Multimedia e-Learning and Self-Regulated Science Learning: a Study of Primary School Learners’ Experiences and Perceptions Abstract Multimedia-supported e-learning is considered useful as it can offer an enjoyable independent learning experience to learners. However, the effectiveness of e-learning for self-regulated science learning is still inconclusive. This study aimed to explore primary school students’ perceptions and experiences of self-regulated science learning in a multimedia-supported e-learning environment. A total of 11 classes from grades 3 to 6 from four Hong Kong schools participated in this study. All e-learning lessons were observed, and 33 (3 from each class) were interviewed using cognitive walkthroughs of how they made use of the multimedia resources and system tools, scaffolds, or prompts to direct their own learning in each of the three self-regulated learning phases (forethought, performance, and reflection). Results revealed that the combined use of the discussion forum and statistics table seemed to facilitate the students’ diagnosis of their prior knowledge of natural phenomena in the forethought phase. In the performance phase, the students mostly enjoyed learning with the graphic data, animations, and/or simulation experiments. Some perceived the prompts or tools from the e-learning system as useful for operation and science learning. In the reflection phase, the students self-assessed their learning using quizzes with emoticons as positive feedback which seemed to increase their enthusiasm for learning science. However, not all students were able to effectively use the system tools or prompts, to keep focused self-discipline, or to achieve deeper science learning without the teacher’s guidance. Hence, this study suggests providing more opportunities for students’ exposure to e-learning resources, while at the same time assisting them in the use of digital tools or resources, in adjusting their learning strategies, and in internalizing scientific ideas and inquiry processes so as to ensure more effective self-regulated science learning.

Measuring Quality Technology Integration in Science Classrooms Abstract Researchers, evaluators, and practitioners need tools to distinguish between applications of technology that support, enhance, and transform classroom instruction and those that are ineffective or even deleterious. Here we present a new classroom observation protocol designed specifically to capture the quality of technology use to support science inquiry in high school science classrooms. We iteratively developed and piloted the Technology Observation Protocol for Science (TOP-Science), building directly on our published framework for quality technology integration. Development included determining content and face validity, as well as the calculation of reliability estimates across a broad range of high school science classrooms. The resulting protocol focuses on the integration of technology in classrooms on three dimensions: science and engineering practices, student-centered teaching, and contextualization. It uses both quantitative coding and written descriptions of evidence for each code; both are synthesized in a multi-dimensional measure of quality. Data are collected and evaluated from the perspective of the teacher’s intentions, actions, and reflections on these actions. This protocol fills an important gap in understanding technology’s role in teaching and learning by doing more than monitoring technology’s presence or absence, and considering its integration in the context of the Next Generation Science Standards science and engineering practices. Its applications include research, evaluation, and potentially peer evaluation.

Caught on Camera: Youth and Educators’ Noticing of and Responding to Failure Within Making Contexts Abstract A lot of attention has been given to the role failure plays in learning and innovation. Yet, we know little about the conditions necessary for the experience to result in positive outcomes. In this study, we sought to answer three research questions: (1) What is the relationship among attend, interpret, and respond when experiencing failures within making-related activities? (2) How does youths’ and educators’ noticing of failure within making-related activities differ by tasks? (3) How does youths’ and educators’ noticing of failures within making-related activities differ by context? To address these questions, we used data collected from youths participating in making experiences in three different contexts: schools, a science museum, and an afterschool program run by science museum educators. Analysis of approximately 90 h of video revealed differences in how youths and educators attended, interpreted and responded to failures that suggest differences in the sophistication of their response. Educational implications from these findings support less direct oversight by educators and increased use of techniques to have the youth demonstrate positive troubleshooting behaviors.

