the periodical in order to access Acrobat files of the articles)

  9. STELLA • Commercial systems simulation software • Strong educator user base • More info at http://www.hps-inc.com/ • Pictured here: simulation model for a cup of coffee cooling using stocks and flows

  10. The ACOT model of stages of teacher development in using technological tools • Entry level-competent using thetool at the workshop • Learned the Animal Hands activity at a workshop • Adopt the tool into their teaching practice • Successfully used the Animal Hands activity with my students • Adapt the tool into their teaching practice • Made significant modifications to the Animal Hands activity to make it work better with my students • Innovate withthe tool in their teaching practice • Brought in new images from a local zoo of animal hands to add to the activity

  11. The VISM matrix: The ACOT model described for each of the four tools • Created based on conversations with the instructors over the duration of the project • Posed as a hypothetical path that teachers might follow • We did NOT expect teachers to reach the innovate level with all four tools, but instead to make professional choices among their visualization options • VISM Matrix

  12. Critical attributes of advanced tools • Competency with the software tool (ACOT model) • Competency with the scientific data that the tool uses • Competency with the pedagogical content knowledge needed to teach curricular content using the tool • Pedagogical content knowledge identifies the distinctive bodies of knowledge for teaching. It represents the blending of content and pedagogy into an understanding of how particular topics, problems or issues are organized, represented, and adapted to the diverse interests and abilities of learners, and presented for instruction. Pedagogical content knowledge is the category most likely to distinguish the understanding of the content specialist from that of the pedagogue. (Shulman, 1987)

  13. Follow-on interviews • 10 interviews conducted thus far • 35 questionnaires from Summer 2003 and 2004 “reunion” workshop participants • Starter questions for open-ended interviews  Briefly describe 1 or 2 projects you carried out last year with your students using one or more of these visualization tools.  What were your greatest obstacles in using these tools with your students during the year? • Briefly describe what you think you accomplished this year based on your participation in the VISM workshop, and one thing you had hoped to accomplish but perhaps did not.

  14. Summary of implementation of the tools

  15. Changes in your ability with these tools

  16. Obstacles

  17. Obstacles • Time--to develop classroom ready activities • Space in the curriculum • Higher demands of NCLB and high stakes testing • Changes in teaching assignment and personal life • Hardware/software access-- …negotiating adequate computer time for students to do their work is nonetheless a major challenge for these teachers.

  18. Case study examples • In-depth interviews with 9 teachers

  19. Exemplary uses of all four tools by experienced scientific visualization tool users

  20. More typical implementations

  21. VISM tools not yet “landed” in teaching practice

  22. Discussion • Current professional development literature argues for site-based, curriculum-specific professional development efforts with significant on-site follow-up • Sustainable? • Scalable? • Need to look outside the constraints of the site and curriculum • Intrinsically motivated educators constructing their own program of professional development--the fundamentally constructivist nature of teacher learning. • Project VISM was a university-based program with materials that had only general curriculum connections and with no significant on-site follow-up component.

  23. Staff training Extrinsic motivation Program determined by organizational mission and goals Mandated by the organization Fundamentally constructivist nature of teacher learning Professional Development • Intrinsic motivation • Constructing their own program • Personally constructed

  24. For more info • Mike Charles at Pacific University • charlesm@pacificu.edu • Bob Kolvoord, Project Director, at JMU • kolvoora@jmu.edu • Project VISM home page http://www.isat.jmu.edu/common/projects/VISM/

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