Inquiry learning through students' East-West Coast online collaboration about plate tectonics
J. Gobert 2002 Making Thinking Visible, National Science Foundation 5

This paper describes a collaborative online project about plate tectonic activity involving middle and high school students in California and Massachusetts. The students collaborated online using WISE (Web-based Science Environment); this software engages students in scientific inquiry. In particular, the students constructed, reasoned with, and critiqued each other's models of tectonic-related phenomena. The author asserts that the students developed science literacy in three areas via this project: understanding of the nature of science, understanding science content, and inquiry skills.



Subject: Education, Geoscience:Geology:Tectonics
Resource Type: Pedagogic Resources:Research Results, Conference Paper
Research on Learning: Geoscience Expertise:Complex Systems, Instructional Design:Inquiry-Based Learning, Use of Technology, Cognitive Domain:How information is organized:Mental models