Exploring the Values Undergraduate Students Attribute to Cross-disciplinary Skills Needed for the Workplace: an Analysis of Five STEM Disciplines Abstract Employers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields report that recent graduates are deficient in important skills such as collaboration and professional writing. Scientific societies and science educators have responded to the gap between student skills and employer expectations by recommending that undergraduate STEM curricula focus on cross-disciplinary, workplace-related skills in addition to discipline-specific skills and content knowledge. This study examined the disciplinary cultures in which STEM faculty teach and STEM students learn. We developed and validated the Survey of Teaching Beliefs and Practices for Undergraduates (STEP-U), which assesses the extent to which students value specific cross-disciplinary skills, as well as their experiences with teaching practices thought to reinforce such skills. We surveyed > 2000 students majoring in biological sciences, chemistry, physics, mathematics, and computer science. We interviewed five students from each discipline to supplement survey data. Next, we surveyed faculty members (N = 147) within these disciplines regarding the extent to which they valued the same cross-disciplinary skills and how this influenced their teaching practices. Student values differed according to academic discipline, classroom experiences, and individual characteristics, such as prior research experience. We offer a conceptual framework by which the relationship between faculty values, faculty teaching practices, and student values can be studied. Specifically, it predicts that faculty values are embodied in their teaching practices, and student values are shaped by their classroom experiences, leading to transmission of disciplinary values from faculty to students. Future studies should examine these relationships across different disciplines and institution types.

Virtual Reality Simulations and Writing: a Neuroimaging Study in Science Education Abstract This study investigates the role that textbooks, virtual reality (VR), and mixed approaches (i.e., text and VR) can play in the development of the two writing types, summary and argument writing. This study uses hemodynamics as a proxy for learning. Differences in hemodynamic responses during writing tasks were measured across four different pedagogical modalities: VR alone, VR followed by textbook readings, textbook readings followed by VR, and textbook readings alone. Adult students N = 80, recruited from non-science-based higher education programs, responded to two prompts related to content found in the VR environment and discussed in the textbook. The authors hypothesized that exposure to a virtual marine environment prior to writing would enhance the two writing products, when compared with participants who only had access to textbook experiences. Of the four conditions participants exposed to the VR environment then a textbook demonstrated significantly greater hemodynamic response than those who had access to VR alone or text alone.

Timing of Homework Completion vs. Performance in General Chemistry Abstract The goal of this study was to investigate the timing of online homework completion and its effects on student performance. Data was collected from two large, first-semester general chemistry sections at a southwestern university. Specifically, this study aims to explore the link between when students complete their homework relative to the date the material was covered in lecture and student performance in that class. Topics covered in the study included VSEPR, Lewis structures, and molecular geometry. Performance was measured by different variables, namely in-class clicker scores (short-term) and exam grade (long-term). Students were divided into three groups: students who completed the relevant homework within 2 days after the lecture (before the next lecture), those who completed the homework 2 to 4 days after the lecture, and students who completed the homework more than 4 days after the material was covered in lecture. The study also took into consideration student reasoning abilities, as measured by the Test of Logical Thinking (TOLT), with a focus on at-risk students (low TOLT students). Results showed promising findings for low TOLT students. Instructors can employ results from this study to help their students better utilize the online homework resources.

Investigating the Relations Among Pre-Service Teachers’ Teaching/Learning Beliefs and Educational Technology Integration Competencies: a Structural Equation Modeling Study Abstract With the rapid developments in technology, training of pre-service teachers in terms of technology integration has become a crucial issue for all stakeholders of education. However, it is important to investigate the relationships among pre-service teachers’ teaching beliefs, skills, and educational technology integration competencies before training pre-service teachers of all fields. Within the scope of this objective, a model was proposed to investigate the relations among pre-service teachers’ epistemological beliefs, conceptions of teaching and learning (COTL), and educational technology integration competencies. As for the participants, 1499 pre-service teachers enrolled at the School of Education at Northwestern region of Turkey participated in the study. An Educational Technology Integration Competencies Scale, Epistemological Beliefs Scale, and COTL Scale, which were developed by the researchers, were utilized to collect the data. At the end of the study, it was found that there were significant relations between pre-service teachers’ beliefs (epistemological beliefs and COTL) and their educational technology integration competencies, which is parallel with the findings of the studies in the literature.

