Designing online learning environment to support scientific enquiry

Should science be considered as Traditional Inquiry or Scientific Inquiry? Let’s look at the difference between the two types of inquiries;

·      “Traditional inquiry, rooted in positivism, assumes that students acquire knowledge as they answer teacher-directed questions” (Kim & Hannafin, 2004).

·      Scientific inquiry on the other hand is “grounded in constructivism, posits that students construct their own knowledge in the process of exploring and interpreting scientific phenomena, and communicating with peers, teachers, and scientists. Scientific inquiry requires learners to engage in higher-order problem solving” (Kim & Hannafin, 2004).

Students prefer hands on experiments(Swan, 2001) and this is more reflected in scientific learning, where they can explore their own learning. Studies have shown that a student’s learning process is optimum when it is assisted and personalised (Gell-Mann, 1996; Thorn, 2003). In order for “educators accustomed to traditional inquiry, scientific inquiry represents a significant epistemological and pedagogical shift” (Kim & Hannafin, 2004).

In our current technological world, there have been moves to blended learning and to incorporate the world wide web and e-learning to assist with the teaching process. The web contains a wealth of information and resources that are accessible to the learners (Kim & Hannafin, 2004; Osguthorpe & Graham, 2003), therefore why not utilise it to allow students to gain more up to date knowledge to support scientific enquiry.

So how can educators use online learning environments to support scientific enquiry? One cannot just put a couple of lectures onto the web and call that online learning environment. Thorn describes “blended learning as a way of meeting the challenges of tailoring learning and development to the needs of individuals by integrating the innovative and technological advances offered by online learning with the interaction and participation offered in the best of traditional learning” (Thorn, 2003).

This is especially so in science, considering students still enjoy hands on experiments, at the same time the benefits of online components will allow students greater flexibility in terms of time. There have been suggestions that the “preparation of practical kits that could be sent to students to the preparation of virtual field trips” (Clark & James, 2005) may allow online students to still participate in hands on experiments. However “most experiences of these approaches have found them to be too expensive (both financially and in preparation time) and/or too difficult to manage”. (Clark & James, 2005).

So how do we best design an online learning environment that will support scientific enquiry. It is important that these online learning tools and activities “are useful in supporting self-learning, a precondition for a creative approach to lab activities and projects. Synchronous online sessions for problem-solving were highly appreciated, because they allow software sharing and immersive remote communication. On the contrary, web- forums did not reach the expected results” (Di Marco, Maneira, Ribeiro, & Maneira, 2009). Students themselves need to be engaged in the learning process and the teachers need to ensure that the e-learning activities contain “collaborative projects and rich learning environments are two key features in constructivist instructional design and help students to develop a proactive attitude towards learning” (Di Marco et al., 2009). It is important that these projects do reflect real-life ‘R&D’ situations, and to find a list of recommendations to help build collaborative online activities, it can be found in the Di Marco paper.

I think it is important to remember that while scientific learning needs to be hands on through experiments, blended learning opportunities will allow us to take advantage of the advances in global technology. It may mean that the current pedagogy needs to be challenged.

As mentioned above, personalised learning will help a student’s understanding and retain their interest in learning. Therefore it is possible to use the technology we have now, “computers are the potential saviours of the education system, because they can be used to personalise learning. They can design our learning according to our knowledge and needs, record the progress we make, and tell us if any thought process is wrong so it can be corrected” (Alonso, López, Manrique, & Viñes, 2005). Personalised learning can help us find a balance between online and face-to-face components. . (Clark & James, 2005).

Therefore it is possible to design an online environment where students are able to pursue scientific enquiry. Students can personalise their own learning base on their own interest. Teachers and students can also take advantage of online teaching tool such as WISE and BLOSSOMS to build their online environment. By taking advantage of an online environment, students will be encouraged to taken an interest in science in their daily lives, and not be restricted to the classroom.

References

Alonso, F., López, G., Manrique, D., & Viñes, J. M. (2005). An instructional model for web-based e-learning education with a blended learning process approach. British Journal of Educational Technology, 36(2), 217-235. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8535.2005.00454.x

Clark, I., & James, P. (2005). Blended learning: an approach to delivering science courses on-line. Paper presented at the UniServe Science Blended Learning Symposium Proceedings.

Di Marco, S., Maneira, A., Ribeiro, P., & Maneira, M. J. P. (2009). Blended-learning in Science and Technology. A Collaborative Project-Based Course in Experimental Physics. 16. Retrieved from

Gell-Mann, M. (1996). The third culture: beyond the scientific revolution: Touchtone Books.

Kim, M., & Hannafin, M. (2004). DESIGNING ONLINE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS TO SUPPORT SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY. Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 5(1), 1-10,73-74.

Osguthorpe, R. a., & Graham, C. (2003). Blended learning environments definitions and directions. The Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 43(3), 227-233.

Swan, K. (2001). Virtual interaction: design factors affecting student satisfaction and perceived learning in asynchronous online courses. Distance Education, 22(2), 306-331.

Thorn, K. (2003). Blended learning: how to integrate online and traditional: Kogan Page Publishers.