Influence of Connectivism on Science Education with Emphasis on Experiments

Eva Trnova, Josef TrnaMasaryk University

Brno, Czech Republic

Science Education Research 9th International Conference

5th - 9th September 2011, Lyon - FRANCE

TABLE OF CONTENT

1. INTRODUCTION

2. RATIONALES

3. CONNECTIVISM

4. DESIGN RESEARCH

5. ACTION RESEARCH

6. EXAMLE OF ICT-BCAR

7. CONCLUSIONS

1. INTRODUCTION

Science education today plays an important role in educational systems and has the goal of enhancing scientific literacy in students.

Science and technology literacy improvement is a necessity for the development of the society.

However, the interest of students in science has been significantly decreasing.

1. WHAT HAS AN IFLUENCE ON SCIENCE EDUCATION TODAY?

Science education is affected by many causes and factors but the very important ones are:

the fast development of information and

communication technologies (ICT),

different learning style of todays´ learners,

methodologies - the way science is taught in

schools.

2. THE IMPACT OF ICT

New tools - overhead projectors, interactive boards, computer processed technology teaching elements including experiments

Experiments – operating and processing of observed results, – records of experiment by digital cameras and video cameras and further computer processed, – animation, modelling and simulation of experiments, – performing and sharing experiments in distance laboratories, – gaining data from distant laboratories. Source of information - Internet Communication network - sharing, discussions,

common problem solving, etc.

2. THE IMPACT OF ICT ON LEARNING STYLE OF TODAYS´ LEARNERS

Todays´ students have grown up with ICT - surrounded by and using PC, videogames, digital music players, video cams, cell phones, and all the other toys and tools of the digital age.

They have some different features from previous generations which affect their education. They bring unique learning style preferences and worldviews.

According to their attitude to ICT todays´ generation is named: Net Generation

Nintendo Generation, Millennials Digital Natives

2. NET GENERATION – D. Oblinger and J. Oblinger (2005, Educating the Net Generation)

Some features which are different from previous generations and which affect NG´ education: NG often intuitively uses a variety of ICT without an instruction manual so their understanding of the technology may be shallow. NG is more visually literate than previous generations, but because of the availability of visual media, their text literacy may be less well developed than previous cohorts. NG (73 %) prefers to use the Internet for research than the library and knows how to find valid information from the Web. NG sometimes prefers speed to accuracy (influence of PC games). NG does multitask, move quickly from one activity to another and sometimes perform them simultaneously. NG prefers to learn by doing rather by being told what to do - NG learns well through inquiry — by exploring for themselves or with their peers. This exploratory style enables them to better retain information and use it in creative, meaningful ways. NG often prefers to learn and work in teams. A peer-to-peer approach is common, as well, where students help each other. In fact, NG learners consider peers more credible than teachers.

2. DIGITAL NATIVES

M. Prensky (Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants 2001 On the Horizon) first used the naming of todays´ student Digital Natives because students today are all "native speakers" of the digital language of computers, video games and the Internet. He named the previous generation the Digital Immigrants

– need to adapt to the (digital) environment – Internet, website

- they usually retain some degree of "accent"

The “digital immigrant accent” can be seen in such things as turning to the Internet for information second rather than first, or in reading the manual for a program rather than assuming that the program itself will teach us to use it.

2. Diana Oblinger and James Oblinger First Steps Toward Understanding the Net Generation

Matures Baby Boomers

Generation X NetGeneration

Birth Dates 1900-1946 1946-1964 1965-1982 1982-1991

Description Greatest generation

Me generation Latchkey generation

Millennials

Attributes Command and control

Self-sacrifice

Optimistic

Workaholic

Independent

Sceptical

Hopeful

Determined

Likes Respect for authority

Family

Community involvement

Responsibility

Work ethic

Can-do

attitude

Freedom

Multitasking

Work-life balance

Public activism

Latest technology

Parents

Dislikes Waste Technology Laziness

Turning 50

Red tape

Hype

Anything slow

Negativity

3. CONNECTIVISM

Behaviourism, cognitivism, and constructivism - the three main teaching/learning pedagogical theories still used in science and technology education.

