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An action research study on the use of IT for teaching science
Author
Tan, Chay Eng
Supervisor
Myint, Swe Khine
Abstract
As there is increasing awareness of the need to go global and that learning should take place beyond textbooks and classrooms, the objective of this research project is to determine how viable it is to supplement Science teaching in a Singapore school with collaborative projects via video conferencing into the school curriculum. It also hopes to find out the main issues and opportunities that can provide the foundation for implementing such collaborative projects to realize the concept of "the borderless classroom" in primary schools in Singapore.
As the present videoconferencing sessions have been conducted using only a desktop videoconferencing system via the Internet, the limitations of the use of the technology to involve a whole class will also be explored.
For this project, the video conferencing sessions are designed as supplementary after - school activities that the students are involved in on a voluntary basis. The project is based on the principle of guided discovery learning and social constructivism. Social constructivism emphasizes student collaboration and interaction with the learning context. Two projects involving investigative plant growth experiments are conducted with collaborators from countries that are experiencing different climatic conditions. The first is a project on the growth of maize plants with a group of pupils in Chile while the second is the growth of sunflowers with pupils in Germany.
This research project was carried out with the action research framework and held over a period of 8 months from April to November 2003. The pupils involved in this research were from Primary 5 (EM2) and Primary 6 (EM2) i.e. they involved 11 and 12 years olds respectively. Four video conferencing sessions have been conducted with Chile and one with Germany.
Qualitative data was collected to identify the factors that could lead to more in-depth pupil involvement and learning. Data collected include observations of the videoconferencing sessions, teachers' questionnaires, focus group discussion and individual interviews with pupils and teachers. The results showed that while videoconferencing is the main motivating factor for the pupils and brings a new experience and excitement to the pupils' learning, the choice and implementation of the project as well as the role of the teacher facilitator also influence the quality of the pupils' learning. Based on the analysis of these data, revisions may be made to the present process of video conferencing sessions being conducted in the school.
As the present videoconferencing sessions have been conducted using only a desktop videoconferencing system via the Internet, the limitations of the use of the technology to involve a whole class will also be explored.
For this project, the video conferencing sessions are designed as supplementary after - school activities that the students are involved in on a voluntary basis. The project is based on the principle of guided discovery learning and social constructivism. Social constructivism emphasizes student collaboration and interaction with the learning context. Two projects involving investigative plant growth experiments are conducted with collaborators from countries that are experiencing different climatic conditions. The first is a project on the growth of maize plants with a group of pupils in Chile while the second is the growth of sunflowers with pupils in Germany.
This research project was carried out with the action research framework and held over a period of 8 months from April to November 2003. The pupils involved in this research were from Primary 5 (EM2) and Primary 6 (EM2) i.e. they involved 11 and 12 years olds respectively. Four video conferencing sessions have been conducted with Chile and one with Germany.
Qualitative data was collected to identify the factors that could lead to more in-depth pupil involvement and learning. Data collected include observations of the videoconferencing sessions, teachers' questionnaires, focus group discussion and individual interviews with pupils and teachers. The results showed that while videoconferencing is the main motivating factor for the pupils and brings a new experience and excitement to the pupils' learning, the choice and implementation of the project as well as the role of the teacher facilitator also influence the quality of the pupils' learning. Based on the analysis of these data, revisions may be made to the present process of video conferencing sessions being conducted in the school.
Date Issued
2004
Call Number
Q183.4.S55 Tan
Date Submitted
2004