Wearable Textiles to Support Student STEM Learning and Attitudes Abstract Electronic textiles, especially those that can be worn (wearable textiles) are gaining traction within the P12 education community. The technology provides hands-on learning that is both exciting and personally relevant, especially for females, who have historically responded positively to aesthetics and textile design. A number of studies have examined the potential of wearable technologies in education but they generally use small samples, mostly engage secondary school students, and are carried out in either formal or informal settings. In contrast, this study utilized a large sample of 808 upper elementary students and involved both in- and out-of-school learning contexts led by formal and informal educators. The present study used a quasi-experimental, prepost design with two groups (treatment and control) to measure the impact of a wearable technology intervention on students’ (a) knowledge of circuitry, programming, and engineering design and (b) self-efficacy in making a wearable e-textile product. The three-level multilevel (i.e., children nested within teachers which were nested within schools) ANCOVAs were estimated for each outcome of interest (knowledge of circuitry, programming, engineering design, engineering self-efficacy, and programming self-efficacy). Results indicate that wearable technology’s integration of engineering, computing, and aesthetics promises to be an excellent interdisciplinary context to support students’ STEM learning and attitudes at the upper elementary level. However, differential results between males and females underscore the need to infuse gender-appropriate pedagogical practices to insure that females develop the needed self-confidence to successfully complete tasks involving these two skill areas.

“I’m a Computer Scientist!”: Virtual Reality Experience Influences Stereotype Threat and STEM Motivation Among Undergraduate Women Abstract Women are less likely to choose physical Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (pSTEM) majors, partly because a lack of role models makes it hard for women to imagine themselves as successful in those fields. Possible self-interventions can help people imagine themselves having a successful future. Using social cognitive theory and expectancy-value framework, the current study explored virtual reality (VR; HTC Vive) as a space for a possible self-intervention to decrease stereotype threat and increase pSTEM motivation. Participants were 79 undergraduate women in California (46% Asian, 32% Latina, 14% white) who were randomly assigned to embody a future self either highly successful in pSTEM or highly successful in humanities. Following the virtual experience, women in the pSTEM condition differed significantly from women in the humanities condition regarding pSTEM value beliefs, anticipated stereotype threat, course motivation, and women-pSTEM implicit associations, after controlling for prior pSTEM-self implicit associations. However, this difference only occurred among women who identified with the experience. While women with high identification demonstrated an effect in the desired direction, women with low identification demonstrated reactance in the opposite direction. This speaks to the usefulness of identification as a moderator and implies that virtual reality might be a useful tool for future self-interventions among students.

Using Epistemic Network Analysis to Examine Discourse and Scientific Practice During a Collaborative Game Abstract According to the National Research Council, the ability to collaboratively solve problems is of the utmost importance in scientific careers, yet students are not exposed to learning experiences that promote such expertise. Recent studies have found that interdependent roles used within collaborative mobile games are an effective way to scaffold collaborative problem solving. School Scene Investigators: The Case of the Mystery Powder, a collaborative mobile game, incorporated interdependent roles in order to foster collaborative problem solving and promote scientific practice. Using epistemic network analysis (ENA), this study examined the conversational discourse of game teams to determine what connections exist between communication responses, language style, and scientific practice. Data included audio transcripts of three teams that played through the game. Transcripts were qualitatively coded for five types of scientific practice aligned to the National Research Council framework for K-12 science education, three types of communication responses (accept/discuss/reject), and an emergent language style (communal). ENA revealed that students developed scientific practices during gameplay. ENA also identified engaged communication responses and communal language style as two types of collaborative discourse used within School Scene Investigators: The Case of the Mystery Powder that fostered key linkages to effective data analysis and interpretation.