New educational theory – connectivism as

“a learning theory for a digital age”- was born as a response to the invasive ICT development

3. CONNECTIVISM - Siemens (2005)

„Learning is no longer an internal, individualistic activity. Education has been slow to recognize the impact of new learning tools and the environmental changes. The ability to learn what we need for tomorrow is more important than what we know today. When knowledge, however, is needed, but not known, the ability to plug into sources to meet the requirements becomes a vital skill. As knowledge continues to grow and evolve, access to what is needed is more important than what the learner currently possesses”.

• Learning and knowledge rests in diversity of opinions.• Learning is a process of connecting specialized nodes o information sources.• Learning may reside in non-human appliances.• Capacity to know more is more critical than what is currently known.• Nurturing and maintaining connections is needed to facilitate continual learning.• Ability to see connections between fields, ideas, and concepts is a core skill. • Currency (accurate, up-to-date knowledge) is the intent of all connectivistic learning activities. • Decision-making is itself a learning process. Choosing what to learn and the meaning of incoming information is seen through the lens of a shifting reality. While there is a right answer now, it may be wrong tomorrow due to alterations in the information climate affecting the decision.

3. THE FIRST PRINCIPLES OF CONNECTIVISM ESTABLISHED BY SIEMENS

3. CONNECTIVISM

Possible connectivistic influences on science and technology education (our research issues): identification of connectivistic factors and their influence on science and technology education

creation of connectivistic educational tools and techniques in science education

implementation of connectivistic educational tools and techniques into science teaching/learning and science teachers training

4. DESIGN-BASED RESEARCH

To monitor the set out connectivistic factors, we used method a design-based research:

is a new trend in educational research,

it is a development research,

research questions are not determined, but the problem is defined to be solved.

4. DESIGN-BASED RESEARCHFigure 2: Empirical and development approaches to IT research (Reeves, 2006).

Hypotheses basedupon Observationsand/or Existing

Theories

ExperimentsDesigned to Test

Hypotheses

Application ofTheory by

Practitioners

TheoryRefinement

based on TestResults

Development ofSolutions with a

TheoreticalFramework

Evaluation andTesting of

Solutions inPractice

Documentationand Reflection toProduce “Design

Principles”

Analysis ofPractical Problems

by Researchersand Practitioners

Specification of New Hypotheses

EMPIRICAL RESEARCH

DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH

Refinement of Problems, Solutions, and Methods

4. IMPLEMENTATION OF A DESIGN-BASED RESEARCH INTO OUR RESAERCH

The main advantage of the design-based research is its close connection with educational practice.

The basic principle and advantage of the design-based research is the close cooperation between researchers and teachers = a prerequisite of direct use of the research outputs in everyday practice.

The above-mentioned reasons led us to use design-based research to address the issue of the implementation of connectivism into science and technology education.

These methods were created within the frame of cooperative action research based on ICT which can be used as a vehicle for international cooperation with effective exploitation of ICT.

5. Action research

The action research may be perceived as a simpler, initial stage of the design-based research.

In the last years, action research has been implemented into the daily practise more often. Science teachers thus use the action research cycle for verification of their innovative ideas.

Thus, there occurs a significant development of PCK of each teacher who uses action research on the basis of the research-based teacher self-training.

5. ACTION RESEARCH

Action research is simply “learning by doing”: to identify a problem, to do something to resolve it, to see how successful their efforts were, and if not satisfied, to try again.

5. ICT–BASED COLLABORATIVE

ACTION RESEARCH (ICT-BCAR) Our innovative idea is to use action research in a

web-based environment realised through the international collaboration.

Action research is mainly used by one teacher in one class.

ICT-BCAR can be explored in modified conditions for example by two collaborating teachers, working on-line in two classrooms, in two different countries, using English in addition to home languages, and on-line instruction by use of ICT.

5. ICT–BASED COLLABORATIVE

ACTION RESEARCH (ICT-BCAR) An important aspect of ICT-BCAR is that participants

in collaborative action research are co-researchers.

The principle of collaborative co-researchers presupposes that each participant’s ideas are equally significant as a potential resource for creating interpretive categories for analysis, as negotiated among the participants.

6. OUR EXAMPLE OF ICT-BCAR

The “action” factor of our action research was ICT-BCAR in action among teachers and students from Portugal and the Czech Republic.

This collaboration was intended to upgrade teaching and learning using motivational methods and the introduction of innovative school simple (hands-on) experimentation.

