In this paper we describe our research using a multi-user virtual environment, "Quest Atlantis," to embed fourth grade students in an aquatic habitat simulation. Specifically targeted towards engaging students in a rich inquiry investigation, we layered a socio-scientific narrative and an interactive rule set into a multi-user virtual environment…

Given the central place IT-based research tools take in scientific research, the marginal role such tools currently play in science curricula is dissatisfying from the perspective of making students scientifically literate. To appropriately frame the role of IT-based research tools in science curricula, we propose a framework that is developed to…

Websites for colleges and universities have become the primary means for students to obtain information in the college search process. Consequently, institutions of higher education should target their websites toward prospective and current students' needs, interests, and tastes. Numerous parameters must be determined in creating a school website…

Change and complexity are creating a need for increasing levels of literacy in science and technology. Presently, we are beginning to provide students with clear contexts in which to learn, including clearly written text, visual displays and maps, and more effective instruction. We are also beginning to give students tools that promote their own…

Field trips are ideal for increasing students' experience and perceptions of various organisms and their relationship between the original habitat. However, in general field trips are greatly neglected by teachers and their short-term effects are thought to be questionable. Therefore, we conducted a one-day field trip for both improving students'…

A study of the effect of science teaching with a multimedia simulation on water quality, the "River of Life," on the science conceptual understanding of students (N = 83) in an undergraduate science education (K-9) course is reported. Teaching reality-based meaningful science is strongly recommended by the National Science Education Standards…

The learning of science can be made more like the practice of science through authentic simulated experiences. We have created a networked handheld Augmented Reality environment that combines the authentic role-playing of Augmented Realities and the underlying models of Participatory Simulations. This game, known as Outbreak @ The Institute, is…

The classic film "Powers of Ten" is often employed to catalyze the building of more accurate conceptions of scale, yet its effectiveness is largely unknown. This study examines the impact of the film on students' concepts of size and scale. Twenty-two middle school students and six science teachers participated. Students completed pre- and…

We present a descriptive case study of Terrascope, an innovative, year-long, project-based learning community at MIT. Each year, Terrascope students study a particular environmental or Earth-system problem from a multidisciplinary perspective. Terrascope includes both academic and non-academic components; this paper focuses on the academic…

The purpose of the study was to determine students' perception of instructional integration of computer technology to improve learning. Two key questions were investigated in this study: (a) What is the students' perception of faculty integration of computer technology into classroom instruction? (b) To what extent does the students' perception of…

Within the framework of MIT's course 1.00: Introduction to Computers and Engineering Problem Solving, this paper describes an innovative project entitled: "Studio 1.00" that integrates lectures with in-class demonstrations, active learning sessions, and on-task feedback, through the use of wireless laptop computers. This paper also describes a…

The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of instruction supplemented by conceptual change texts (CCTs) over traditional instruction on students' understanding of electrochemical (galvanic and electrolytic) cell concepts. The participants of the study consisted of 64 students from the two classes of a high school located in…

The Just-in-Time Teaching (JiTT) technique allows students to be engaged in course material outside of the classroom by answering web-based questions. The responses are summarized and presented to students in class with a follow-up active learning exercise. College students enrolled in an introductory-level general education geoscience course were…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there were significant differences in students' performances amongst conceptual, algorithmic and graphical questions tests. Seventy-one eleventh-grade students were involved in this study. In order to assess students' performance, conceptual, graphical and algorithmic questions tests were…

I report on benefits from 26 teacher-participant evaluators of a computer game designed to motivate learning and to ease conceptual understanding of biology in South Africa. Using a developmental, social constructivist and interpretative model, the recommendation is to include the value systems and needs of end-users (through social dialogue);…