Students were involved in the process of learning and were encouraged to play a teaching role with respect to their peers.

6. TOPIC SELECTION

All science topics are not equally suitable for

ICT-BCAR. We used the following criteria for the topic selection:

the position of the topic in the curriculum of the countries,

the importance of the topic for students’ cognitive development,

the level of interest for students. Based on mentioned criteria, the topic chosen was

“Photosynthesis”.

6. OBJECTIVES

motivate the students to learn about photosynthesis;

develop knowledge and skills relevant to this topic;

improve the interactions among students, between teacher and learners and, finally, encourage in interaction between the teachers.

6. SELECTION OF STUDENTS

The factors important for the selection of students were age and ability.

The students should be approximately the same age, promoting an interest to collaborate, communicating in the English language and skilled in the use of ICT.

Students were selected from secondary schools and 15-16 years of age.

6. COMMUNICATION:

e-Twinning -TwinSpace Skype Video-conference E-mail ICQ, Facebook….

17. STUDENTS´DISCUSION

Examples of students´ discussion on-line using Skype after implementation of the activity:

A Czech student asked: Why did you crush the leaves?

A Portuguese student explained: It is necessary to extract the pigments found in the thylakoid membranes of the chloroplasts.

A Czech student asked: Why is alcohol added? A Portuguese student explained: Alcohol is used to

extract the pigments from the leaves.

6. MATERIALS

The teachers collaboratively developed (in their own language and in English):

worksheets, power-point presentations, videos, experiments, learning tasks, tests.

6. FIGURERS

6. PROCEDURE PICTURES

6. REFLECTION

Reflection is a very important part of collaborative action research.

In seeking evidence is possible to use: pre-test and post-test, questionnaires, observations, interviews, portfolios.

6. RESULTS OF REFLECTION

The analysis of inquiry outcomes supported the fact that ICT-BCAR offers meaningful and motivational support for the development of professional competencies of science teachers and for the process of students’ learning.

ICT-BCAR contributed to upgrading teaching and learning and innovative school simple (hands-on) experimentation.

6. NEW ROLES OF HANDS-ON ACTIVITIES

The using of ICT provides an additional good opportunity for the dissemination and upgrading of new hands-on activities or unknown variants of these activities amongst teachers.

It is proposed that a web-based environment can provide a very effective technology for initiating and substantiating science teachers’ collaboration.

Our study used the benefits of an ICT environment to change the normal conditions of implementation of hands-on activities.

7. The main advantages of ICT-BCAR

for science and technology education 1. Strong motivation of students and teachers especially by

communication with colleagues in other countries, new information, applications of knowledge from abroad, personal contacts etc.

2. Exchange of experiences between teachers (teaching methods) by comparing curricular material (textbooks, learning tasks, experimentation etc.).

3. Inserting of new educational methods based on research by teachers’ application of action research monitored by educational experts.

4. Acquisition of subject knowledge and skills. 5. Team collaboration among teachers inside the partner

schools (support with ICT, English, organisation of lessons etc.). 6. Team collaboration among students within the partner

schools (support with ICT, organisation of lessons etc.).

7. CONCLUSIONS

We have discovered several connectivistic factors that show today in the teaching of science and application of experiments:

computer control of experiments and computer processing of

measured data

getting of manuals for experiments from the Internet

digital recording and web presentations of experiments

knowledge sharing and distribution across a network

creation of learning structures using networks etc.

7. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONSWe have developed the set of connectivistic teaching/learning

techniques and tools applicable primarily in implementation in ICT based cooperation action research:

Application of a single communication language (English).

Application of ICT communication technologies.

The use of cooperating students’ knowledge.

Creation of communication connections.

7. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONSThe main outcomes of the research and implementation of

connectivistic techniques and tools into science school experimentation:

Strong motivation of students and teachers especially by

communication with colleagues in other country, new information, applications of new knowledge, new personal contacts etc.

Exchange of experiences between teachers (experiments etc.). Teachers’ and students’ improvement of skills to use ICT and

English language Gaining of collaboration competencies between teachers and

among students Team collaboration among students and teachers - peers More effective acquisition of science knowledge and skills

Thank you for your attention.

Eva Trnova, Josef Trna

Masaryk UniversityBrno, Czech Republic

trna@ped.muni.cz